History of West Texas (1983: Doomsday)

The early years
The state of Texas was hit hard during, particularly in its eastern half. All of its major cities - Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso - were hit, along with many smaller, but strategically important, cities and towns: Brownsville, Del Rio, Galveston, Midland, San Angelo, Laredo, Lubbock, Texarkana and Wichita Falls.

The first sign of the impending nuclear strike was found on local television around 7:45-7:50 p.m. Central time, as network programming, including the Emmy Awards, was interrupted by frantic reports from network studios in New York of impending missile strikes. Feeds were then lost from all three major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC), plus the national feed to the local PBS affiliate. The Emergency Broadcast System then activated itself.

In newspaper offices around the area, the Associated Press and United Press International wires moved items from Washington, New York and Dallas referring to impending missile strikes and instructions to seek immediate shelter; the last received wire from AP came at 8:01 p.m., from Dallas, indicating a hit in nearby Fort Worth and probable strikes in Washington and along the East Coast. Flashes in the distance, in the direction of some of west Texas' largest cities, were then seen over the next 10 minutes..

The largest cities in western Texas to not get hit were Midland and Odessa. It was there that relief efforts for western Texas were headquartered. Civic leaders agreed to fully cooperate on all matters for the foreseeable future, with the top priority to provide food, shelter and safety for their residents and as many refugees as possible. A similar agreement was come to among civic leaders in nearby Carlsbad and Hobbs, New Mexico.

Midland/Odessa received refugees flowing northward from south Texas and the border Mexican states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, and eastward from Santa Fe and Roswell, New Mexico, as news of the Midland/Odessa cities' survival spread amongst refugees from the various blast sites. Some of the Texan refugees had initially went into, only to flee back north with Mexican refugees as rumors flew that Mexico would quarantine its border states.

After officials failed to establish contact with Austin and Washington, as well as any state, federal or military agency outside the immediate area, Midland leaders decided to send parties towards El Paso, San Angelo, Amarillo, Abilene, Austin and San Antonio to see if anyone or anything had survived. Parties never made it to the cities, as refugees abandoning them told of the blasts that decimated each area.

In southwestern New Mexico, it was confirmed that blasts had devastated nearby Roswell, as well as Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Clovis and the Las Cruces area. Carlsbad and Hobbs combined efforts for relief, and were able to contact their counterparts in Midland and Odessa to coordinate relief efforts and other actions.

The situation amongst all the refugees in the area was fluid and chaotic. Eventually, a larger group settled in Mexico, a smaller group in and around Midland and Odessa. Estimates are that the area's population had swelled to a million people by December, and despite the best efforts of civic leaders and relief workers, providing food and medical care proved almost impossible. City leaders rationed food and requested help from surrounding surviving towns.

Midland, Odessa, Carlsbad and Hobbs officials then decided to take control of all radio and television stations; 550 AM and 99.1 FM were designated to broadcast official news and information to the area. With the Federal Communications Commission no longer having any authority, Midland and Odessa leaders put a priority on repairing any damage to studios and transmitters as soon as possible. They also authorized the maximum wattage for the 550 AM and 99.1 FM transmitters, with the purpose of allowing their signals to reach as many people in western and central Texas, eastern New Mexico and northern Mexico as possible.

The power grid was an issue for the region from the beginning; it went in and out at an increasing rate through the end of the year. January 1984 brought a lengthy blackout, and leaders ordered utility workers to find a way to restore the power grid; this was done largely by May of 1984, in Midland and Odessa, and throughout the Republic by June 1985. Meanwhile, people looked back towards their ancestors, those who settled the state of Texas in the 18th century, for ways to cope and survive temporarily without electricity and other modern conveniences.

In the next couple of years the area population of residents and refugees declined to 700,000, on account of deaths from radiation, disease and violence.

Confederation
On October 4, 1983, Midland and Odessa formed a joint confederation, and to see if any other cities and towns had survived. Exploratory parties headed in all directions to see what had been hit and what had survived. Scouts returned in November and reported that


 * In the north, Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas and Roswell, New Mexico were destroyed. Survivors from New Mexico had either fled into Mexico or had taken refuge in Carlsbad and Hobbs, N.M. One party came back with nearly 2,000 Lubbock area survivors traveling on foot; they reported mass chaos and violence in the area when the bombs went off.
 * In the east, Abilene and San Angelo had been bombed. Local officials established Sweetwater as relief headquarters, but the city had to be abandoned due to radiation and violence amongst its residents; those who could, fled west to Big Spring.
 * From the south came news that San Antonio was hit and that the Mexican cities of Cuidad Acuna and Piedras Negras were "overwhelmed" with refugees and were being set up as relief centers
 * From the west, El Paso and Juarez had been destroyed, and survivors either fled toward the city of Chihuahua or east towards Van Horn and Pecos.

Midland/Odessa leaders first approached Carlsbad and Hobbs leaders about a confederation, for mutual aid and defense. Carlsbad and Hobbs agreed to the idea. Midland/Odessa then approached leaders of all other surviving towns in the area about joining the confederation, and by January 1984 the confederation had been formalized (the borders which were roughly the same as in the map above). The cities agreed to form a provisional state government, but talk quickly came to form an independent nation, as no contact with Washington or any federal or military agency had been made since Doomsday.

The cities decided to formalize their union into a Provisional Government of the Cities of Western Texas and Southwestern New Mexico in August 1984. A provisional governor, Midland mayor Thane Atkins, was appointed by direct vote of the mayors of the towns that made up the alliance. The confederation's order of business, other than providing necessities for people and defense against rogue parties, was to stem the "tide of death" as nearly 300,000 died due to aftereffects from radiation poisoning; disease; and an increasing wave of violence sparked by incidents between locals, angry over refugees consuming resources, and refugees, who were angry over the perception of extreme favoritism of Anglos in government and in food distribution.

West Texas violence, and reconciliation
Nearly 20,000 more people died in the wake of a 19-month-long series of skirmishes between Mexican refugees and locals, starting with conflicts in Midland and Odessa in November, 1983.

The conflicts unfortunately divided down racial lines - Anglo residents and refugees versus Hispanic refugees, primarily from neighboring Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Despite the efforts of civic and religious leaders to diffuse the situation, violence regularly broke out over across the area, cumulating in April, 1985 riots in Midland, Carlsbad and Fort Stockton that broke out into all-out fighting and an estimated 2,000 deaths.

In the following week leaders representing the native Texans and the Mexican refugees sat down for talks in Andrews, and everyone agreed that both sides needed to live in peace.

"There has been enough killing," said Mexican representative Jaime Morelos on April 29. "We must join together as one, to build life for ourselves and our loved ones the best we can."

The Hispanic leaders also asked that the Anglos consider formalizing the confederation of towns into an independent republic, with equal participation in all political affairs with Anglos by Hispanics, and to help lay down the foundation for equal participation in society by Hispanics. Both sides worked on the social and political issues involved as momentum grew towards creating a Republic.

Declaration of independence and the establishment of the Republic of West Texas
Officials began to draft a provisional constitution for a Republic of West Texas, based upon the United States and Texas state constitutions.

On July 4, 1985, representatives from Seminole, Lamesa, Andrews, Colorado City, Snyder, Big Spring, Midland, Odessa, Kermit, Monahans, Sweetwater, McCarney, Fort Stockton, Fort Davis, Alpine, Marfa, Presidio, Sanderson, Ozona, Pecos, Van Horn, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Lovington, and Artesia gathered at the Midland Community Theater to formally sign the constitution. It included two provisions that allowed for the legislative branch to be filled by the signers until elections could be held that fall, and for the interim legislature to appoint an interim President until the fall elections.

The capitol was established in Midland; the President worked out of the mayor's office, and the Legislature met in Midland at the Midland Community Theatre until the West Texas Capital Building was completed in 1999.

Atkins, the provisional governor of the confederation of cities that preceded the Republic, was chosen by the interim Legislature members to be provisional President of West Texas. Elections to formally elect a president and legislators were held in November. The Legislature was seated on January 20, 1986, the same day Atkins was sworn in as President.

Mexico
One of the first acts of the Republic of West Texas in July 1985 was to send parties into Mexico to see if the country had survived, and request aid if the country was able and willing to give it. The West Texas group moved through Presidio, Texas and approached the Ojinaga-Presidio International Bridge, which was being patrolled by Mexican troops who happened to be the only other people in the abandoned town. Both group were surprised to see each other, and surprised but thrilled over the fate of each others' respective countries.

Arrangements were made to send food and medical supplies from Mexico through Presidio, and a scout team was escorted down to Monterrey to meet with local officials. There, they learned of the Mexican government decision to quarantine the border states, as well as the presence of several million American refugees there. Mexico also learned of its country's citizens who had fled north and decided to settle in West Texas.

Provisional Governor Atkins traveled to Mexico City in August, and met President Miguel de la Madrid; they discussed how their nations were coping with the aftermath of the war, as well as the status of American citizens in Mexico and Mexican citizens who had chosen to stay in West Texas. Atkins also learned that President Reagen and Vice President Bush had survived and had spent some time in Mexico last year before heading for. Relations between the two countries were generally good, although there were isolated incidents of conflict between West Texans and Mexican military. Telephone lines between the two countries were reconnected.

In September 1985 West Texas representatives were turned back at Anahuac, although they were given supplies, and told of the earthquake that had devastated Mexico City. They were "strongly urged" by a Mexican captain on the scene to turn back.

Atkins and other West Texas officials were curious as to why this would be the case. Appeals via radio met with no success, and phone calls into various points in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas went unanswered. The line into Mexico City, obviously, had been cut by the quake. The government therefore had to send emissaries via horseback into Mexico. They did so officially 27 times between October 1 and December 14th, and civilians made dozens of unofficial attempts on their own; the 19th attempt, on November 19, by a party from Fort Stockton is considered to be the last positive contact with any military or humanitarian agency from Mexico.

From that point on, all attempts, government and civilians, to cross over were met with a show of extreme force.

On December 14, West Texas government parties - escorted by three divisions of Texas Rangers on horseback - were stopped at the Ojinaga-Presidio International Bridge by an estimated 1,000 Mexican military personnel. A Mexican Army general on the scene stopped the party at the bridge, and read a statement which said that all border states were being abandoned because of "your war" and that Mexico could no longer render aid to West Texas due to the Mexico City earthquake and the government's responsibility to care for its own citizens. The general then began to make disparaging comments about the West Texans and the United States, telling the representatives they could "go to hell for destroying our land" and that west Texas would "soon die off, like the rest of your country". He disparaged the refugees who fled from Mexico and said "you can keep those traitors", then went on an incoherent rant before yelling at his lieutenants to train their guns on the west Texans and shoot them "if they took another step forward".

West Texas parties on the scene have said they were willing to let the "your war" comment go, but the atmosphere - and their perceptions of the Mexican government - changed when the general read the statement, went on his rant and ordered his men to shoot. The leaders of the West Texas party put up their hands and said they would leave; before they did, the general threw a letter to them said to be from de la Madrid. The West Texans backed off the bridge, Mexican military pointing guns at them until they disappeared in the distance.

After returning to Midland on the 17th, officials read the letter, in which de la Madrid repeated verbatim what the general had said at the bridge. Its legitimacy was hotly debated, but Provisional Governor Atkins, the Provisional Assembly, and top officials in the Army and Texas Rangers determined it to be legitimate. They, and leaders of the Mexican refugee contingent, were outraged by the letter, and by accounts of the incident at the bridge. This is said to have altered not only any views West Texas had of Mexico, but also the government's policy regarding exploration: leaders saw it as a sign that the post Doomsday landscape was "every man fend for himself" - as Mexico was apparently doing - and that West Texas should not only do the same, but stay completely to itself so it never found itself in a situation again like it had with Mexico.

The Rangers sent scouts to observe the Ojinaga-Presidio bridge, and other previous points of entry into Mexico, through February 1986. Each time they reported the presence of armed soldiers, and signs on the Mexican side of the border that read "STAY OUT. ENTRY DENIED. TREPASSORS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT".

No official contact with Mexico has been made since.

Unofficially, individuals snuck down to the Rio Grande on both sides, and contacted each other by boat, always trying to avoid the Mexican military (West Texas military would frown on such contacts, but look the other way).

In 1987, the leaders of the petroleum industry saw a crisis that for whatever reason the government was unwilling to face: there were no automotive manufacturing plants in the area. There were some in now-abandoned Coahuila and Nuevo Leon that had not been stripped down by the Mexican government. It was discovered that Mexican entrepreneurs had taken ownership of these plants, and were looking to do business with West Texas. They hoped that both governments would relent and reestablish relations with one another, but were looking to make a profit. The businessmen were also upset that the Mexican government was unwilling to pay what they perceived as fair market value for the plants, and saw the oil that West Texas' petroleum industry was offering as that fair market value.

That April, over a 10-day period, the businessmen shipped the machines and other equipment by barge over the Rio Grande into Bend National Park. Congressmen were said to be enraged when they discovered the deal with Mexican businessmen, and wanted to order the military to stop the transaction immediately; Atkins advised they wait until the transaction was finished before taking action. Once the last pieces of equipment were safely in West Texas, and the last barrels of oil promised to the businessmen were in Coahuila, Congress took action: it penalized the petroleum industry in a number of ways, primarily by nationalizing the plant until 2008 (thus transferring any profits from it from the industry to the government). But, the industry was "allowed" to set up companies that would buy the vehicles from the government. Congress also enacted policies that required government approval for any trade with Mexico or representatives of Mexican interests.

One important thing did occur as a result of the December 14, 1985 incident, however: relations between Anglos and Mexicans in West Texas greatly improved, as they realized that they were both rejected by Mexico and would need to work together as one people to survive whatever challenges the future offered them.

1986-1991: Oil and isolationism
Over the next couple of decades, the population stabilized and began to grow, as women were encouraged to marry and have as many children as possible, to ensure the continued survival and growth of the Republic.

West Texas also benefitted from the Permian Basin oil fields not having been hit, and the added benefit of being able to conserve oil for only domestic use. Because parts were rare, and the thought that the oil in the Permian Basin wasn't limitless, West Texas made the decision in 1989 to discourage mass consumption of oil and vehicles, and limit them only for public transportation and to farming, government, military and police use.

When the Legislature was seated in January 1986, work quickly moved to formalize a policy of official isolationism, given Mexico's actions and having heard nothing from the rest of the United States; the House and Senate passed the bill, and Atkins signed it into law on January 21.

The Department of the Interior - given temporary authority over broadcasting, until a Texas Communications Commission could be created - mandated that radio and television stations' transmitters reach just past the national borders, as the flow of refugees coming in had ceased, and it was judged that it was not worth transmitting into areas that probably had no one to hear the signals.

The young republic would not remain completely isolated, however. In September of 1989, West Texas scouts outside Carlsbad were surprised to make contact with scouts from Dinetah, a survivor nation established just two months before by Navajo Native Americans that encompassed portions of northwest former New Mexico. News of Dinetah's existence was a very pleasant surprise to West Texans. Dinetah ambassadors visited Midland in October, hoping to set up official relations between the two survivor states.

The representatives, and many West Texans for that matter, were surprised when the conservative-dominated government declined, again citing its experience with Mexico as the primary reason. Popular opinion favored official relations with Dinetah, but President Atkins and the Republican/conservative Democrat-dominated House and Senate held firm.

Nevertheless, West Texas decided it would not object if citizens "happened to run into friendly outsiders" on their own accord. Dinetah scouts were told repeatedly that the policy of the government was not the will of its people in this matter, and on that account Dinetah agreed to continue unofficial relations with West Texas, hoping someday its government would change the policy.

The "friendly outsiders" provision, as it came to be known, was enacted numerous times over the years as West Texas citizens met citizens from Dinetah, Deseret and Colorado. Through these meetings the Republic received updates of happenings in Dinetah and Deseret and the "reformation" of a provisional government of the U.S. by a number of western survivor states. West Texas rejected membership, citing it only wanted to join a "legitimate" government of the U.S., and also rejected unofficial overtures to join the North American Union as a member in its own right.

The 1990s and 2000s
Ham radio operators reported some success in reaching others in former Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Saskatchewan. They also learned through transmissions from Mexico that most of the countries in central America and the Caribbean had also survived; that Mexico had officially abandoned its border states; and some sort of American provisional government had been established in Australia and, years later, dissolved.

Government officials told operators to not contact anyone, again citing its official isolationalism policy, as well as uncertainty regarding the true status of the federal government and not being able to tell for certain if the operators were legitimate or not.

Tom Craddick, a Republican, won the presidential elections in 1993 and 1997, and generally went along with the other conservatives in regards to all policies, including isolationism..

Conservative leaders, fully in control of the executive and legislative branches, as well as the military, were able to long shoot down any momentum towards breaking the policy through the 2000s, even considering the events of 1995.

"The Great Immigration"

On May 24, hundreds of former Americans crossed over the bridge from abandoned Manual Ojinaga into Presidio, greatly surprising the few sentry guards on duty. The West Texans guards were informed that the Mexican border states had officially been abandoned a year and a half before, and that on May 1st the United States of America government in Australia had officially been disbanded, leading thousands of American refugees in Mexico to leave for Australia, Canada...and western Texas.

The ranking officer on the scene made the call to peacefully wave them through, but was warned "there are more of us headed north", and advised refugees would probably pass over the Presidio bridge or through Bend National Park. The sentries asked them to stay until their relief arrived, then accompanied them to Fort Davis. Officials sent troops down to Presidio, and they arrived just in time to see a second wave of refugees cross. President Tom Craddick was informed of the situation that evening, and decided on the spot to allow them into the country and give them shelter. Craddick reopened a refugee shelter outside Odessa still standing from Doomsday; it held 2,000 and Craddick hoped it would be enough.

Thousands more headed over the Rio Grande through Bend National Park, and while troops were able to intercept most of them, some - primarily survivalists - were able to live undetected in the park for a number of months. Military leaders also thought that people might cross over from the abandoned La Linda village in Mexico, due south of Fort Stockton. Thousands were when troops arrived, and were sent to the other still-standing refugee center outside Fort Stockton.

Refugee flow into West Texas ended in the third week of June. 1,876 of the refugees had relatives or friends willing to take them in. 6,194 remained in the Midland and Fort Davidson refugee centers. With government and private-sector help, almost all of the refugees were able to find work and housing, and some were able to make significant contributions in the business, educational and communications sectors.

The minority Democrat Party decided to use this event to advocate the end of isolationism, knowing any real changes would be declined by the majority Republicans but hoping to plant the seeds of a more open policy, especially amongst the younger, more moderate Republican leaders.

DIscussion arose in 1997 of exploring the rest of the state and adjoining states, but the government again affirmed its policy of isolationism. One senator said "we're doing just fine on our own; if anybody wants to find us, they can come find us. We have enough problems here without going out looking for more trouble."

The government's policy of isolationism wouldn't stand forever, though, as sentiment grew among many in their teens and early 20s, and some of their parents (some of whom were legislators and military personnel) to see who had survived and what was out beyond the West Texas borders.

In 2001, George E. "Buddy" West, a Republican representative from Odessa, was elected the Republic's third President, largely on the popularity of the Republican Party and Craddick's administration, as well as his campaign managers successful portrayal of West as a folksy, down-to-earth leader. West was a capable leader, but what is now known as the May 4 Incident not only tested his and the Republicans' popularity, but is considered to be the first sizeable crack in the Republicans' long-held iron-clad policy of isolationism.

"The May incident"

On May 4, 2009, students at Midland High, Midland Lee and Odessa Permian high schools staged an impromptu walkout of classes to protest the government's isolationistic policies. The protests began right before classes were scheduled to start, and the protests initially were peaceful. West was informed and sent emissaries to request the students return to class, then got on the radio twice, the first time to personally request their return to class, the second to order them back to class. During West's second radio speech, after telling students to "go back into the classrooms like good students are supposed to," the mood changed at all three sites and protests began to turn unruly, especially at Permian and Midland High.

A West Texas Radio reporter, covering the Permian High protests, was accidentially knocked down by a couple of football players, both of whom quickly apologized. It sounded worse on the radio than it actually was, but West heard it and called Odessa Police Chief Chris Pipes to break up the protest and arrest the protestors. When Pipes told West that the protest was still peaceful, West hung up the telephone and ordered Texas Rangers to all three sites.

The results were hundreds of students being arrested on the spot by Rangers and Midland police (in Odessa, students were also arrested, but Pipes convinced the students to go peacefully). The situation at Midland High and Lee was more disconcerting, with reports of students being thrown into squad cars and trucks.

Civil rights officials and lawyers immediately moved to get all of the students released. Mike Conaway, a ranking representative, condemned the actions of West, the Rangers and Midland police as "gross overkill." All of the students were released within hours, and no charges were ever filed against them. On May 7, West, along with the Midland Police Chief and the head of the Texas Rangers, publicly apologized for their role in the fracas. West was censured - barely - by the House and Senate for his role, but a move by a few Democrats to impeach West was never seriously considered by the full legislature. Still, West's administration was drastically affected by the incident, and in early 2005 he announced he would not run for a second term.

Conaway was selected as the Republican candidate in 2005 and won the election that November.

Several times since May 2005, officials pledged to revisit the issue of isolationism and break its policy, but little besides talking was done until February 11, 2009.

Feburary 11, 2009: The day West Texas renounced its isolation
That day, mass protests broke out at Permian, Midland High and Midland Lee high schools and at the University of West Texas, and spilled out into Midland and Odessa cities proper. The Midland protests cumulated at the state capitol building.

The House of Representatives was in session at the time, and while Texas Rangers and capitol policemen sealed off the building from protestors, House leaders met with President Mike Conaway to discuss the situation. Senate leaders in the building joined the discussion, which was described by bystanders as becoming "very intense at times." The President decided to ask two junior representatives to resubmit what has become known as the Marshall/Gonzalez Exploration Act: requesting an end to the state's isolation policy and explore the old state of Texas, and adjacent areas in the former U.S. and Mexico. Conaway realized that the full House and Senate would need to vote on the bill, so through an emissary he requested that rioters allow the full Senate to be seated in the Capitol. The protestors did so, the bill was presented, and discussed into the early morning.

A few diehard senators and representatives demanded that the President send in the Army to disperse the protestors, but declined to push the issue after the President made it clear that the protestors were peaceful and had the right to be heard by their government. Perhaps seeing the choice of abandoning a now-archaic policy versus maintaining it by fighting against their own people - and mindful of Morelos' comments back in 1985 - the full Legislature voted. The bill was passed by the House at 3 a.m. and the Senate at 4 a.m. February 12. Conaway signed the act into law at 4:38 a.m. local time, officially opening West Texas to the world.

Present day
In July 2009, the President and Legislature approved formal expeditions to all points north, south, east and west, starting with expeditions into former New Mexico, Coahuila, and eastern Texas. It was also decided to make formal requests for relations with the other known survivor states West Texas representatives could get to the easiest: Dinetah, Deseret and the North American Union.

On August 3, 2009, West Texas formally declared its claim to all of the former state of Texas and its intention to negotiate with Dinetah in regards to the portions of former New Mexico not in the borders of their two nations.

President Conaway also took a historic step when he spoke via ham radio to Superior President Terrance Newman on October 15. The two leaders exchanged greetings, and gave updates on what had happened to their respective nations in the past 26 years, and pledged to build formal relations. Conaway then joined his Secretary of State in exchanging greetings with Vermont President Jim Douglas, and with a representative of the League of Nations visiting the Vermont capital of Burlington.

Conaway told reporters gathered in his office that he looked forward to establishing friendships with other leaders and their nations on behalf of West Texas. When asked if "other nations" included Mexico, Conaway paused, and said simply "there's a time for everything."

Contact with eastern Texas
On October 4, weak AM radio signals coming from eastern Texas were heard in Sweetwater for a brief time before the signal went dark. The morning of October 5, the signal returned, strong enough to be weakly heard in Odessa; an announcer briefly identified the station as "KVRT AM 860, in Nacogdoches, the official voice of the Republic of Texas". The signal went dark again, but has reappeared each day at the frequency at 10 a.m. local time, before going dark at 11:13 a.m.

The evening of October 20, at 9 p.m. Central Time, the signal returned, and this time it was heard loud and clear not only throughout West Texas, but as far north as Superior and as far west as Billings, N.A.U. and Provo, Deseret; a weak signal was also heard in Charleston, Virginia. The morning of October 21, Conaway told his military leaders to pull their expeditions from San Antonio and Austin and prepare for a trip to Nacogdoches.

The expedition left for Nacogdoches that Friday. On November 1, as the expedition was setting up camp outside old Waco, the Nacogdoches signal broke its established format. An announcer acknowledged the Republic as "western Texas" and indicated those in the region had knowledge of West Texas and other survivor states through radio, and was anticipating the Army expedition's soon-arrival in the region. The afternoon of November 1, the Army affirmed to West Texas Radio that it would seek to control news about the expedition for "security reasons and the safety of the expedition, but it would not hamper the feeding of information to the public regarding discoveries in and enroute to the region."

On November 6, 860 AM out of Nacogdoches began broadcasting three times a day, at 10 am, 3pm and 9 pm, carrying a question and answer format with local leaders regarding the history of the region and its society, as well as stating that a welcoming party made up of local law enforcement and the Republic's Secretary of State would meet the West Texas Army in Palestine, for an escort into Nacogdoches.

That meeting indeed occurred at 11:17 a.m. local time on November 9 just west of Palestine, between the West Texas expedition and members of a similar expedition from eastern Texas. A radio report described the meeting as "20th-century Army meets sheriffs from the old West".

Waco
On November 5, Army spokesman Lt. Kenneth Douglas made the following comments to news media:

''Good morning. As you know, two days ago the expedition heading into eastern Texas made their way to the old city of Waco. I will take the next few minutes to update you on the expedition's findings. On Tuesday (November 3), members of the expedition found no signs of radiation in the vicinity. The expedition then approached the outskirts of the city and began a predetermined pattern of exploration, based on the most recent available maps of the area from 1983. What they have found is a city that was not, and I repeat not, destroyed by any type of nuclear weapon. It, however, seemed to have been hit at its airport, and the airfield belonging to the former Connally Air Force Base, by conventional weapons. We also want to stress that the city showed no signs of human life, I repeat no signs of human life, although members of the expedition did encounter some animal and avian life in the area. Waco looks to be a city which has long been abandoned, and based only on 24 hours of exploring the city and its immediate surroundings, it seems as if there may have been some type of major conflict in the area. We base this on the numerous human remains, albeit skeletal, found throughout the area, as well as signs indicating that various buildings in the area may not have been destroyed through years of neglect but by some type of violence. Let me stress that this is conjecture on our part and that further work needs to be done to establish precisely what happened in Waco. I also want to announce that, under House Bill 1447 signed into law by President Conaway in April, the area has been designated as the Provisional Territory of Waco, under the governance of Colonel Jacob Morales. We will update you on that on Friday. I will now take a few questions from you. Sir:''

'''Q: What is the state of the city? Is it livable?'''

Douglas: ''The city looks as if it has been abandoned for a number of years. We can set up a base inside it but it definitely is not considered fit for human habitation. Next question.''

Q: How is the Army feeding supplies and other necessary equipment to the expedition?

Douglas: ''We've said recently that we are establishing outposts from the Republic's eastern borders trailing the expedition. We do have a presence in old San Angelo, and now we have one in Waco. We feel confident we can get manpower and supplies to our people, and needy people in the east, when necessary. Yes, ma'am.''

'''Q: A caller into West Texas Radio last night said that the Army has been in contact with persons from eastern Texas, specifically from Nacogdoches, in recent days. He said they're negotiating their initial meeting place and passing along requests of the Conaway administration. Can you--'''

Douglas: ''We won't comment on those rumors today. We will inform you of the latest information as we get it, while keeping in mind the security of our nation and of our people, wherever they are. Thank you for coming, and we will see you tomorrow morning. ''

2009 Presidential campaign
Conaway was the Republican Party's only candidate for President and selected by a near-unanimous vote during the Republican convention in Midland on August 4. One week later, during the Democratic Party's convention in Midland, Harry Reeder, a Senator from Hobbs, was selected as its candidate.

Conaway, despite having an 82 percent approval rating and polls showing that as many as 70 percent of voters planned to vote for him in the November Presidential election, had still been campaigning for a second term. He did so even while working on establishing diplomatic relations with other North American survivor states and dealing with what has become known as the "eastern Texas situation".

Harry Reeder, Conaway's Democratic opponent in the presidential campaign, criticized Conaway and the Republican Party at a campaign stop in Fort Stockton on October 21. "It's good he's sending somebody over there, but he should have done so sooner," Reeder told supporters. "In fact, if the Republicans had stopped keeping to themselves a lot sooner, we'd know who those people are by now and, perhaps, our Republic would be sooner on its way to greater things."

The issue was at the forefront of Conaway and Reeder's debate in Odessa October 24. A West Texas Radio News/Odessa American poll showed that Reeder's recent aggressiveness on the topic did little to move poll numbers in his favor; 67 percent of voters told pollsters they still intend to vote for Conaway.

The 2-to-1 margin in favor of Conaway remained in place as of a poll taken the weekend before Election Day and released on Election Eve, November 1.

The elections were held on November 3. With 100% of the votes counted, as of 7 a.m. Central time on November 5, the official results were:
 * Mike Conaway (Republican) 290,172
 * Harry Teague (Democratic) 131,595
 * Federico Aguayo (New Texas Party) 1,967
 * Jeffery McLellan (American Party) 560

Exploration
Pans to scout cities in western and central Texas are very much alive. Conaway confirmed in October that the first expeditions, redirected to eastern Texas through San Angelo and Waco, were going to old San Antonio and Austin. It is now believed that Amarillo, Lubbock and El Paso will be the first nearby areas scouted, along with the following areas:

There are also long-term plans to scout other areas in eastern Texas (including Dallas, Houston, Galveston and Texarkana), the Oklahoma panhandle and the ruins of Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
 * the Texas Panhandle, including, Amarillo, Lubbock and Abilene
 * far western Texas, specifically El Paso, as well as nearby Juarez, Chihuahua
 * Del Rio
 * central Texas, specifically Austin and San Antonio
 * south Texas, including Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville

Scouts will be instructed to examine the ruined cities for salvageable material as well as their potential for future resettlement. Parties will also be instructed to look for other survivor communities in the area, and offer on behalf of West Texas whatever aid they may need. Not knowing for sure what's out there (partly because of the government's long-time policy of isolationism), armed Texas Rangers and Army personnel will accompany scouting parties for defensive purposes only.