Rural This, Rural That: The Texas Democratic Party’s Broken Record

If we keep ignoring urban areas, we’ll keep losing.

I’m about to say the quiet part out loud.

Rural Democrats are overrepresented in the Texas Democratic Party, and it’s a big part of the reason why we keep losing.

Thanks to Republicans’ racist gerrymandering and a Texas Democratic Party that built its State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) on those same gerrymandered maps, rural voices have an outsized influence. They’re constantly asking for more resources and attention despite representing a fraction of our potential voter base. Meanwhile, urban areas, where voter turnout has plummeted over the last several years, are left to scrape by with dwindling support. And if we don’t start prioritizing where the voters are, we’re setting ourselves up for more of the same. Loss after loss after loss.

The latest Texas Democratic Party (TDP) Chair forum took place yesterday in Lubbock. Like several previous forums, much of the discussion focused on what the candidate would do for rural Texas.

The sound quality isn’t fantastic, so you may have to turn it up and down in some parts, but let’s talk about it.

In one of his answers, Kendall Scudder mentioned that Lubbock fancies itself a rural town. Is that true? Or was he being sarcastic? I don’t know. Lubbock is the 10th most populous city in Texas, with a population of 266,000. Maybe they feel like because they’re way out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cows, that makes them rural. However, with 266K people, they must have at least ten Starbucks. Rural Texans don’t have Starbucks.

If people think Lubbock is rural Texas, the TDP needs to spend more time focusing on places the size of Lubbock. Okay, fine.

But if we’re talking about focusing on the bottom 200 most populated counties, where 878,917 registered voters stayed home, while ignoring Harris County, where 1,135,571 registered voters stayed home—just know that’s nonsense.

Another reason why rural could have been a big focus in this forum is that the Non-Urban Caucus was sponsoring it.

Not to be confused with the Rural Caucus, the Small-Town Caucus, or the Wide-Open-Spaces Caucus.

Aside from several candidates bringing up rural constantly, here were the questions just about rural:

• Given that rural Texas provides 20% of the statewide vote, what specific plan do you have to expand the party’s ability in our rural counties?

• What is your plan to support rural communities and rural candidates?

• What is your connection to rural Texas?

The question about rural Texas providing 20% of the statewide vote isn’t accurate. The bottom 200 counties totaled about 1.6 million votes, over 80% Republican. Surely, they aren’t counting Republican voters. In every county, rural or urban, we must focus on Democratic voters and non-voters. We’ll never win by placating the right and trying to show them we’re the better choice. Kamala proved that.

Kendall Scudder mentioned another statistic: 1.3 million people in Texas voted in 2020 and chose not to vote in 2024, 1.1 million of them Democrats.

If anything, I think we all agree that Democrats’ campaign strategy in 2024, of trying to pander to the right and win over the Liz Cheneys of the world, was a complete and utter failure. So, our only real focus for Texas should be turning out non-voters on top of the TDP’s base.

• In the least populated 200 counties, that’s 878,000 potential voters.

• In the least populated 234 counties, that’s 1.9 million potential voters.

• In the top 20 most populated counties, that’s 5.2 million potential voters.

Rural Democrats believe the TDP hasn’t been doing enough for them because its attention is primarily focused on urban counties.

That is total malarky. I’m going to say the quiet part out loud, again.

For a very long time, the TDP hasn’t been doing enough for any county, urban, rural, or suburban.

And because the SDEC is structured on the Republicans’ gerrymandered maps, rural Democrats are overrepresented. That’s why they’re the loudest. I started paying attention to and following the political inner workings of the TDP about ten years ago. Since then, there’s been a constant hum of “rural this, rural that, rural, rural, rural.”

Meanwhile, I live in the seventh most populated city in Texas, and the only time that statewide Democrats have been here in the last decade has been to visit the local commuter college or for private events.

This is not a knock on my local party, which has dramatically improved in the past few years and has even opened a location in my city.

The point is that we all know the TDP hasn’t been doing enough anywhere. The solution is not to ignore where all the voters are but to pay more attention to the boondocks. The solution is an infrastructure that works for everyone.

When Aaron Arguijo said, “No statewide politician has come to my hometown,” it’s easy for me, living in an urban area, to say, none have come to mine either. Not in a long time.

When Steve Miller says, “Democrats do not show up in East Texas. There are no yard signs. There are no billboards. There are no commercials. There are no people going door to door. There is no sign or evidence that even a statewide campaign is taking place.”

I can easily say the same from my neck of the woods, where I have 400,000 neighbors.

Impromptu reader poll:

Focusing more attention on rural areas is not the answer.

We won’t win Texas by pouring resources into counties where most voters are committed to the GOP. Sure, there are Democratic voters in rural Texas, and yes, they deserve support and outreach. But the math is clear: even if we turned out every single potential Democratic voter in the bottom 200 counties, it wouldn’t be enough to match the numbers we could gain by investing in urban and suburban areas.

The problem isn’t that rural Democrats need more attention. The problem is that the TDP’s approach to every county has been lackluster at best. And when we spread our resources too thin, everyone loses. 5.2 million potential voters are sitting on the sidelines in the top 20 most populated counties. That’s where the biggest gains are. That’s where we can flip seats, build power, and actually win elections.

We need a real strategy that meets voters where they are. One that acknowledges that Democrats win by turning out the base and reaching new voters in places where it matters. It’s not about abandoning rural Texas but acknowledging that urban and suburban areas are the engine that can drive the party forward. If we don’t start prioritizing the places with the most potential voters, we will keep spinning our wheels in the mud.

If we keep pretending that a few extra stops in small towns will turn the tide, we’re setting ourselves up for another cycle of missed opportunities and broken promises. It’s time for a reality check. The future of the Texas Democratic Party depends on it.

Other things of note in this forum.

Patricia Olivares has withdrawn, and the race is now down to eight candidates.

One question near the end was about how the party will bring faith leaders into the fold. Meri Gomez said, “We need to bring the church back into the Democratic Party.” Reverend Miller said he’s been getting angry text messages from Democrats telling him that he needs to have a stronger belief in the separation of church and state. (But, he’s a reverend…)

Maybe this was just a Lubbock thing because this wasn’t asked in any of the other forums. Democrats are the big tent party. Hopefully, if someone plants to bring faith leaders into the fold, that will include Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Satanists. Or maybe we should let the Republicans be the religious party, and we be the party of working people. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Several party insiders have mentioned a constant pull for power within the Texas Democratic Party, and everyone seems to want more. This means that the various caucuses all want more representation at the top. I don’t blame them. You shouldn’t, either. Everyone deserves a seat at the table, but with so many special interest caucuses, it’s easy to feel your cause isn’t prioritized.

With a party as diverse as the TDP in a state as diverse as Texas, I hope people can come together to decide who will move the needle forward for all Democrats, not just Christian Democrats, Stonewall Democrats, Democratic women, or rural Democrats. Because all working-class people fall in all those groups, the only way we win is by building a coalition that recognizes that.

The Texas Democratic Party must become a party that fights for all working-class Texans, regardless of their zip code, faith, gender, or who they love. It’s time to move past the echo chambers and power struggles and focus on what matters. Turning out voters, building infrastructure, and putting real resources into the communities that will make the difference. We can’t afford to keep fighting over scraps while Republicans feast. It’s time to put the big tent into action and make every seat at the table count.

The Texas Democratic Party needs a wake-up call.

We can’t keep pouring resources into symbolic gestures and hoping that rural outreach alone will flip a state as diverse and complex as Texas. We need bold, strategic investments in the communities where the numbers are on our side. That means showing up in urban and suburban areas, energizing the base, and giving new and infrequent voters a reason to cast their ballots.

The party’s future isn’t in empty fields or far-off pastures. It’s in the crowded neighborhoods, bustling city centers, and growing suburbs where millions of potential Democratic voters are waiting for someone to speak their language. We need a party that doesn’t just hear the loudest voices but listens to the biggest opportunities.

If we want to stop losing, we need to get real, get smart, and get to work where it matters most. The road to victory doesn’t run through BFE. It runs through the heart of Texas, where the voters are.

It’s time to stop chasing mirages and start building momentum. The only way forward is with clear-eyed strategy, real investment, and a party finally ready to win.

• March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.

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