Since Texas became a de facto uniparty state in 1994, when Republicans took the state’s House, Senate, and executive branch, mainstream news has peddled two false narratives: Either Texas always was—and always will be—a fortress for the Right, or the demographic shift from Anglo to non-white would inevitably pull it into the liberal fold. David Griscom’s debut book reassesses both of these misconceptions and finds that Texas as it is today is a result of class struggle; to win a better future in the Lone Star state, he writes, the Left must embrace its hidden past.

Since Texas became a de facto uniparty state in 1994, when Republicans took the state’s House, Senate, and executive branch, mainstream news has peddled two false narratives: Either Texas always was—and always will be—a fortress for the Right, or the demographic shift from Anglo to non-white would inevitably pull it into the liberal fold. David Griscom’s debut book reassesses both of these misconceptions and finds that Texas as it is today is a result of class struggle; to win a better future in the Lone Star state, he writes, the Left must embrace its hidden past.