Red, White And Royal Blue author Casey McQuiston pokes fun at doubters as Texas turns blue
Casey McQuiston wrote Red, White and Royal Blue (Getty Images | Rob Youngson/Prime)
Author Casey McQuiston has celebrated Texas turning blue, after many said it was the most unrealistic part of their novel Red, White and Royal Blue.
In the book (2019) and movie (2023), main character Alex Claremont-Diaz (played by Taylor Zakhar Perez) is the son of the President of the United States, who manages to flip Texas blue. It’s a plot point that has been slammed as being unrealistic, with the red Republican Party controlling Texas since 1988.
But with James Talarico’s defeat of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race on 3 November, the Democrats have won control of the state, and flipped it blue.
Following the results, McQuiston shared a number of posts on their Instagram story showing the state turning blue.
One featured an image of Zendaya wearing a T-shirt which read “I TOLD YA”. In another, McQuiston wrote: “Blexas not so silly now is it.” Over the top of a still from Red, White and Royal Blue, they added: “It was all in the binder.”
How did Texas turn blue?
As Tuesday’s Election Day approached, polls suggested Democrat Talarico was leading Republican Paxton by a small margin. However, Talarico ended up winning comfortable with 55 per cent of the vote.
In a video he posted on X afterwards, he said: “We just took back Texas. We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas. We just showed that a politics of division, is no match for a politics of love.”
It’s estimated that the Texas Senate race was the most expensive ever, with more than half a billion dollars spent.
Elon Musk reportedly poured millions into a political action committee, which contributed $47million (£35m) to Paxton’s campaign.
Musk wrote on X after: “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time.”
Red, White and Royal Wedding
Casey McQuiston’s story is set to be continued in an upcoming movie sequel, titled Red, White and Royal Wedding.
Zakhar Perez will return as Alex, as will Nicholas Galitzine as his co-lead and love interest Prince Henry.
The film recently got an R-rating for “sexual content and nudity”, however exact details of the plot have not yet been released.
Filming started in January 2026, and was finished by March. A release date has not yet been announced.
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