A Candid Conversation About Democratic Politics In Texas

Reckoning with the reality.

The SDEC (State Democratic Executive Committee) will vote on the next Chair of the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) on Saturday (3/29). Based on everything I’ve heard, I believe the SDEC intends to elect Kendall Scudder. If Scudder can do the job and whip the party into shape, great. We’re all sick of Texas Democrats failing in this state, and our expectations need to be high.

I’ve had reservations about Scudder due to his involvement with the TDP during a time when it was struggling, and because many on the SDEC seemed more loyal to him out of personal friendships rather than seriously considering other candidates. But because I have reservations, that doesn’t mean that Scudder would do a lousy job. I only want Democrats to stop losing.

In recent weeks, there has been much concern about whether Scudder was even eligible to be Chair based on his position with the Dallas Central Appraisal. Earlier this week, he resigned from that position. Now, there is no question about whether he is eligible. His resignation also indicates that the SDEC is likely to pick him.

For the record, I think several of the Chair candidates are perfectly capable and would do a good job in the position, but it’s hard to beat out personal loyalty.

At the end of the day, a lot has to change within the Texas Democratic Party for us to flip seats and win statewide elections. Everyone agrees with that.

Is it time to step away from the decentralized party structure?

The TDP’s party structure is decentralized, which I had never considered until recently. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if that structure is right for Texas Democrats.

What’s the difference between centralized and decentralized?

• Centralized: A centralized state party operates with strong, top-down leadership. Most major decisions, like candidate endorsements, messaging, resource allocation, and campaign strategies, are controlled by a central authority, usually the state party chair and executive leadership.

• Decentralized: A decentralized state party, like the TDP, operates with more autonomy at the local and regional levels. Power is spread across various county parties, grassroots organizations, and elected members of bodies like the SDEC. While the state party provides some guidance, local groups and individual candidates often shape their own strategies, fundraising, and campaign operations.

Texas’ Democratic Party is one of the most decentralized in the country, with power spread across the SDEC, county parties, and various grassroots groups. This structure has contributed to organizational challenges, inconsistent messaging, and difficulties in fundraising. These are issues that centralized parties (like Texas Republicans) don’t face to the same extent.

The Texas GOP is significantly more centralized than the TDP. Here’s how the Texas GOP operates differently from the TDP:

• The Texas GOP Chair sets the party’s agenda, guides campaign strategies, and enforces discipline within the party.

• Texas GOP maintains a highly disciplined and consistent message across its candidates and party officials.

• The Texas GOP actively recruits and grooms candidates for key races.

• Local GOP organizations align closely with the state party’s leadership and platform. Local Democratic organizations in Texas often operate independently, sometimes even in conflict with state party priorities.

Moving from one of the most decentralized parties in the nation to a centralized model would be a significant change for organizations across the state, and some may be unwilling to make that shift. It would involve a culture change for many. What do you think?

Why I believe the decentralized model is failing.

When I got involved with the Texas Reconstruction Project (which is mostly inactive now) in 2020, I learned much about how many county parties interact with local activist groups. They don’t.

The Texas Reconstruction Project was trying to connect all of the various groups around the state working to remove the Confederate statues that still stand all over Texas. While the Black Lives Matter movement was at its peak, multiple groups in counties like Parker, Kaufman, and Cooke focused on activism against these racist rocks. And in nearly every case, the local party wanted nothing to do with it.

Removing racist symbology on public property, you would think, would be a core focus of the county party. However, in most cases, the county party was not involved, and the common thing I heard from these activist groups was how their local party was basically a social club for old people (no offense to the old people).

Then, there’s the Texas Grassroots Alliance. I love these guys and have several friends in this movement, but they aren’t really making a dent. The idea behind the Texas Grassroots Alliance was to connect all of the various grassroots organizations around the state, so that they can do the work more effectively and with greater coordination.

Without a strong, unified strategy from the top, grassroots groups end up working in silos, often duplicating efforts, competing for the same limited resources, or struggling to gain traction beyond their immediate communities.

With county parties disconnected from activist groups, grassroots organizers cannot leverage institutional support, and the state party is failing to unify these efforts into a winning strategy.

While there are other examples I can point to, I believe that if the Texas Democratic Party wants to break its losing streak, it has to stop acting like a collection of loosely affiliated social clubs and start acting like a real political machine.

Too many county parties are struggling.

There are some county parties I’ve heard about for years, who can’t seem to get their shit together: constant leadership turnover, internal fighting, poor management, and a lack of clear direction.

Smith County Democratic Party is one of them, and it even made the local paper after changing the locks on the Chair (a few years back). And then there’s the county where I live.

I debated on whether to tell you this, or how much I would say to you, and I’ve decided that if I’m not being open and honest with Lone Star Left readers about Democratic politics in Texas, then there’s no point in writing this at all. The county where I live is a perfect example of why the Texas Democratic Party is in such bad shape.

Last week, the Tarrant County Democratic Party laid off all its staff. They’ve run out of money and made some bad financial decisions. They held an emergency meeting last Friday and passed a resolution to keep the lights on until their next meeting in June.

If you’re like me and thinking, “But don’t we have elections in May?” You’d be correct.

The largest red county in America doesn’t have a functioning Democratic Party for the next elections. Tarrant County isn’t red because there are a lot of Republicans here; they’re red because no one votes.

We went from Deborah Peoples, who wasn’t a good chair, and apologized to Southlake racists when someone called them racist on the official social media account, to Alison Campollo, who was a good chair. Under Campollo’s leadership, Tarrant went blue for both Biden and Beto. Then, Campollo abruptly resigned after the 2022 election.

I do not know the reason why Campollo resigned. However, I will tell you that I received several phone calls from people who told me she was pushed out. And here we are, without a functioning party two months before an election.

Issues like this are not exclusive to Tarrant County, Collin, or Smith. They happen all around the state.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Colin Allred is mulling over running against John Cornyn in 2026.

Like, what are we doing? Colin Allred was a terrible candidate for Texas Democrats in 2024, and now he’s reportedly mulling a run against John Cornyn in 2026. Are we really going to do this again?

Allred ran as a centrist, corporate-friendly Democrat in a state that desperately needed a bold, progressive fighter. Instead of energizing the Democratic base, he played it safe, took AIPAC money, and refused to campaign in key areas where Democrats live. He ran a campaign designed to win over white suburban moderates in North Texas while ignoring the Black and Latino voters who form the backbone of the Democratic coalition in Texas.

That might have worked in his congressional district, TX-32, which covers the Dallas suburbs, but a statewide race is an entirely different game. The vast majority of Texas Democrats find him out of touch, uninspiring, and unwilling to fight for the progressive policies that could excite voters.

Allred is no Beto.

The DNC’s obsession with centrist, corporate-backed candidates keeps leading us down the same path, one we keep losing. If we want to compete in Texas, we need someone who actually understands Texas Democrats, not another milquetoast, poll-tested politician who thinks he can win by “not being too scary” for Republicans.

We need an AOC.

We need a Jasmine Crockett.

We need someone like Kat Abughazaleh… who is that, you ask? Check her out, she’s running for Congress in Illinois:

It’s time for Texas Democrats to enter their Era of Activists!

Barack Obama once said that activists don’t always make the best lawmakers. I strongly disagree.

After watching Texas superstars like Jasmine Crockett and Greg Casar (and on the national level, AOC, Summer Lee, and Cori Bush), I’m more convinced than ever that we need activists in our halls of government (in Texas and Washington, DC) to fight back against the fascist movement that has taken over the Republican Party.

For too long, Texas Democrats have been sold the lie that playing it safe, running moderate, corporate-backed candidates, and staying “above the fray” is the way to win. Meanwhile, Republicans are running extremists who spew conspiracy theories, strip away fundamental rights, and openly talk about dismantling democracy. What good is a “moderate” Democrat when the opposition is actively working to criminalize abortion, gut voting rights, and erase LGBTQ+ people from public life?

That’s why we need fighters. Candidates who don’t apologize for being progressive. Candidates who know what it’s like to be in the streets, standing alongside the people they represent. The ones who aren’t afraid to call out corruption, push bold policies, and challenge power head-on.

Jasmine Crockett has shown exactly why activists make the best lawmakers. She didn’t just step into Congress to blend in. She calls out Republican hypocrisy to their faces, breaks through the noise, and doesn’t let the media dictate her narrative.

Greg Casar went from organizing with the Workers Defense Project to standing in the halls of Congress, fighting for labor rights, immigrant rights, and against the Republican war on working-class Texans.

AOC went from working in a bar to becoming one of the most influential Democrats in America, not because she watered down her message, but because she stood firmly by her progressive values and built a movement around them.

We need more of that.

We need candidates who don’t just want to hold office but want to use that office to fight.

This is where the Texas Democratic Party has to change. The old way of doing things, backing moderate, corporate-friendly candidates who are afraid of their own shadow, afraid to say “Medicare for All” or “tax the rich,” is a guaranteed losing strategy.

It’s time for Texas Democrats to embrace the era of activists. Because the truth is, Republicans aren’t afraid of moderates. They’re afraid of movement-builders.

I didn’t skip watching the lege yesterday.

Don’t worry, we’ll talk about everything that went down tomorrow because there’s much to cover. But I’ve had all of this on my mind and needed to get it out.

Since the Texas Legislature is still in session, we know the Republican majority isn’t slowing down their attacks on Texans anytime soon. But we also have to think ahead. Whether we like it or not, election season is right around the corner.

For Democrats who plan on being on the ballot next year, the clock is ticking. The filing deadline for the 2026 election is just nine months away. That means we don’t have time for the same mistakes, the same weak candidates, and the same losing strategy.

I want to hear from you. What do you think? Is it time for Texas Democrats to shift away from this decentralized model? Do we need more activists running for office? And most importantly, who do you want to see on the ballot in 2026?

Let’s talk about it. See you tomorrow.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

• June 3: The beginning of the 2026 election season.

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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