Will barbecue be a factor in the 2026 Midterm Elections?

Okay, so we are now just five days out from Election Day, so the cost of living is a key issue for folks all across the country. And over in Texas, beef prices are affecting one of the state's most iconic industries. We're talking about barbecue, of course. So Fox's Abigail is joining us now from Houston. Abby, good morning to you. Let's start with this. How are restaurants trying to keep prices down right now? Good morning, Elise. Barbecue joints across the state and the country really have had to raise their prices, but you can only do that so much. So restaurants like this one are getting creative with their menus. Texas is serious about its barbecue. We go through, you know, anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds a week, yeah, between our three locations. And it doesn't come cheap. Beef prices are up over 60% from 2020 and around 20% in the last year. Coming out of COVID, when everything really changed, the way you operated changed, We were sort of burdened by the fact that herds of cattle had reduced and there's been several diseases within the cow herds and droughts. America's beef cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level since the 1970s, leaving fewer cattle to meet demand. We have tried as operators to absorb as much of that increase in cost as humanly possible, but we have had to raise our prices twice over the last 12 months. We can only raise our prices so much because inflation doesn't just affect us, it affects our customers. Leading barbecue joints to get creative. We've introduced more pork items, more chicken items. We've found creative ways to take trimming of our raw products and turn that into smoked brisket burgers, smoked brisket meatballs. Anything that we can do to squeeze every penny out of our raw product. And as Texans head to the polls, you can bet brisket is top of mind. We all want farmers to succeed because as long as farmers succeed, that means they could have bigger herds. Where are we going to see this beef market next year? What policies are in place now or who's offering policies that are going to stabilize the markets for years to come? So far in Texas, more than 5.6 million people have voted early. Elise? Certainly a big issue we're seeing everywhere, but interesting to see, you know, which specific areas of concern for folks in certain parts of the country, certainly where you are there in Houston. Amy Gallo live for us. Amy, thank you so much.