The final weeks of the midterm elections in Texas have been roiled by a coordinated misinformation campaign involving unsolicited text messages and physical mailers that directed recipients to the website of the Transgender Education Network of Texas. The pamphlets included provocative advice on child emancipation that the real advocacy group states it never authored or authorized, creating a fabricated controversy designed to trigger visceral outrage and fuel political attack ads.
Paper trails uncovered by investigative reporting indicate the operation utilized classic dark-money tactics. Public records show the Texas Transgender Student Union LLC was formed in Wyoming on September 2 through a commercial registered agent that helps owners maintain anonymity. After journalists visited the Sheridan, Wyoming address, the agent announced its resignation. The physical mailers listed a Houston-area post office box, while barcodes on the envelopes traced back to a mail-tracking company that has received federal campaign funds exclusively from the National Republican Congressional Committee this year. The committee denied involvement, and the tracking firm declined to identify its client.
Further investigation by local outlets revealed that the bulk-mail permit belongs to an Illinois printing business owned by the Zerrusen family, who have contributed heavily to Republican political action committees and been photographed with Donald Trump. As the real Transgender Education Network of Texas petitioned in Travis County court to unmask the perpetrators of the impersonation scheme, a Travis County judge ordered the public release of a deposition from Infobip, the messaging company that delivered the accompanying texts. That deposition indicated the texts were sent on behalf of the Republican Women’s Caucus Fund and a man named John Braun. However, the Texas Supreme Court—composed entirely of judges appointed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott—issued an administrative stay blocking the release.
Chris Hilton, an attorney who previously served under Attorney General Ken Paxton, defended him during his impeachment trial, and was later pushed out of office amid sexual harassment allegations, argued on behalf of the messaging company that the mailers did not qualify as political speech because they named no specific candidate or party. The controversy surrounding the mailers has unfolded against a tight statewide race between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic challenger James Talarico, as polls indicate slipping conservative support in Texas.
The trajectory of the fake mailer completed its ascent during a town hall in Fort Worth. A Texas mother of six named Rebekah Smith told Vice President JD Vance that her 11-year-old daughter had received a letter explaining how to transition without parental knowledge, asking how Republicans planned to keep the government out of her family. “I don’t know who sent that letter to your child,” the vice president responded, adding that anyone who sends such a letter to a child is a “pervert” and ought to go to prison. Vance asked Smith to speak with his staff so he could request a Department of Justice investigation.
host Jesse Watters immediately promoted the exchange on social media and promised a network investigation into what he termed a perverted letter. Neither the vice president nor the network hosts mentioned that the pamphlet was a forgery disavowed by the advocacy group named inside it, nor did they note sworn testimony tying the text messages to a Republican-linked organization. Instead, the narrative was absorbed into the conservative media ecosystem, illustrating how unverified claims circulate upward from anonymous accounts to influencers, donor-funded outlets, cable news, and federal officials demanding investigations.
