Kyle Rable Tells The806er a Democrat Can Win West Texas: “Take a Leap. Choose Something Different”

Kyle Rable Tells The806er a Democrat Can Win West Texas: “Take a Leap. Choose Something Different”

Democratic congressional candidate Kyle Rable told The806er that he believes Texas Congressional District 19 is ready for political change after nearly 40 years of Republican control.

Rable, a Texas Tech Ph.D. candidate and U.S. Army Reserve captain, is running against Republican Tom Sell for the congressional seat being vacated by Representative Jodey Arrington.

“I think it’s more than likely that I have this chance to flip this seat because I think a lot of people are tired of almost 40 years of one party rule,” Rable said. “They’re looking for something different that will actually help them instead of lining the pockets of people that don’t even stay here in West Texas.”

Rable said his journey into politics began unexpectedly through his involvement with the Lubbock County Democratic Party.

“I kind of found myself accidentally involved in the local party and then accidentally becoming a precinct chair for the local Democratic Party, then accidentally becoming the secretary of the local county party,” Rable said.

After helping during the 2024 election cycle and watching Democrats suffer major losses, Rable said he began considering what more he could do for West Texas. His wife was more than 20 weeks pregnant at the time.

“I kind of woke up a little mad about that the next day,” Rable said. “I started to think, what more could I do for the community? Because I think that what I bring to the table and what my ideas are are better for West Texas.”

The couple prayed and discussed the decision before Rable launched his congressional campaign on Mother’s Day in May 2025, approximately 2 months after the birth of their son. The couple is now expecting a daughter.

Rable said becoming a father strengthened his desire to fight for the future of the region.

“West Texas really needed somebody that cared about the future of West Texas and cared about making sure that West Texans had a real voice instead of more billionaire and millionaire backed people,” Rable said.

When asked whether a Democrat could realistically win in one of the country’s strongest Republican regions, Rable argued that the Democratic Party previously had support across rural West Texas but stopped prioritizing the issues affecting those communities.

“The people in West Texas didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party left rural West Texans,” Rable said. “We stopped talking about farming. We stopped talking about caring about that stuff.”

Rable said agriculture would be one of his major priorities in Congress. His farm policy would focus on reducing operating expenses, challenging corporate monopolies and giving farmers more control over their equipment and finances.

“Right now, it’s a total monopoly on who you buy seeds from, who you buy your tractors from and who can fix the equipment on your farm,” Rable said.

He said cotton was trading at approximately 74 cents per pound while many producers needed a price closer to 86 cents to remain financially secure. He argued that lowering production costs could help farmers survive even when commodity prices remain low.

“You need to smash up these major monopolies that have cornered the market so that there’s a diverse set of companies and real competition in our system,” Rable said. “We need lower debt for farmers. We need to have loans that actually have no interest rates.”

Rable rejected the argument that West Texas should move away from agriculture to focus exclusively on newer industries.

“Farming is essential to the identity of this district and has made this district what it is,” Rable said. “You don’t have to leave a sector behind in order to grow others.”

On border security, Rable said he supported what he described as a “logically strong border,” but argued that border enforcement and immigration policy should be treated as separate issues.

“I believe in a strong border that’s policed correctly,” Rable said. “I don’t believe in hurting and killing families and putting them in big camps, regardless of why they’re here or what actually happened in their case.”

Rable also discussed the growing debate over artificial intelligence and data centers across Lubbock and West Texas. He called for stronger regulation of artificial intelligence and said communities should be allowed to vote before major data center projects are approved.

“We need to stop the sweetheart deals,” Rable said. “We need to ensure that they pay into the communities that they come into. We need to ensure that the communities actually want them.”

Under his proposal, a data center seeking to enter a community would have to receive approval from local voters. Rable said approved projects should also be required to hire and train local workers.

“If the community votes to have a data center within it, the data center would be required to only hire and train local people,” Rable said. “We have to make sure that if we’re going to do this, we use local help to build these things and to manage these things.”

Water use would also be central to his proposed regulations. Rable said data centers should use closed loop cooling systems whenever possible and explore the use of brackish water or produced water from oil operations instead of relying on water needed by residents and farmers.

“We can’t necessarily consume the brackish water, so it should be used for things like that,” Rable said. “These are water usages that I’d rather see instead of the water that we need to use to drink and water our crops.”

If elected, Rable said one of his first priorities would be working to repeal the federal legislation he described as Arrington’s “big beautiful bill.” He said he would also push to fully fund Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security while opposing additional cuts affecting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Rable said his presence in Washington would give West Texas representation from someone who had experienced ordinary financial challenges.

“I’m not a millionaire or a corporate lobbyist,” Rable said. “I actually live here in West Texas. We just bought our first home thanks to the VA loan.”

He said his campaign was centered on what he called “bread and butter issues,” including wages, housing, healthcare, education, retirement and the ability to support a family.

“You can work your job. You can retire. You can raise your family. You can own your own home,” Rable said. “These are all things that regular people want to talk about that are being ignored for sensationalist issues.”

Rable strongly criticized the influence of lobbyists and large political donors, saying money had made it difficult for working class residents to run for office.

“This is a pay to play game,” Rable said. “This is rigged so that regular working class individuals like myself can’t make it.”

Rable said his campaign had no corporate political action committee support and had relied on grassroots volunteers, campaign cards and direct conversations with voters. He said campaign volunteers had knocked on more than 5,000 doors since the campaign launched.

Despite his political disagreements with Arrington and Sell, Rable said he believed both men cared about West Texas.

“I think that my opponent cares just as much about West Texas as I do,” Rable said. “I think that we have different ideas.”

Rable also credited Arrington for his work supporting the bomber program in Abilene and said running for Congress had given him a greater appreciation for the amount of work required to serve in the position.

Rable said his military experience, nonprofit leadership and academic work studying American and military history had prepared him to represent the district.

“I’ve actually been in the Army my entire adult life,” Rable said. “I’ve led nonprofits. I’ve worked in restaurants. I’ve led soldiers. I think that I have a good grounding in what needs to happen and how to be prepared to be the congressman for West Texas.”

His campaign has also embraced short videos and a social media style designed to reach younger voters who may not follow traditional political coverage.

“This is a nontraditional means of getting out and talking, and getting attention is going to be the only way that I can accomplish this because I can’t get into the good old boy rooms,” Rable said.

He said the approach allowed him to discuss housing, healthcare, education and other financial pressures affecting younger generations.

“It’s time that we pass the torch on to the next generation,” Rable said. “It’s time that we have a youthful approach to the situations and the issues facing us today.”

Rable said fatherhood remained one of his strongest motivations. He encouraged new parents to slow down and appreciate the moments they have with their children.

“Try not to rush being a parent,” Rable said. “Step back from work when you can and just stare at your kid for a little bit and enjoy God’s greatest gift to you.”

In his final appeal to undecided voters, Rable asked West Texans to consider changing the political direction of the district.

“Take a leap. Choose something that’s different,” Rable said. “Choose someone that actually understands what the working class does, how it lives and is raising his children here. Choose someone that cares about you.”

“Let’s fight for a better tomorrow, and let’s take West Texas back for the people.”

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