Texas Voters Put Cannabis Reform on the Political Map

The election was about much more than cannabis. But hemp businesses and voters who crossed party lines made clear that the issue could no longer be ignored.

Dan Patrick gave Texas a pretty clear choice on cannabis. After Governor Greg Abbott vetoed a bill that would have banned most hemp-derived THC products, Patrick said, “I’m not going to legalize marijuana in Texas. And if people want to vote me out of office for that, so be it.”

Well, voters took him up on it.

Patrick lost to Vikki Goodwin, who will be Texas’ next lieutenant governor. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate, and Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott for governor. All three Democrats campaigned on cannabis reform. Hinojosa promised to push for a public vote on legalization.

I know Republicans in the hemp business who voted Democratic in some of these races. I know people who have voted Republican their whole lives and crossed over this time. Cannabis did not decide the entire election. Voters were also weighing the cost of living, public schools, data centers, Elon Musk, political fatigue and the direction of the country.

But cannabis was part of the choice, and it was one of the issues the Republican incumbents declined to discuss onstage. Abbott did not accept Hinojosa’s debate invitations. Patrick would not debate Goodwin. Paxton never accepted Talarico’s offer to meet on Fox News, which Talarico called “Ken’s safe space.” The lack of debates did not decide the election, but it left voters to make their judgments without hearing the candidates answer each other directly.

A sweep, not just a headline

Hinojosa will be Texas’ first Democratic governor since Ann Richards left office in 1995. Talarico will be the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. Goodwin is the first Democrat to win the lieutenant governor’s office in 27 years.

Democrats also won attorney general, comptroller, land commissioner and agriculture commissioner. Jon Rosenthal won a seat on the Railroad Commission, the first Democrat to serve on the commission since 1990. Democrats flipped the Texas House for the first time since Republicans took control after the 2002 election. Republicans, however, retained their majority in the state Senate.

Several of those new officeholders have put cannabis policy on the record. Nathan Johnson, the incoming attorney general, filed bills to regulate hemp-derived THC, establish a regulated cannabis market, decriminalize small amounts and clear some low-level records. Sarah Eckhardt, the incoming comptroller, authored a proposed constitutional amendment directing the Legislature to authorize and regulate cannabis. And Clayton Tucker’s win as agriculture commissioner matters directly to hemp farmers: the Texas Department of Agriculture oversees hemp cultivation and producer licensing, and Tucker supports farmers’ right to grow hemp and adults’ access to hemp products. The Department of State Health Services handles licensing for consumable hemp products.

Those are meaningful positions, but no one of these officials can legalize cannabis by themselves. The Legislature has to pass a bill, and the Senate is still in Republican hands.

Goodwin inherits Patrick’s playbook

Patrick showed how much leverage a lieutenant governor can wield in the Senate. The office controls the chamber’s agenda and committee assignments, which can determine whether a bill gets a hearing, reaches the floor or goes nowhere.

In 2025, Patrick threatened to keep an $8.5 billion public-school funding package from advancing unless the House passed his THC ban. After the deadly Hill Country floods, the Senate again made a THC ban a priority while lawmakers were considering flood-warning and recovery measures. Hemp advocates accused Patrick of using urgent public needs as leverage in his fight over THC.

Goodwin inherits that agenda-setting role, but she will face a Republican-majority Senate. She can give cannabis bills a hearing, guide them through the process and try to bring Republican senators along. Senate Republicans can also change the rules that define how much power the lieutenant governor has. Goodwin will have influence. She will still need votes.

That makes near-term fights over hemp regulation, medical access and penalties for low-level possession more likely than immediate adult-use legalization. Hinojosa can urge lawmakers to put legalization before voters, but Texas has no citizen-initiated statewide ballot measure. A binding constitutional amendment must first clear the Legislature.

I’ve covered cannabis long enough to know this industry can get treated like a political prop. This election felt different. People I know crossed party lines because the candidates were talking about something that affects their work and their lives.

It’s refreshing to see more voters stop treating politics like a team sport. They looked at the candidates and asked a pretty basic question: “Who’s offering more for me and my family?”