Afternoon all,
Texas Dems have given the entire national Democratic Party a lift in recent weeks, helping us as we say here find a “higher gear.”
Earlier today the new Democratic Party Chair of Texas, Kendall Scudder, sat down with us to talk about these extraordinary last few weeks and what comes next for Democrats in Texas. A transcript and recording can be found above. Get to it when you can. It’s a lively and informative conversation from the front lines in this critical battle for our democracy.
Chair Scudder reviews the various scenarios for what comes next - continued breaking of future quorums; passage and immediate litigation; and the adoption of Congressional maps that could end being far more competitive in 2026 than Republicans would want. The bottom line? The battle continues and Texas Dems have only begun to fight!
We also do a deep dive into the election landscape in 2026 and what it will take in the coming years to turn Texas into a true battleground state. As we’ve discussed here given the migration of Americans from blue to red states this decade we are going to lose Electoral College votes to Republicans after the next census and reapportionment in 2032. What this means in practical terms is that we will need to expand our current 7 battleground state Presidential map by putting either Florida and/or Texas into play. We discuss how this battle over Trump’s attempt to steal these 5 seats may end up being a vital first step in reviving the Texas Democratic Party as a viable statewide force, and help bring in the kind of sustained multi-year investment needed to make Texas competitive over the next several cycles.
We also spend some talking about the opportunity Trump’s declining standing with young people and Hispanic voters means for a state with loads of both this cycle, and the need for the national party and Texas Dems to do more to reach Spanish-dominant voters in this new era of mass deportations.
And finally, I once again came away from our conversation a bit overwhelmed by how under-resourced our state Democratic parties are, particularly in a time when we are now raising many, many billions each election cycle. While our Chair Ken Martin and ASDC President Jane Kleeb are working hard to address this significant challenge, leaving our parties with so little capacity over such a long period of time has been an enormously costly mistake by the donors and leaders of our party.
I am proud of the very significant investments we made in three state parties in recent years - NE, NC, WI - and to the DNC itself. I plan on keeping our focus on investing and capacity-building in state parties in our work together in the coming months. It is money well spent.
Enjoy this interview, join me in thanking the our intrepid Democrats in Texas and keep working hard everyone - Simon
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