Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep. 8: Thankful for Democratic Wins in Texas (fmr Rep. John Turner)
33 Plays2 days ago
This Thanksgiving, we’re serving up a special episode of Mission: Texas with former State Rep. John Turner, the Texas Democrat who flipped a long-held Republican House seat in 2018. Whether you’re on a holiday road trip, cooking dinner, or running in a Turkey Trot, this is your political pep talk for 2026 and beyond.
John shares how he went from a successful law career at a law firm to deciding a “one-in-three” shot was enough to run; what makes 2018 similar to 2026; and how suburban, rural, faith, and gun-owning voters all fit into a winning Democratic coalition.
John also makes the case for something we don’t talk about enough: reclaiming patriotism inside the Democratic Party and showing voters that Democratic values are deeply rooted in faith, service, rule of law, and love of country. He argues Democrats should be running brand-building ads between elections, not just during them, so Republican stereotypes stop sticking when the campaign season arrives.
🎧 Hosted by Kate Rumsey & Alex Clark
👉 Follow us: @missiontexaspodcast on social media
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Mission Texas
00:00:00
Speaker
Howdy. This is Mission Texas. A political podcast about winning Texas by 2032 or else we may lose the White House for a generation. I'm one of your hosts, Alex Clark.
00:00:13
Speaker
And I am Kate Rumsey. Other podcasts may focus on the day-to-day the next election. But we are keeping the eyes of Texas on the bigger prize. What happens after the next census?
00:00:28
Speaker
Welcome to another exciting episode of Mission Texas.
John Turner's Political Journey
00:00:32
Speaker
Today we are joined by John Turner, who will be ah telling us a little bit about what it was like to go from a very successful law practice to deciding to throw your hat in the ring and flip the district in 2018.
00:00:47
Speaker
um I really like to get started at the very beginning though. I happen to know your background is in in politics in the sense that ah your're your dad, is that right, who was involved?
00:01:01
Speaker
ah he He had run for office of some sort? That's right. So I grew up, Alex, in Crockett, Texas, small town in East Texas. My dad, Jim Turner, was involved in local politics there when I was growing up from the time I was about five years old. He was in Texas House and then the Texas Senate.
00:01:19
Speaker
he was a mayor of our town and then finally he served in congress for about eight years so i was around him and around his campaigns and spent some time in his various offices and going down to austin to the capital and traveling around with him in in the rural east texas district that he represented so i guess that was my early exposure to politics and i i always enjoyed it i always had good memories of it i thought it might be fun to do it myself someday if i ever had the chance So then you somehow became a lawyer, though. How did you go from that background to becoming a lawyer, especially at place like Haynes & Boone?
00:01:55
Speaker
Well, you know, you have to make a living somehow. So I suppose, ah ah you know, my dad was also a lawyer, so I had that background as well. He was a small-town lawyer in Crockett. um I always liked reading, writing, arguing. debating and I suppose law was another logical interest for me. Plus I saw, you know, for people interested in being involved in government politics that becoming a lawyer was often a way to do that.
00:02:23
Speaker
um And so that took me to law school. and then when school, got to law school, I kind of realized, well, most people that go to law school actually become lawyers. And I decided i would I would do that. And I actually enjoyed it. Ended up spending, goodness, I guess about 16 years as a lawyer, most of that here at my current firm, Haynes & Boone, ah before I saw that I would have a chance to run for office.
00:02:49
Speaker
And so I've enjoyed my time being a a lawyer also. But as I said, it was sort of in the back of my mind that If ah something ever opened up where I might be able to run for office and have a chance of winning, i would I would look at doing that if the time was right. And so eventually that opportunity came when when a seat for the Texas House looked like a possibility.
Running for Office in 2018
00:03:13
Speaker
Click on that and zoom in on The decision that there was something viable, that there was an opportunity that you saw. 2018 was a great year and we know now in retrospect, but how did you know before you signed up to be a candidate that this was your opportunity, that you weren't going to throw away your shot, to quote Hamilton, right? Yeah.
00:03:34
Speaker
Because you're a serious analytical guy. ah You looked at the the map. You saw the the headwinds or the the opportunities. What were you thinking? What led you to the decision to finally pull the trigger? Well, you know, i wish I could tell you that i mapped it all out and planned to run exactly when I did. But the real truth is i finally had an opportunity in 2018 when I thought it could be viable for me to run for something and and have a chance at winning.
00:04:03
Speaker
um i'm a democrat as i guess we all are on this podcast uh in i was in north dallas in an area that had not voted for a democrat in i don't know how many years it had been decades since a democrat had been elected in the state legislature from the area where i was but um 2018 it looked like uh in the beginning at about 2017 when i decided to run it looked like there could be a chance the district could swing.
00:04:31
Speaker
Obviously, Trump had just been elected and people were feeling very unsteady about that in general, I think. A lot of backlash to what was happening at the national level.
00:04:43
Speaker
And frankly, a lot of personal motivation for me, seeing that we had just elected Donald Trump to the White House to think, you know, am I actually going to run for something or not? am I going to do this or not?
00:04:54
Speaker
Because if if I ever am, this is the time. Now, I will tell you, i didn't necessarily assume that I had a better than 50 percent chance of winning the district in light of its history. In 2016, I think the district had been about 56 percent for the Republican incumbent. So I had an up uphill climb.
00:05:15
Speaker
I calculated, though, that I had at least maybe a one in three chance of winning. that's That's what I thought was necessary in order to make it worthwhile to give it a run and to devote all the time and ah resources I would need to do that.
00:05:30
Speaker
I needed to feel like I at least had a realistic chance. And even though i didn't think I had more than 50% chance, I thought it was at least realistic and worth worth trying. I think you're looking at any race, especially right now for 2026, you're wondering there's it's, we have a long shot and a lot of races around here, but we look back with a lot of nostalgia on this podcast and maybe in Texas for the 2018 cycle, because a lot of people flipped races, right. a people including yours, right? As the story will be told, I'm sure on this podcast with you. But I'm wondering, 2018, it was a ah Trump midterm, which is similar to what we have coming up. But what what other factors were going on then that you think helped with those sort of headwinds in getting you past that sort of one in three chance?
Democratic Success Factors in 2018
00:06:21
Speaker
Well, I think there were a combination of things happening around Texas right right in 2018. I mean, we had statewide candidates that were generating a lot of energy. That was Better Ork's first campaign.
00:06:34
Speaker
People were excited about him getting around the state and talking to people. We had a number of interesting challenges. to Republican incumbents right here in Dallas.
00:06:46
Speaker
And I think those campaigns fed off of each other. 2018 was the year that Colin Allred was elected to Congress for the first time. His district um encompassed most of the district I was running in. Nathan Johnson defeated Don Huffines, defeating a Republican incumbent in the Senate that year. So i think there's just a lot of synergy. and again But again, i do think the national environment ah played the largest role. I think people were worried about what we had just done as a country when Donald Trump had been elected president, and that was evident in Texas.
00:07:18
Speaker
That was the year that we gained about eight eight seats just in the North Texas area in the in the Texas House. So it certainly wasn't something I was doing all by myself. I think it was just a combination of a lot of factors.
00:07:31
Speaker
You know, I always tend to think that for um Democrats in a contested area, like a Purple Area swing district in Texas, you need to have several things line up well. One is the national landscape and environment.
00:07:47
Speaker
ah Two is, frankly, who is the Republican candidate. And only three, maybe, is who is a democratic candidate i mean clearly the Democratic Democratic candidates have to be ah have to be people that are acceptable and have some, hopefully some appeal to the to the voters.
00:08:03
Speaker
But, you know, we're living in a state that has been controlled statewide by Republicans for a very long time. I think you need those factors to line up in order to win in a formerly Republican district or or formerly or statewide in in the state of Texas.
00:08:20
Speaker
John, the the word acceptable jump ah jumped right out to me in your answer. um i think that kind of goes to the age old debate as to whether um you might call it um someone unoffensive or maybe acceptable or someone who's exciting. um I think there's a way to be both acceptable and exciting, but ah it's kind of ah a tough road to host sometimes.
00:08:47
Speaker
um I don't know if you know this about yourself, John, but the the reputation online for for you, if you were to look it up, is that you are a thoughtful, low ego, policy serious, and respected across party lines. This my favorite quote.
00:09:01
Speaker
Not a Twitter Democrat. Well, okay. A compliment? I don't know. I'll have to find out where you where you read those things. out But I honestly can't argue with the not a Twitter Democrat part very much.
00:09:16
Speaker
I've never been that much of a an avid tweeter, not really a social media natural like some folks are. And that I always thought that's
Centrist Democrat Strategy
00:09:24
Speaker
that's something I got to get better at. But apparently, whoever's writing this doesn't think I did. But it's funny that you you made the point about, you know, my using the word acceptable. Obviously, that doesn't sound all that exciting or maybe ah super appealing when you put it that way. But I guess what I mean to say by that is ah people who have been voting Republican in Texas for a long time, I think need to have a comfort level if they're going to be willing to switch over and vote for a Democrat. And, um you know, my background was frankly as a fairly, I'd say centrist or moderate Democrat for my my career. That's kind of what my dad was as well when he served. And so I i think by by saying acceptable, I just simply mean that,
00:10:11
Speaker
ah It is important to be someone that independents and Republicans or former Republicans feel like it's not going to, I guess, they're not going to feel like they're voting for someone alien to their values or beliefs that they've had.
00:10:28
Speaker
um Someone who is more in in the center or mainstream. So I think that does make a difference in campaigns like the one I ran. But it doesn't mean you can't be exciting. I'm sure maybe a more exciting candidate than I was could have done even better. But at least ah we were able to get the votes we needed.
00:10:46
Speaker
So you mentioned that you considered yourself a centrist or a moderate Democrat. And so these days, you know, we hear a lot about being a progressive Democrat versus like, do we want to help get elected? Republicans to cross over. And there's a lot of debate, I think, within the party of what we need to be doing. Do you have a sense of like how how that worked for you and your race? Like what, like where was your messaging targeted to a more centrist audience?
00:11:11
Speaker
I would say yes. Uh, in both the campaigns I ran, I ran in 2018 and again in 2020, uh, again, running in district and a district that had been, voting Republican prior to that time.
00:11:24
Speaker
Uh, now of course, uh, All of the advice that I got was that you need to do both. You need to make sure that we're doing our best to energize our Democratic voters and appeal to base voters. And and frankly, we know when you're running as a Democrat, I didn't have a primary opponent either time, but of course, that's uncommon. Most people do have primaries and you need to make sure that you're reaching out to Democrats and that people understand that you are in fact a Democrat.
00:11:50
Speaker
ah You're not just ah you know donning that label temporarily in order to get elected, but it's it's part of your values and who you are. But of course, um ah there are a range of ideologies within our party. And in a district like mine, yes, I couldn't run from the from the left and that would wouldn't be who I really was anyway. um I ran more from the moderate, centrist, pragmatic perspective, made sure, though, that people understood I was i was coming into this race as a lifelong Democrat and and one who really believes it's time for Democrats to step forward and become the majority in Texas.
Campaign Tailoring and Endorsements
00:12:28
Speaker
Yeah. And so I think. I'm really interested in how you tailored the message, tailored your approach to campaigning to the district. Because I think sometimes there's a kind of intellectual laziness that happens where people want to pick up a campaign playbook that...
00:12:49
Speaker
honestly was maybe written for New York city or Los Angeles or Chicago and and not for a city in Texas. Um, and same for, you know, statewide races, you know, a statewide campaign for Texas should look different than it would in any other state.
00:13:06
Speaker
And so I think the better, um, fit to the, to the district or in this or for statewide election for the entire state the more likely you are to have success so how did you tailor your well anyway great question and um one thing i will point out is that um in a way i uh things were set up in an advantageous way for me in the race, because the Republican incumbent that had been in the seat, ah Jason Vialba, turns out he was defeated in the primary by a candidate who ran at him from the from the right, Lisa Luby Ryan.
00:13:43
Speaker
And so that had already set up a dynamic where you had some of Vialba supporters, Republicans who were probably not happy with the way that turned out and were going to be open to voting for a Democrat in the race.
00:13:57
Speaker
um People have told me later that some of the things that influenced the way the the race ultimately played out were some of the early endorsements that I was able to get in the race. Now, you know, I'm not one that thinks endorsements or, you know, matter more than actually getting out there and getting your message out to the voters, but they can help set the tone a little bit.
00:14:20
Speaker
I was able to get the endorsement, for instance, of the Dallas Police Association. I was able to get the endorsement of a group of former business leaders, are kind of a list that I put together of names that many would recognize as having voted for Republicans, at least in some races in the past, a diverse coalition of business leaders.
00:14:43
Speaker
Texas Association of Business ended up ah being supportive, and the the the doctors ended up supporting me. So those sorts of things helped to set the tone, I think. Ultimately, I was able to get also an endorsement from Dallas Morning News. So now, how many people are aware of all those things? I don't really know, but at least it for people watching, it maybe it helped to set the tone a little bit.
00:15:07
Speaker
um I think, Alex, though, in terms of just the message, i I wanted to make sure people understood um you know i was i was supportive of law enforcement, you know believed that we needed to do everything we could to clamp down on on crime. We needed to make sure that people understood we need a ah positive business climate in addition to emphasizing the the more traditional or typical ah democratic themes. and I think all that made a difference.
00:15:36
Speaker
I do remember though you know a few things well when I was making calls once I remember calling woman, you know, I was just a calling for votes. As you do, you get your list of phone numbers and you call. And she said, well, are you a Democrat or Republican?
00:15:53
Speaker
And I said, I'm a Democrat. And she said, oh, well, then you're not going to be interested in talking to me because my husband is a police officer. And I just remember thinking, really, you think you assume that just because your husband is a police officer, that I'm the Democrat and I'm not going to be for you and you're not going to be for me.
00:16:09
Speaker
um I pointed out to her that I had the endorsement of the police association and maybe helped to change her her mind a little bit. But these are some of the you know things that we as Democrats in the swing districts have to try to overcome and and thinking we have to try to change.
00:16:26
Speaker
Yes, it sounded like you kind of anticipate what potential attacks or our weaknesses could be, and you sought out things that could address them. mean It seems very intentional and and strategic.
00:16:38
Speaker
And it really does go to setting up almost like a permission structure for people who, like you said, they're not used to voting for a Democrat, but you've given them kind of like the scaffolding to help them get there. Yeah, i like that term. I like that term, the permission structure.
00:16:54
Speaker
One other thing I would observe, and in any campaign, is as you all know, because you're involved in campaigns, Kate, of course, you ran a campaign yourself did that did very well. You know that you have to get out and knock on doors.
00:17:06
Speaker
So I did knock on a lot of doors. And in my neighborhoods, one of the very common things I would hear is um when i when someone would answer the door and i'd talk to them and i'd tell them i'm a democrat they would say well i'm a democrat too but you know i'm probably the only one on my street um and then i would find you know four other people within you know the same block that told me the same thing and by the end of it i was saying you know what i can tell you you're not the only democrat on your street i think you are uh uh i think that the permission structure idea goes to that people need to feel like
00:17:38
Speaker
you know, in a more traditionally Republican area, and maybe a suburban area of Texas or a rural area that is in recent years been voting Republican, people need to know as Democrats, they're they're
Democratic Perception and Strategy
00:17:50
Speaker
not alone. And in fact, they aren't. I mean, the the truth is, even in some very red areas, what we think of as very red areas of the state, there are a lot of people voting Democratic.
00:17:59
Speaker
um And it's important for them to understand they're they're not out there by themselves. Yeah, I had a very similar experience. And I think the genesis of this podcast is like what you were saying to defy stereotypes and maybe be perceptions of who a Democrat is.
00:18:17
Speaker
And Alex and I have these shared experiences of being both with a military background, both having young children, we both have a Christian ah religious ideology. And so And when you think of ah a Democrat, sometimes I wonder, are we dealing with a perception issue rather than reality? And so I'm wondering, how do you see that now, given the six years, seven years that have passed since your your race?
00:18:45
Speaker
Yeah, i think I think that's very true. And I mean, again, you all are both ah veterans, really illustrating to me, of course, that um you know Democrats are... should should It is obviously a Republican stereotype to say that Democrats, for instance, are anti-military or anti-American strength or or not supportive of a law enforcement.
00:19:09
Speaker
ah That's just not right. Of course, both sides, especially in my view, the Republican side would like to paint ah the Democrats, you know, the way a very, a very small number of maybe very ah extreme members are, or or more activist groups that are you know far to the left. The truth is we have a ah diversity of views within our party. Now, I think as a branding matter, we need to do our best to make sure people understand the the full range of views that exist the park.
00:19:41
Speaker
And um you know if I have anything that I would try to emphasize to our party right now, and and that is that we need to make sure we are coming across to a disillusioned Republican.
00:19:53
Speaker
as a party they would feel good about switching to or voting for. Because I do think there are a lot of disillusioned Republicans out there right now. um I do not think that yeah know even among Trump voters, I don't know the exact percentage, but I think a very large percentage are supporting voting for Trump with ah real reservations and would be open to a conversation about supporting a Democrat if they could be made comfortable with the idea. And that's what I think we need to be doing as a party.
00:20:27
Speaker
Do you have ideas for what what we should be doing um at various levels um and in various roles? I mean, and know the ah the job of ah a representative versus the job of a party chairman versus you know at the local level, at the state level.
00:20:44
Speaker
um Obviously, the DNC, um people will associate... national trends onto local figures, whether that's earned or are not. um And I think was that Pete Buttigieg would always say, you know, they're going to call you a communist or a socialist no matter what, even if you are endorsed by the the business association or by the Dallas police. um I mean, first, the did that happen?
00:21:10
Speaker
were Were there attacks on you that were just completely out of There were, and you're absolutely right. The way political campaigns are run these days, they are going to call you all those things, no matter what you really are.
00:21:22
Speaker
Mailers went out against me ah ah where I was made into a sort of puppet or marionette being controlled by various Democratic figures. Nancy Pelosi was one they put on there.
00:21:34
Speaker
ah There was another mailer that went out with me, ah just a very ugly one, looking like trying to paint me as some kind of baby killer covered in blood and wearing a hospital uniform. I mean, these kinds of things are going to happen, ah unfortunately, in political campaigns. there' are just some crazy There's some crazy stuff out there, and consultants are convincing candidates that this is what's necessary and this is what works.
00:22:02
Speaker
But what you want to happen is that when people see that, at least a large portion of them well will will know it's not true because they already have a conception of who the candidate is.
00:22:14
Speaker
And they realize that what they're seeing doesn't doesn't jive with that and and it doesn't work. In terms of what we can do, I mean, i am not, it's never been my expertise to be you know someone in the party infrastructure or or are in, I guess, media campaigns to to feel like I have a great answer for you. But I have often thought it would be smart of the Democratic Party to run ads out of election season.
00:22:45
Speaker
In other words, you know right now, ah here we are in you know October 2025 in Texas, we're good ways away from the primaries in 26 and certainly the general in 26.
00:22:56
Speaker
But I feel like some ads to help promote our brand could be important now now they cost money, I know, and that's always maybe the the limiting factor. But just to help emphasize to people who we are as Democrats, what we stand for, and to start just just working on the brand and conditioning people to realize that when we get called all kinds of names and painted in all kinds of ways as we approach the actual election day,
00:23:23
Speaker
that it doesn't ring true to them and it maybe doesn't comport with what the impressions they've started to get over time. Honestly, I think that may have been happening in a positive way recently with what we've seen at at the recent No Kings rallies. you know, at the No Kings rallies, and I've been to both of the big ones that we've had recently, one I went to in in Dallas and the other in Connecticut, um you know, those to me felt like very patriotic rallies.
00:23:51
Speaker
ah Lots of American flags, lots of people, you know, talking about our history and the Declaration of Independence and and our Constitution and our basic values as a country ah throughout our history.
00:24:04
Speaker
And yet, you know, the other side wanted to paint it as a hate America rally. you know, as as people that were against our country and its values. If you actually went to those rallies, you would see these are people coming out to stand up for our country and its values. And you saw what you really saw was the red, white blue at those rallies. And I think if the more that sort of thing happens, the less believable it will be when we get to campaign season. And, and you know, the other side tries to paint us as anti-American or
00:24:36
Speaker
It's patriotic and it's religious too, right? Like no king, but Christ the King, if if you're a Christian. Well, definitely a lot of, I think, ah religious motivation too among many people that came to those rallies. I think that's true.
00:24:50
Speaker
Yeah. Well, let me just say ask one more I'll let Kate
Obama's Strategy and Democratic Unity
00:24:53
Speaker
jump in next. um I think sometimes as a party, just looking inward for a moment, our idea of the kind of candidate who will be acceptable to Republicans is not necessarily in practice the one that accomplishes what we think they're going to accomplish. And what I mean by that is um if you were to have...
00:25:20
Speaker
pulled Democrats um right after George W. Bush won the popular vote in 2004 and said, who thinks a black senator from Illinois whose first name rhymes with Iraq and last name rhymes with Osama, will be the person who flips Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Florida, right?
00:25:50
Speaker
Who would have thought in 2008 Barack Obama was going to be the person? That's that's a good a really good point, Alex. I think you're right. If you'd been purely thinking, OK, Democrats have to find ah you know someone who almost seems Republican in order to win at that time, obviously you would have been wrong. I mean, obama that's not what Obama was.
00:26:10
Speaker
I think Obama's part of his ah brilliance, though, is that he really did what i i tried to allude to earlier in this conversation that is he really did get out and energize democrats while also you know making clear to independents and republicans that he was not pushing them away uh you know i like to i remember back you know if you go back to the convention speech he made uh famous line about you know we don't we don't have blue states and red states in america we we have we have america we uh you know worship an awesome god
00:26:44
Speaker
in the blue states and we don't want people poking around in our libraries in the red states. I mean, he tried to find ways that he could ah unify us. As president, he tried to, I think, to unify the country. Now, obviously, you're never going to unify everyone in this country, but I think it's important for a a president and presidential candidate to make the effort And he did do that.
00:27:04
Speaker
um So it's a great point. I don't think there's just one way to win a race in a competitive area or in in America at large as a Democrat. We've seen different ways of doing it.
00:27:15
Speaker
um But in the end, I think to make an effort at some unity, to make an effort, especially in Texas, at, again, welcoming folks that have been Republican in the past and are looking for that permission structure, looking for a way to cross over, I do think that matters. So it sounds like you're a advocating for a one size, kind of like not just a kind of a broad strategy and not just ticking at one bucket of but voters. Because I think about it, I know you're a strategic person and analytical. So like we have a low voter turnout state, right? We've got a lot of people not voting. We've got a lot of maybe some Democrats not showing up.
00:27:53
Speaker
And we might have some Republicans who might otherwise vote with us. And so it seems like you're you're saying that we need to be ticking all these boxes. Like there's something that we should be doing across all of those, or at least find candidates who can also speak to all of those kind of buckets, especially in a state like ours, where it is so diverse, where we have ah a large background of religions and ethnic diversities, but also geographic.
00:28:19
Speaker
Definitely true. I mean, turnout is obviously going to be important in in any race. Where I have maybe sometimes felt that we went a little bit wrong as Democrats is relying solely on turnout and thinking that turnout was going to rescue us.
00:28:38
Speaker
We know what happened in in recent elections, including 2024 and to some degree 2022 is the other side turned out their people in in large numbers. And we can't neglect that side of things. And I think that's largely you know a tactical effort.
00:28:55
Speaker
it's It's something where the party can play a big role, local parties, even all the way down to your precinct chairs, to drive turnout is always going to be important of your Democratic voters.
00:29:06
Speaker
But I just think we can't neglect the other side of it. As you say, we've we've got to make sure that we're out there ready to appeal to independence and especially in the Trump era, ah Republicans that have had enough.
00:29:19
Speaker
Yeah, and so I think you're in interesting spot now because you've you've come out of being a candidate and a representative. You are now back in ah the civilian world here with all of us, ah back at being a lawyer at Haynes & Boone. And i think we hear sometimes like candidates may feel... reluctant to be super critical of the party or what's going on right now in Texas to do better because they don't want to you know make enemies. But and I'm not saying like we want to make enemies on this podcast, but at least we can look inwardly and say, hey, what can we do be doing better? And I think there's some folks that don't really want to even say that. Like, do you have any advice you would give to the party, either locally or statewide as to what you think now, having looked back on your races and your father's races that we could be doing better, similar to what we did before?
00:30:08
Speaker
Especially taking the long view, right? Because it's one thing if we win this midterm or the next presidential or even the one after the next election after that, but like come 2030 and all the reapportionment that's going to happen with the new census, we really got to get our stuff together. So if we have the next you know five years before that happens, to have that.
Reconnecting with Rural Voters
00:30:29
Speaker
Well, I mean, first thing I'll say is never think it sounds very good to sound like you're sort of as one as a Democrat lecturing to other Democrats. Because, mean, the truth is, as Democrats, we should be proud of who we are right now. We're on the right side of the issues at this moment in history the United States. United States right now. I think a person who is really concerned about our American principles and values, the Constitution, the rule of law, even frankly, the free market and limited government can find a whole lot more that is appealing on the Democratic side right now than on the Republican side.
00:31:08
Speaker
ill I'll respect people if they want to try to advance those principles in the Republican Party, but it's not going very far right now on Trump in the White House and and the people he's put in important positions around him.
00:31:20
Speaker
um But what i what I would say, though, is... As I said before, we always need to make sure that we are thinking about that um that Republican who is discouraged by what's going on in his or her party, that independent who has voted Republican in the past and now is open to either side.
00:31:40
Speaker
We need to make sure that we we are welcoming to those folks. And not just saying we're welcoming. Of course, we'd like to have their votes, but we we need to demonstrate that we understand their concerns, their values. And of course, it's not just one you know one issue. it so It can be a range of issues.
00:31:59
Speaker
um I think to try to communicate though that on on some of the issues that have been important to some of those, you know previous Republican voters, we can at least communicate that we are we are open to a you know balanced balanced perspective and a balanced approach, whether it has to do with, I'll just cite as one example, guns, obviously a you know huge hot button issue.
00:32:24
Speaker
um Clearly, the Democratic Party as a whole has been in favor of yeah greater restrictions on the sale of some kinds of dangerous weapons, you know, a semi-automatic assault weapon style weapons or or raising the age at which people can purchase a a semi-automatic style weapon from 18 to 21, whatever it may be. One thing I would say, for instance, it's very important for us as Democrats to reconnect with rural Texas voters.
00:32:56
Speaker
um Obviously, suburban voters are kind of thought of as as swing voters now, purple areas of the state. I think it's important just for the Democratic a brand as a whole and and just on principle that we continue to reach out to rural voters I think there are a lot of votes there that we may be neglecting and and not picking up just because we're not making the effort.
00:33:17
Speaker
ah The gun issue is one that I think helps to illustrate this point. just Just to make sure that people understand that even as we understand the importance of obviously taking measures to reduce mass shootings and to make sure that guns are used responsibly, that we maintain our tradition of of responsible gun ownership and usage in Texas by using things like ah basic licensing and training to carry a handgun like we always had in Texas until until that requirement was abolished a few years ago.
00:33:52
Speaker
um Those things are important, but it's also important to make clear to people that we're not out to take your guns away and we're not trying to create a a stigma over people who use guns for hunting, fishing, or self-protection. that We understand that's part of our state, part of our um part of our culture, really, in in Texas, and we have to find the right balance.
00:34:14
Speaker
think we have to communicate that, not not shy away from it. and um And so that's just an example of one example, I think, of how we oh reach out beyond our current the current boundaries of our party and try to welcome others in.
00:34:31
Speaker
At certain point, it's it's more than a policy issue. it's It's like a cultural issue, right? So much of gun culture is bound up in the Texas mythos, the Texas identity. I mean, your dad represented East Texas. I'm from Sherman, Texas.
00:34:47
Speaker
I think we all know someone for whom being a gun owner is a part of their identity. And you're probably imagining that person in your head too, if you're listening to this podcast, right?
00:35:00
Speaker
and and And maybe I'm wrong, but I don't know if these people generally actually own an or ah you know other kinds of assault weapons. I know it's always like kind of like the academic exercise of it, been the actual practical.
00:35:19
Speaker
Well, I think, I mean, look, I think the gun owners of Texas, by and large, are people that use them responsibly, that use them safely, that are not you know sort of flaunting them by openly going into Starbucks with a you know semi-automatic rifle draped around their shoulder.
00:35:37
Speaker
um ah I think we need to make sure that we are we are clear about the fact that we're not trying to stigmatize gun ownership and gun usage and and in Texas in responsible ways.
00:35:50
Speaker
Truth is, I think that is, in fact, a mainstream Democratic position. Democrats are gun owners just like Republicans are. Some Republicans choose not to own guns just like some Democrats choose not to own guns. I i think ah what you would advocate about a specific measure, like should we you know consider raising the age at which a person can purchase a a dangerous semi-automatic weapon to 21, shouldn't obscure the fact that we understand that that people use guns responsibly for all kinds of reasons, including hunting, including self-defense. And I think that's ah that's an example of how we we should try to demonstrate to the voters of Texas that we are a big tent party and that we're not going to kick you out because um you know you might have a different view about firearm policy. Yeah, and I think of it similarly to what we see James Tallarico doing when we're talking about expanding our tent, right? Like welcoming people in Maybe that's gun owners that were maybe no longer felt welcome, but we could maybe bring them back in. Or as James Tallarico is doing, are Christian voters and people that are religious. And do you see that, ah John, like and as far as like bringing people back into our tent or bringing people that were not otherwise there?
00:37:08
Speaker
like How do you see that going on right now in 2021? I think definitely. There are those on the Republican side among you know Republican candidates and consultants that are going to try to paint Democrats as being ah anti-religion.
00:37:23
Speaker
And I think it's a complete falsehood. My own experience, of course, growing up in East Texas, um my faith has always been an important part of my life and my family's life. I grew up in the First Baptist Church in Crockett, Texas. My family and I attend a Methodist church here in Dallas today.
00:37:42
Speaker
And in campaigning, I will say that I saw the churches of my district being very important part of, frankly, support that I had. Not because we we think that religion and politics are the same, but we we do recognize sometimes that our political motivations do draw upon our faith and our religious belief. And I don't think we should shy away from that as Democrats.
00:38:09
Speaker
And people like ah James Tallarico, you mentioned Kate, are obviously making clear that that's ah a part of who they are. and And sometimes the debate then shifts a little bit to, well, what what is the true Christian perspective on some of these political issues? I don't think that's an unhealthy dialogue to have.
00:38:28
Speaker
I think obviously where it goes too far is when you actually move into the area of actual government endorsement of religion, coercion of religion, which is bad for both the political sphere and for ah ah for religion and and for churches themselves. But and as individuals, we are people of faith, differing different faiths, and we are also political.
00:38:53
Speaker
animals. And so as a result, it's hard to separate those two things when we're talking about politics and elections.
Rebutting Republican Narratives
00:39:03
Speaker
Yeah, so it seems like there are, it's not always Democrats' fault that they've been painted with this this brush. you know These are consultants on the Republican side ah have found ways to drive wedges within the culture and to to insist that Democrats look down on them or or would not accept them into the party. um And it sounds like one of the ways you get around that is by being intentional and being active and trying to um rebut those messages, um whether that's with guns or with religion or or anything else.
00:39:40
Speaker
um But I also wonder, and and maybe this is more of like a therapy session moment, like, are we always going to be on the Republican frame?
00:39:55
Speaker
um I do think from a strategic and especially in a tactical point of view in any given election, it's very important to to get out in front of what you anticipate going to be the most important attacks against you.
00:40:10
Speaker
But from a broader perspective, like how do we make sure we aren't just playing on the turf that Republicans want us to be on? Well, how do we go on offense? How do we make sure that they're trying to rebut the message? Yeah. That we're putting out. We frame them as anti-American. Yeah.
00:40:29
Speaker
I think that's a really good point. I mean, i suppose to a certain degree, it's natural, I guess, as Democrats in Texas, because we have been living in in a state that for you know statewide elections has been Republican for a long time now. And so if you want to change that, then you feel like you need to change the change, the framing little bit. And, uh, um, change the negative stereotypes that may have contributed to being, you know, staying in the minority. But i think you're exactly right, um especially at this moment, because what we're seeing happening in in the White House right now is so much more extreme than even what we saw in in Trump's first term.
00:41:10
Speaker
And it's really an opportunity for us as Democrats to be, again, the party of support for the Constitution, for the rule of law, for, frankly, ah decency and and kind of family values. That's ah a a phrase we used to hear about a lot on the other side.
00:41:26
Speaker
I think we can lay some claim to that ourselves and um and really go on on the offense, because I think ah I believe a significant majority of Americans are really troubled by what is happening every, you know, in the news cycle virtually every day right now. And it is our opportunity
Standing Up for Democratic Principles
00:41:45
Speaker
to step forward. And and again, I suppose, Alex, what I end up doing here is once again almost sounding like here's what we're against as opposed to what we're for.
00:41:55
Speaker
But I'm not super bothered by that right at this moment, because i I think Trump has given us a lot to be against at the moment. I think a lot of Americans really would like to just get back to a level of a level of normality in politics, a level of decency.
00:42:11
Speaker
Again, respect for our institutions, for our constituents. for the role of Congress, for um that those principles that we always kind of felt do define us as Americans. And i think to a certain degree, it's okay to be standing up and saying, this is what we're against.
00:42:27
Speaker
And I suppose when you do that, what you're for also begins to come across. um yeah You're for upholding those principles, frankly, returning to many of those principles that we seem to have abandoned.
00:42:40
Speaker
I think that's a message that will resonate. I know some people want to sort of come out with the next agenda for you know what our country will be in 2030, 2040. I have no problem with that, but I don't necessarily object to living in the moment we're in right now and making clear that our first priority is to stand up against some of the abuses that we're seeing happen at the national level.
00:43:05
Speaker
So think in our last few minutes together, I'd love to get your perspective of, are we going to flip? Like, are are we going to do it? Are we going to do the dang thing here in the state? ah You flipped our district. ah We're back in Trump era again. You've talked about the extremism. It's gotten worse, but you know, in my opinion.
00:43:23
Speaker
Are people, they remembered what it was like back in 2018? Are we going to get back there? And do you think we're going to do the dang thing? thing You know, my guess, of course, is no better than anybody else's.
00:43:36
Speaker
It feels to me like this this year could be not only 2018, but even better for Democrats, the way things are lining up right now.
00:43:46
Speaker
As I said before, ah in Texas, in a competitive race in Texas, I think the national landscape, of course, makes a big difference. the quality or lack thereof of Republican candidates makes a big difference. And then also, of course, the quality of Democratic candidates.
00:44:02
Speaker
I see those things lining up in some of our big races right now in Texas. And I think, i mean, last poll I saw ah of Trump's favorability in Texas, he was underwater in Texas.
00:44:15
Speaker
Trump was net negative in Texas, I think, by about four or five points. That tells me something about where we are. of course, as a state that you know voted voted for him not not so many months ago by a pretty respectable margin. But I think things are shifting.
00:44:30
Speaker
it is ah It is an opportunity for us as Democrats to get out there and try to emphasize to, again, some people I know are not open to the message. I mean, if if there are those that think what Trump is doing right now is just what they voted for and they love it, and I'll still talk to them and I'll still be be friends with them and I'll still be neighbors with them and we'll get along. and and and try to interact well in nonpolitical contexts and even discuss politics. I'm all for that.
00:44:59
Speaker
But I know I'm probably not going to change many minds of those that are that convinced. But I think the percentage of people that feel that way is very far from a majority in Texas. and And right now, I think the the opportunity is really there. If we get out there, keep on working, keep on doing what we can to influence politics in our neighborhoods, in our towns and cities,
00:45:21
Speaker
support good candidates, nominate good candidates. I think the Republicans are going to do us probably the the favor of nominating some that aren't so great. And i think the opportunity will be there. And so I'm i'm pretty excited, kate about 2026.
00:45:36
Speaker
It feels a lot to me like 2018 and maybe, frankly, better. But time will tell.
Motivation for Potential Candidates
00:45:42
Speaker
Things can change. We've we got a lot of work to do, and we've got make sure we we we keep the focus on continuing to try to get to the goal.
00:45:51
Speaker
and ah But I think we've got a real chance. That's a really as a solid pep talk. I want to shift the gears from the abstract though. I want you to imagine that someone listening to this podcast right now lives in a Republican district that should be competitive.
00:46:09
Speaker
Maybe this is a person you know and you think that they would make an excellent member of the legislature or the county commissioner's court or whatever it is that they're looking at doing.
00:46:20
Speaker
What would you tell that person to get them to actually put their name on the ballot. Cause it's one thing to talk about, but to actually put yourself out there like that, give them that specific pep talk.
00:46:34
Speaker
Well, and i can I can say this, and Kate, I know you know it as well. you know Running it for office is a real commitment. it It does require a lot of time. It requires a lot of raising money. it it is i mean It's kind of like being a ah you know a football coach or or or something like that. i mean you You need to spend as much time as the other person. does on the other side and more than the other person does to feel like you're you're going to have the best chance of winning this is kind of like being a litigator uh alex as well uh we know what that's like here at our our law firm um you you got to be willing to outwork the other side and so it is a commitment you got to make sure you're ready uh to step up and do it because it's not not going be worth doing it if you just do it halfway but um
00:47:20
Speaker
But it does matter right now. If you love our country, and love our state, love your community, i if you can find find the why, then I think you you can sustain yourself through the course of of a long campaign and and be willing to get up and do the work that's necessary to to run and give it your best.
00:47:39
Speaker
And I think if you can find that motivation within you and feel like you care enough about our country and and what's happening, that it means it means enough to you to be willing to sacrifice you know your evenings and your and your ah free time and maybe other commitments that you have, ah then I think in the end, it is a rewarding thing to do. I'm you're glad I did it. i enjoyed the experience very much.
00:48:05
Speaker
and I hope I'll see both of you staying involved. Who knows, maybe out there running for something yourselves or or otherwise just supporting others that that are are doing it.
00:48:16
Speaker
um and but But ultimately, i think, Alex, it just comes down to finding that motivation. And if you can find it, then I say go for it. All right. Well, thank you, John,
John Turner's Personal Interests
00:48:29
Speaker
so much. My last question, you said you're not a big social media person. So I'm just going to ask, what do you got going on outside of politics? I know you're a lawyer, you're at Haines & Boone, but what else do you got going on?
00:48:39
Speaker
I, you know, my more important roles in life than any of those things you mentioned are I'm a husband, I'm a dad, and I have two sons. One of them is now 18 at the University of 15 years old.
00:48:54
Speaker
um And you know most of i feel like my non-work life kind of revolves around family activities. ah Right now, my 10th grader is big into baseball. And so you might find me most weekends out at a baseball field somewhere watching ah a 15 U or 16 U baseball game. That's a lot of fun for me. Other than that, you know um i like to i like to read. I like to um um I enjoy you know travel and and and getting out and ah hiking and and going to mountains and that sort of thing. And
00:49:33
Speaker
ah One other thing I'm doing right now is teaching a class as an adjunct at the law school at SMU. I'm teaching a class actually about the Texas legislature. So I get to relive some of what I did over my couple of terms by talking to those students. And that's been a whole lot of fun. So that's that's how I'm passing most of my time outside of the legal world right now And hopefully recruiting the next generation.
00:49:57
Speaker
Well, again, ah thank you so much, John. And um that's it for this week. We will see you all next week and God bless Texas. You can follow us on all socials at Mission Texas Podcast.
00:50:10
Speaker
Email us at missiontexaspodcast at gmail.com. This episode is edited by Juan Jose Flores. Our music bumper is by Adam Pickerel and our cover art is by Tino Sohn.
00:50:24
Speaker
you