The Texas Democratic Party is expanding its operations across the state, opening four new offices, with talks underway for at least one more. The party is hoping the expansion will help it to build grassroots support and enable it to better compete with Republicans.
The State Democratic Executive Committee approved a plan to move the party's headquarters to Dallas while keeping an office in Austin, along with opening new offices in Houston, Amarillo and Eagle Pass. Party officials are also discussing further expansion in the Rio Grande Valley.
"This is a full-fledged effort to make sure that we’re competing all across the state," said Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder. "We’ve been very Central Texas-focused as a party, and that’s left large metros like Houston and DFW and, of course, West Texas, East Texas [and] South Texas feeling left out."
Scudder said that a major aim of the expansion is to help Democrats reconnect with working-class voters.
"I grew up on a farm in East Texas where, back in the day, East Texas farm families, we were all Democrats, because Democrats earned our support and showed us what it meant to elect Democrats that were throwing down and fighting for working-class families,” he said. “We have to get back to that mentality."
Scudder argued that the party's failure to focus on issues like expanding Social Security and access to health care has been one of the reasons the party has lost support with its traditional base in recent decades.
"That’s why you had 1.1 million Democrats who voted in 2020 that chose to stay home in 2024," Scudder said. "Unlocking our base is a huge step forward towards flipping this state, and so that’s what I’m trying to do in making sure that we’re harnessing the power of our grassroots."
Scudder said that preparing the party to compete across the state will mean rebuilding infrastructure that has decayed over many years.
"If you look at where there are and are not Democratic county chairs, West Texas and the Panhandle are where largely our vacancies are," Scudder said. "Our party has been virtually defunct, other than some really hardcore activists that have been holding down the fort out there."
Still, Scudder is optimistic about the party's chances to break its 31-year losing streak in electing candidates to statewide office. He points to the 2026 U.S. Senate race, in which former congressman and unsuccessful 2024 Senate candidate Colin Allred and Texas state Rep. James Talarico are vying for the Democratic nomination. Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn is facing a tough primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Scudder said he even thinks Democrats have a chance at blocking Republican Gov. Greg Abbott from claiming a fourth term, even though no major Democratic candidate has stepped forward to challenge Abbott.
"I think that Governor Abbott’s overplayed his hand. I think that we have seen tragedy after tragedy unfold while he’s governor, where he’s failed in inappropriate response to those tragedies," Scudder said. "Anybody feel like their taxes have gone down since Greg Abbott’s been governor? I mean, he can campaign on that all he wants, but the proof’s in the pudding, and I think that he’s more vulnerable than people realize."
Experts split on prospects of Democratic expansion strategy
Bill Miller, a political consultant who has advised both Democratic and Republican candidates, said the strategic plan has the potential to help the Texas Democratic Party improve its record of wins across the state, if not immediately to elect candidates to statewide office.
"Democrats have reasons to be discouraged. I would encourage them not to be discouraged, for the simple reason [that] they're only one big victory away from being back in the game," Miller said. "Expanding your operation is the first step in that direction, doing it wisely and efficiently and with smarts."
Miller said steps the Texas Democrats can take to improve their chances is to field stronger candidates while avoiding bitter primaries as well as focusing on issues that appeal to Texas voters rather than those embraced by the national party.
"What I would call national issues, they don’t really translate well down here," Miller said. "And if they haven’t realized that, all you have to do is look at the ballot box for the last 25 years, and you can see it hasn’t worked."
Overall, Miller is optimistic about Texas Democrats' chances to make their party competitive again statewide.
"At some point, they will succeed," Miller said. "And if anyone thinks otherwise, they’re dreaming."
Not all political observers are convinced. Cal Jillson, who teaches Texas politics at Southern Methodist University, said the Democrats’ decision to move the party's headquarters from Austin to Dallas – where Scudder now lives – is a mistake.
"That would be like moving the Democratic National Committee to Pittsburgh or Denver rather than having it in Washington, D.C." Jillson said. "I don’t know why you would decide to do that, nor do I think it makes much sense here in Texas, because the government is, in fact, in Austin. That’s where you want to have your institutionalized, permanent presence."
Jillson said improving the Democratic Party's statewide infrastructure is critical to reviving its fortunes.
"They need, I think, to start by working to fill all their precinct committee chair positions," Jillson said. "Every voting precinct in the state is supposed to have a committee man and committee woman from each party. Only about half of those slots are filled."
But Jillson argued the party also needs to revive its fundraising efforts if it hopes to succeed. And there, he said, it has a long way to go.
"Many of the Democratic donors of a decade or two decades ago got tired of throwing money down the rathole," Jillson said. "They stopped contributing in large amounts, and you’ve got to build back up if you’re facing a Republican Party whose incumbents have tens of millions of dollars in the bank waiting for their next race."
Jillson agreed the party needs to find some way to reconnect with working-class voters as well as middle-class voters. He said the way to accomplish that is by focusing on kitchen-table issues, such as jobs, income, schools and health care, but also by demonstrating that they can win elections.
"And until they do that, they’re going to be a permanent minority in Texas," Jillson said.
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