Former Texas State Rep. Glenn Rogers is now calling for the Republican Party to move away from President Donald Trump.
In a new opinion column written by Rogers in The Dallas Morning News, he related to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s situation—where the U.S. Rep. resigned from her seat after disagreeing with Trump and being called a traitor—saying he didn’t receive support from the president when he was running against Rep. Mike Olcott for Texas House District 60 in 2024.
Rogers did not receive President Trump’s endorsement due to his opposition to school choice, which was supported by the majority of conservatives and included in the Texas GOP’s legislative priorities. As a result of Rogers and other Republicans refusing to support conservative priorities, they were labeled “RINOs” by Trump, and their opponents received his endorsement.
Rogers claims that because he and others rejected school choice, millions of “out-of-state dollars were used to campaign against us in 2024, spreading lies and false information about us throughout our respective districts.”
Additionally, Rogers suggests that Republicans are “publicly as loyal to Trump and party leadership as possible, but privately many are in disagreement.” Adding that he was given advice from an unnamed veteran politician who told him to “Vote as far right as you can stand, while holding your nose.”
Later in his column, Rogers criticized Trump, saying that he “clearly believes uncompromising loyalty is supreme, and he has in mind loyalty to a person, not to principles.”
Rogers is ultimately calling for more “independent conservatives,” stating that Republicans need to rise up, speak out, and reject the purity tests that control politicians.
Notably, he writes that “loyalty is an honorable trait,” but that when an oath is taken, it’s to defend the Constitution, not to obey the president, governor, or political donor.
Rogers and Greene weren’t the only ones who received backlash for being against Trump, former Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan also received backlash for his RINO tendencies.
Phelan allowed constitutional carry and the heartbeat bill to pass, but he also allowed the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to proceed and let school choice legislation die in the House. Phelan also admitted to a crowd that he is “not a MAGA Republican.”
As the 2026 election cycle gets underway, there have been multiple text-message campaigns against opposing candidates. Rogers now says that many campaign attacks have focused on candidates who do not support Trump, but he has not received any literature explaining what those candidates actually believe, despite there being many resources available to review candidates’ positions. He also suggests that the messaging consists only of “attacks on the private citizen who was courageous enough to go up against the well-funded establishment.”
Rogers also wrote that voters should not reward these “vicious and negative campaign tactics.” He also questioned why legislative candidates should be judged on their opinions of Trump, despite the fact that the majority of conservatives support a lot of what Trump does and stands for.
“What do Texas legislative candidates’ opinions on Trump have to do with local issues like water, schools, the rural health care crisis or property taxes? Nothing, of course,” Rogers wrote.
The column concluded with Rogers saying, “We should be voting based on the candidate’s ideas, policy goals, voting record and dedication to serving us, the constituents, not anyone else.”
In addition to the column, Rogers also posted on X emphasizing his position to “VOTE OUT ALL MAGA REPUBLICANS!” showing his complete disdain for Trump-aligned Republicans.
However, what Rogers fails to understand is that voters are doing just that. Conservatives want a legislator who is aligned with their president, especially one they elected. If a legislator disagrees with the president, voters will often choose not to support that candidate.