DALLAS — For more than two decades, Texas Democrats have been trying to wander out of the wilderness, and the upcoming midterm elections may be one of their toughest odysseys.
Last week’s convention in Dallas was supposed to set the tone for their reemergence, both in statewide elections and critical legislative contests in November.
Did they hit the right notes?
It all sounded good from the podium, but there are political realities that Democrats glossed over or didn’t address. They are sparked by 2022′s extraordinary news events, including the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down constitutional abortion rights, the Uvalde mass shooting that sparked another gun control debate and reminders brought on by the summer heat that the Texas grid still needs work to be fully fortified.
Those issues mix with traditional Democratic talking points, including the need to bolster civil rights and voting rights.
Democrats need to figure out how to mine infrequent base voters and appeal to rural and small-town Texans who lean conservative, but not to the far right.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts.
Here are three takeaways from the 2022 Texas Democratic convention.
Beto O’Rourke has money, organization, but still needs crossover appeal
The former El Paso congressman entered the convention on a high. Recent polls showed a close race against Texas incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott. And O’Rourke raised nearly $30 million for the most recent fundraising quarter. With tens of thousands of volunteers, he’s the threat Democrats haven’t had since he ran for Senate in 2018.
O’Rourke has been pounding Abbott as a failed leader. The Rev. Frederick Haynes III issued that line of the night when he introduced O’Rourke as the keynote speaker.
“Beto is the real deal,” the Dallas minister said. “Greg Abbott gave us a raw deal.”
O’Rourke’s problem is that the math may be too much for him to overcome. There are many more Republicans in the electorate than Democrats, and most of them think O’Rourke is too liberal for Texas. That’s why he’s trying to hammer Abbott’s job performance, which he hopes isn’t blurred by a partisan divide. That’s hard to pull off, but he’s doing his party a solid for trying.
Elected officials need to step up
The state and local political parties — for Democrats and Republicans — are unfairly evaluated during election seasons. Neither political party slates candidates. They are cheerleaders who try to stage coordinated campaigns, even as it’s tougher than ever to squeeze money out of donors.
The real power lies with elected officials. Elected leaders representing safe districts should have the money and organization to help their fellow Democrats in competitive races. That’s the goal of state Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Dallas Democrat likely to head to Congress to replace Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Most incumbent Democrats on November’s general election ballot are safe, but you won’t see many of them provide anything but boastful language to elect the entire ticket. Leaders from both parties don’t build grassroots forces of their own, leaving so much to chance. No, there’s not much patronage in Texas politics that would give a precinct leader more clout, but veteran incumbents should be able to pull more voters to the polls.
National party is an albatross
National congressional Democrats deserve credit for making a push in 2020 to win more House seats in Texas. It didn’t work, but the investment was necessary.
But most of the time national Democrats talk a good game, but never deliver. That includes President Joe Biden, who in 2020 promised he would invest in flipping Texas, but gave little more than spare change to the effort. And that came after Texas helped save his presidential campaign with a critical victory on Super Tuesday.
National Democratic candidates are shameless when it comes to Texas. They get donors here to host fundraisers that line their campaign coffers for races outside of the state. Then they talk about the horrors of Texas Republicans, while saddling Texas Democrats with losing issues like police reform.
“The Democratic Party is the only thing standing between this country and fascism,” state Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, said via Twitter during the convention. “Yet the most our national party leaders can muster is spineless talking points & soulless fundraising emails.”
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison slipped in and out of the convention. Wonder if Talarico delivered that message to his face.
