Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill on Tuesday outlined what he believes the GOP must do to match Democratic enthusiasm at the ballot box, warning that early voting trends show Republicans cannot afford complacency.
Appearing on The Ingraham Angle, host Laura Ingraham pointed to a surge in Democratic mail-in ballots, noting that roughly 483,000 Democrats had already voted by mail as of Sunday, compared to about 446,000 Republicans. She pressed Gill on how Republicans can keep their base motivated if Congress fails to advance priorities important to conservative voters.
“Well, that’s the key. It’s for us to get our voters actually excited to vote for Republican congressmen and women,” Gill said. “The voters are excited about President Donald Trump. What we need to show is that in Congress, we can actually carry out the Trump agenda effectively — get the SAVE Act passed, codify the president’s border policies, and continue cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government.”
Gill argued that Republicans must aggressively advance legislation on border security, election integrity, and federal spending to prove they can deliver results. He added that tightening eligibility for federal benefits and enforcing existing immigration laws should be part of that effort.
“That’s the kind of thing that we need to be doing. And if we do, I think we’re going to be just fine in November,” Gill said. “But that is a big if for us. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Republicans have already passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act in the House, but the election integrity bill has stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition. GOP leaders have also called for codifying Trump-era border policies and advancing legislation aimed at cutting federal waste to energize conservative voters ahead of November.
The early vote figures reflect participation in Texas’ separate Republican and Democratic primary elections, where voters choose their party’s nominees for the general election. Texans may select either party’s ballot, but the contests are conducted separately.
Democrats currently lead Republicans in early primary voting as both parties prepare for the March 3 primary, which will determine nominees for Senate, governor, and other statewide offices ahead of the November general election.
