Texas Lawmakers, After a Rightward Shift, Plan for More of the Same

The state recently completed one of its most conservative legislative sessions, widening a divide among many residents.

WALLER COUNTY, Texas — At a roadside bar on farm road 359, where the sprawl of Houston gives way to horse stables and hay rolls, Cindy Schmid and her friend Gail Mikeska gather every Thursday to eat, drink and talk about everything: family, country music, the hard right turn of Texas politics.

“We think very differently politically,” said Ms. Mikeska, a conservative who owns more than one gun and is generally happy with the trajectory of the state.

“I’m a Democrat,” said Ms. Schmid, whose only gun is an inoperable Civil War antique. “I think Texas is losing its freaking mind.”