Texas blue wave leaves California transplants in search of new home

They cannot escape the liberal life.

Californians who fled to Texas due to the cost-of-living crisis and Democratic policies are looking to move again after the blue tsunami hit the Lone Star State.

Families are now looking to move to nearby Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee or the Carolinas to find safer Republican sanctuaries after the state’s explosive midterm results.

Some are even considering a return to the Golden State because of the good weather, after giving up on escaping liberal leaders.

This comes after a blue wave shocked the nation by sweeping across Texas, with Democrats James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa winning Senate and gubernatorial elections.

Marie Bailey, a 44-year-old from El Segundo, California, runs a large Facebook group filled with Californians looking to move to Texas.

The real estate agent told the California Post she was “shocked” by the election results, particularly Gov. Greg Abbott’s loss.

Bailey said she was moving to Florida after Democrats captured Texas, citing the state’s low costs.

“I think a lot of people are going to change course to go to Florida,” she said. “Actually, I’m going to Florida.”

She said she doesn’t trust Democrats as a former California native, having experienced what she perceives as liberal mismanagement in California.

“I just don’t trust motives, and I understand that all politicians have some corruption in them, but when I pay for it — like this high-speed train and high gas prices and all that in California — it hits right in my wallet,” she said.

“So that’s a big deal for me.”

Bailey moves despite having managed the big California-Texas group for years. She said most people she spoke to were also considering Florida after interest in Texas waned “a little bit” following the blue wave.

Members of Bailey’s group also showed their displeasure with the Blues’ recent victories. “If I’m going to tolerate the blue, I might as well have good weather, so maybe go back to CA? Or try FL?” they say.

“I’m literally closing on a house in Texas next week! I’m so pissed,” another added of the election.

Another California native, baseball mom Breana Janel, suggested she was heartbroken at the thought of Democrats taking over Texas.

Janel, who once supported Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in California’s gubernatorial race, said she “knew” Democrats were “coming for Texas” but thought she had more time.

“I don’t know if I can justify moving from one blue state to another…And I fear Texas will never go back,” she wrote. “Now that they have control, I don’t think they’ll let go.”

“It’s a lateral move. And for what? To make it look even more like California in four years?”

Janel is considering moving to Tennessee, the Carolinas or Georgia, she said. Even these states would not be completely absent from the Democratic field.

Democrats scored several key victories in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The victories came as Democrats flipped both the Senate and the House of Representatives in Washington.

The blue wave is unlikely to result from new transplants from California to Texas — there is evidence that people who move from California to Texas are more conservative, one researcher said.

Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, told the LA Times that most people who move to Texas from California “tend to be moderate or conservative in their views.”

Outside of politics, although the issue remains closely related, Californians who are considering or choosing to leave the state cite affordability as a primary reason.

Texas is considered less expensive when it comes to housing, one of the most expensive commodities in the Golden State.

“Ninety-nine percent of our customer base are people who come from California,” Bailey said. “The No. 1 reason is cost of living and the No. 2 reason is politics.”

A 2025 analysis by California-based policy research institute RAND found that building multifamily housing in the Golden State costs more than 2.3 times as much as in Texas.

One couple shared their story on Bailey’s website, saying they sold their two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Orange County and moved to a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Texas.

“Our enthusiasm for Texas is real, our abundance overflows, and we are grateful,” the couple said.

The Gomez family, also cited by Bailey as a success story, said they ultimately chose to leave California after the pandemic crippled their business and put them “an inch away from total financial ruin.”

One visit to the Lone Star State was enough for them to pack their bags and leave. “If you’re hesitant, this is your sign. Take the plunge. The weight has lifted and we are beyond lucky to be in Texas,” they wrote at the time.

Blank thinks any Californian with buyer’s remorse about their Texas home is “idiot.”

“They don’t have to back down,” he said. “And if they do, I’ll tell them they’re stupid. That’s not a good way to make decisions.”

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