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Ep. 13: Recap, Resolutions, and West Wing References
82 Plays18 days ago
As Texas heads into a pivotal election year, Kate and Alex kick off the new year with a special recap and resolutions episode inspired by The West Wing. From precinct chairs and working-class messaging to gun safety, faith, and grassroots turnout, this episode breaks down what Texas Democrats must do to actually win.
Channeling Sam, Toby, CJ, Josh, and President Bartlet, the hosts revisit their first twelve episodes and lay out concrete resolutions for flipping Texas.
We also spark a little friendly Texas rivalry by revealing which major cities are actually showing up on the ground — and which ones need to step it up — based on the percentage of precinct chairs filled in each area.
In true West Wing fashion, this episode is both a roadmap and a rallying cry — a reminder that “what’s next” isn’t waiting on a blue wave. It’s built by people who decide to stand up, get organized, and do the work.
Follow @missiontexaspodcast on all social media.
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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?
Recap and Resolutions
00:00:27
Speaker
Well, happy new year, folks. This is a very special recap and resolutions episode here on Mission Texas. We're going to talk about each of our episodes and maybe give a resolution for Texas Democrats in the new year. and we're going to do it with a little help from our friends at the West Wing.
00:00:45
Speaker
We love a pop culture reference here on the podcast. So we're going to to keep score as to who can make the most... west wing references on this podcast uh so and then maybe at the end we'll end with some predictions for the new year so how how how's that sound alex that works for me uh what's the next well you got it all right you got the first one uh what's next indeed well first can i ask you how has the podcast gone so far has anything surprised you has it met your expectations
00:01:16
Speaker
I'll say i I'm just really glad that we got started right away. i know that we were kind of nervous as we getting into this. Are we prepared? Have we done enough legwork?
Influencing Democratic Discourse
00:01:27
Speaker
um Do we know the first thing about podcasting? The answer is probably no to everything. We we just did it anyways. yeah And I've been shocked with the response that we've had. like People have come up to me in in IRL, in real life, and said, you know, I listen to the pod. I think it's great. We've had candidates, statewide candidates, reach out to us to get on to the podcast, which is just incredible to me.
00:01:55
Speaker
um and I think it's having the intended effect of getting people to think bigger in the party, to change the conversation we're having internally within the tent. and I think that's an important thing for growing the tent where it needs to be come 2030 and beyond.
00:02:16
Speaker
um I think i've I've already started to notice that there's more of a discussion of it, like within the talking points of of candidates, I've noticed. Yeah.
00:02:27
Speaker
Yeah, and I think for me, I'm the same. I was very surprised as to the reaction that we got from people, a lot of candidates reaching out ah because they realized maybe we need to have more, we need more podcasts and platforms like this. So I think that it's been really great. i'm I'm very proud of us for having put out 12 episodes so far, one each week. I can't believe we've done it. And I think I didn't really appreciate the logistics behind a lot of what happens and ah in a podcast, much like how we learned in the West Wing, you know, what goes on in those offices and how much work that it likely entails being president. So i think those are some things that i I was surprised by with this because you and I are two lawyers and um veteran military background. We've got kids and I never have done a podcast before. So this is something very interesting.
Controversy with Kendall Scudder
00:03:22
Speaker
um Well, let's dive in The first episode that we had, other than our intro, was with the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Kendall Scudder. And what was interesting for me about that episode is that it came out after some...
00:03:37
Speaker
News came out with the party and how he had closed down the Austin headquarters and now is opening up offices all around the state. And we even had someone reach out to us and DM'd us on such social media saying, how dare we...
00:03:53
Speaker
how how dare we ah platform this person who's closing down these offices? And and i thought, how can we be a podcast about Democrats in Texas and not talk to our chair as media? And so anyways, do you have any thoughts about that? Yeah, that was a really interesting experience to go through, especially because we we offered the opportunity for this person, pretty high up official formally within the party to come on and and speak and provide an alternative viewpoint. You know, I'm i'm not trying to to pick winners and losers. the Same way Kendall says the party doesn't need to be in the the business of of deciding who's going to run in each race and who's going to be the winner of each of those races.
00:04:34
Speaker
you know I think we all, every single person who self identifies as the texas Texas Democrat to be part of the conversation. oh Kendall is a longtime friend of mine. There's no no secret about that.
00:04:46
Speaker
But if he's doing something that you don't think is good or you have some some constructive criticism or just just criticism, i don't I'm not here to to hide that. I think the more voices we can bring into this, the more people we have sitting at the table, the better. So That's an open invitation. If you ah specifically ah have something that you want to so talk about that the the Texas Democratic Party should be doing better.
Challenges in Texas Democratic Party
00:05:14
Speaker
i'm I'm all ears. And I think we'd love to to hear about it. So let's reach out. Yeah, and also I don't like the idea of just closing off voices you know about this conversation and talking about not allowing people to talk about what's happening or even giving him a shot at understanding what what's going on in the party.
00:05:34
Speaker
know that he has talked a lot about, like, look, we have to do something different. Like, it hasn't been working. And maybe we need to have a better field strategy where we have offices all over the place. And I think that's something that he said is that, you know, half the state doesn't have precinct chairs,
00:05:49
Speaker
Some counties don't have a chair for the, you know, the infrastructure of that party. And it's very interesting to hear from him how few folks there are really organizing their own neighborhoods. And so I thought that was a very interesting point. And I think if I were to give us a resolution off a whiteboard, ah i might put number one.
00:06:10
Speaker
Just look up, like, do you even have a precinct chair? Is there a chair for the county in your area? and you know, maybe have a thought about what that is. If you don't have a chair, then ah think about being it. It's better than nothing, right? Like, you just talking to a few neighbors is better than nobody talking to any neighbors. i think that's one resolution i would give our state party as we go forward.
00:06:38
Speaker
I think it was the the the arc of the the show where Sam Seaborn agrees to take over a congressional campaign for a candidate who Yeah, out in Orange County. conor yeah yeah um I remember there was a really...
00:06:54
Speaker
point line in there, which is there are worse things than losing an election, right? Even if you're in an area of the state where you you don't see a realistic shot of your local candidates winning, it all moves the ball forward and and putting your your values in line is is the right thing to do in and of itself.
Relocating Party Headquarters
00:07:12
Speaker
But just going back to the the merits of what Kendall has done, has moved the headquarters out of Austin up to Dallas and has opened field offices around the state. um Look, I loved living in Austin.
00:07:27
Speaker
I went there for law school. I spent two additional years there clerking for a federal judge. Austin's a great place to live. It's a wonderful ah community. Lots of fun things to do. Great fitness um opportunities and and outdoor spaces. And look, I don't have to sell anybody on how wonderful Austin is.
00:07:46
Speaker
I don't think within our party. But I think we must recognize that Austin is
00:07:57
Speaker
probably the most unlike the rest of the state as a place can be. yeah And if you have the headquarters of the party ah in a place that is so unlike the rest of the state, even people with the best intentions, and even if they don't intend to exclude other areas of the state,
00:08:18
Speaker
you kind of just, you're a product of your environment. you You might not understand what the rest of the state looks like and is going through um if you are kind of in that Austin bubble. And I and i say bubble, you know, with with kindness in my heart. I love that bubble. It's a great bubble. When I went to Austin College in Sherman, Texas, we referred to the Austin College campus as a bubble. And it was, and it was. But we can't be living in our bubbles, not with the stakes that are coming down in 2030.
00:08:48
Speaker
You know, it reminds me of that episode where they were in Indiana ah and in the West Wing and Josh and Toby and Donna were stuck and they missed the motorcade. Yeah. And they were they were outside of their DC bubble having to talk to like real people. And um one of them lost a bet and had to say, think it was Toby, I work in the White House with every single person. and get the reaction. and I loved it because you got to see like what real people outside of that bubble, you know, from their own little DC West Wing bubble are saying and confronting that
00:09:23
Speaker
I also loved it because there was a point in that episode where they were talking to a gentleman at a bar who was trying to get their kid into Notre Dame. um And I'm like, yes, like go Irish. I love that. um But I think that it's very similar to that, that we maybe we need to be confronted with people outside our regular blue areas here in the state.
00:09:46
Speaker
um So ah that was the Kendall Scudder episode. And the the second one we had was with Christian Carranza, who is a candidate in of the most flippable state house races in the state. She's in San Antonio, Bexar County.
00:10:01
Speaker
And it was a ladies only episode. I remember it was the day that or day after that. um No, the day of that Taylor Swift dropped her album. So we were talking about that and She is somebody who Alex has known in the past, and I just just recently have gotten to know her.
00:10:15
Speaker
But what I think is really great to hear from folks like her is that we... This is a Trump midterm, right? So this is 2026. It's like 2018. And in 2018, according to Vicki Goodwin, you know as we get to her episode, which is number 11...
00:10:32
Speaker
They were able to flip like 12 seats back in 2018. And if you think and I think John Turner was a part of that who we've talked to Julie Johnson was a part of that class. And you think about like, if we have the most flippable seat in San Antonio, then she's, you know, maybe she's got some really great odds at winning with this blue wave that could be coming.
00:10:51
Speaker
in 2026. James Tallarico, Nathan Johnson, another episode. Yeah. A lot of really, a lot of that class of 2018, you know, what, who else might we be able to flip in this coming election? So I think it's really exciting to think about, but she also talked about similar to Kendall speaking to working class issues. And I think that's another resolution that I would give based on what we've heard, which is just some messaging discipline about, and we I think we saw this in the November election with the
00:11:24
Speaker
governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia, and then the mayor's race in New York, which is affordability and like working class issues and how that really affects us here in our area.
00:11:36
Speaker
um But another thing I really loved hearing about was just the cultural differences between San Antonio and how I've felt in Dallas and how people in San Antonio have really grown up in that area and the thing that she leads with.
00:11:48
Speaker
is like where she went to high school. And that's a real touch point for people. Whereas I think here in Dallas, people have a tendency to, i think, to not be originally from this area or grown up in this area. So I don't think talking about your high school would be what would resonate as much.
00:12:04
Speaker
um But I thought that those were some really interesting takeaways with her. did What were your thoughts? Yeah, no, i I love that we got to have Christian on so so early on. We went back to, God, and it makes me feel so old.
Cultural Influences on Campaigns
00:12:18
Speaker
We were campus organizers together in 2014. And um I had lived in San Antonio for four years right out of college ah because my wife and I did Teach for America.
00:12:30
Speaker
in San Antonio. um And I stuck around as I did that campaign with her and then joined the Air Force, going through basic training, which is right there in San Antonio.
00:12:43
Speaker
um Most people were coming in by plane and bus and train. And my wife dropped me off after breakfast. I said, have fun. I'll see in a couple months. Yeah. yeah But yeah, no, ah San Antonio is a wonderful place. It is so different. You're right than Dallas. And I think as a as a threat, as a through line, it is just like all politics is local, right?
00:13:05
Speaker
ah
00:13:08
Speaker
you gotta tailor to the community you're you're running in. You can't do these cookie cutter campaigns, especially if the cookie cutting, these shapes, if the playbook is coming from DC or from New York or Los Angeles or Chicago or literally anywhere else, right? Because Texas is so unique. And Texas,
00:13:31
Speaker
As a state, it's unique. But if there's anything I know about Texans is that they love their part of Texas oh more than any other part of Texas. And that's where the that's they they will talk till they're blue in the face about the rivalries between the big parts of the state and why theirs is better.
00:13:49
Speaker
Well, I think that gets into game that I'd like to play. Uh-oh, here we go. we can. thought would be appropriate to, because Texans love a rivalry between their cities. If you're from Houston, you make fun of Dallas. And if you're from Dallas, you make fun Austin and vice versa. So I think I would like to hear, I looked the data, how many precinct chairs by percentage are in each of the cities and their main counties.
00:14:16
Speaker
So we've got Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. So these are the four major big cities. And I've looked up the data from the Secretary of State website, as well as the counties. And I want to see a little bit of a rivalry.
00:14:29
Speaker
Who has the most precinct chairs by percentage? Because we know they're not all the same as far as population. And and I thought I'd get you to guess here because we like a rock game. You're giving me the first guess because I have i have a strong inclination what this probably is.
00:14:46
Speaker
Yeah, okay. I know the answer, so I'm not going to guess, but I want you to. ah Number five, ah the lowest amount. Who do you think has the lowest amount of precinct chairs by percentage? Ooh, the lowest. Okay, I feel less confident on the lowest.
00:14:59
Speaker
Can I start with the highest? Sure, but I don't know. i i i think I think Austin takes the cake. I think they're far and beyond above. Again, just having lived in Austin, um this is another one of the things I think I feel...
00:15:13
Speaker
okay about the the headquarters moving out of Austin, the head to the state party headquarters moving Austin, is like the Travis County Democratic Party, like the county party is really strong. And they're really well organized.
00:15:26
Speaker
um Back in in my battleground Texas days with Christian, I had met Jan Soifer, who was the the party chair there in the county, Travis County. And she's a judge now that I got to intern for when I was in in law school, so came full circle.
00:15:42
Speaker
But they they have always their tax assessor collector, the county party structure, like the number of of volunteers. They're really, really engaged in Austin. It is a yeah, as blue b but of a of a dot in the red Texas as you can get. So my final answer, I think Austin takes the cake. Is that right? okay I'm going to get there. so we're going to number one. like to go from five to one.
00:16:07
Speaker
um So but do you have a guess on the least. least of the major cities. um I'm actually going to throw my new home under the bus and say it's Dallas.
00:16:20
Speaker
Okay. Wow. Geez. I know. I think it's us. I think it's us. I think it's Dallas. And I think it think it's because...
00:16:30
Speaker
There's something about the Dallas culture like voting culture that has not been established. The activism culture has not been as robust here. um There's a great club scene. People are very involved in their clubs in Dallas. But for whatever reason, um and it goes throughout the entire um like federal to municipal, like the turnout for our city elections is just I find it shocking and embarrassing. Yeah.
00:17:02
Speaker
I think that's a big problem here is that we just don't turn out the vote, even though we're a big blue area. So, okay. Number five, you got it wrong. I'm sorry to say. you um Yeah. So it's Fort Worth, Tarrant County, which I'm really sad about because it is such a purple area. We heard from Allison Campolo, our sixth yeah episode about how they have flipped in so many races and they are just on the verge. And if They could just maybe get a few more precinct chairs like that could be really helpful in their areas. There areas that people are just not even getting folks talking to. So they have 843 precincts and them have precinct chairs. That's
00:17:43
Speaker
31%. Yeah. And Kendall was saying on average, it's half. Like we have half covered in our state. That's crazy. So that's, that's number five. It really is like the highest ah ROI.
00:17:55
Speaker
i know. I'm telling you, if you could just huge impact on the state. If we, we just, yes, a little bit more, more attention and resources. Yeah. And if Tarrant County goes, so does the state and so does the country. So, you know, in my opinion, we need to like, I was at a Tarrant County Christmas party and I'm literally like recruiting precinct chairs as I was there. like, you should be a precinct chair. What does that do? Oh, let me tell you, like you're in a club. Like you should, you are fit for this. Like just go call your neighbors. Okay. so number four is San Antonio, Bexar County. So you're, you're a little off with Dallas, ah but I have no
00:18:30
Speaker
I mean, I don't know what's going on in Bexar County, and I'd love to hear from more people on that, but they have 776 precincts and 277 of those have precinct chairs and that's 35%. So 10. You who we should bring on the podcast? We should bring on Jennifer Longoria.
00:18:48
Speaker
Oh, really? Yeah, she is a, not the actress. I know. An organizer. She had been the state ah organizer for Elizabeth Warren. And then when ah she lost the primary, um was like deputy director for for Biden. And we had worked together in Battleground, Texas. And she had been really involved with the San Antonio for Obama.
00:19:14
Speaker
I think they called it Alam Obama, which is a great name. I love it. Yeah, but she's she's really plugged in to San Antonio political scene. And she's a friend of mine. Maybe we ought bring her Yeah, let's bring her on. What's going on in San Antonio? What's going down there? Number four, Antonio. So number three, this one, i guess it's, you know, has exceeded your expectations. Does not meet mine, but it's Dallas.
00:19:37
Speaker
Dallas is number three. 798 precincts. 358 them have precinct chairs and that 44, 45% on average. So that's a testament to the good work of our party chair and vice chair, Cardell Coleman and Yasmin Simon. Good work. I apologize for ever doubting you. I know. Jeez.
00:20:00
Speaker
So that's number three. ah But I think we have a lot of room for growth. I mean, there's just so many areas I think that we've reflected on that. It's not just about flipping areas. It's turning out the vote in the really blue parts of our state. And I think that we can be doing that more. And I have a precinct chair, so I i can't speak to that, but I can certainly help her do her job.
00:20:20
Speaker
right now then we got number two number one. So we got a prediction for you. Austin is number one. So number two is, drumroll, Houston. Okay, good. it is, so Austin takes the cake. It is incredible. Like what you just said is so accurate. So Houston has...
00:20:40
Speaker
1166 precincts, such a huge area. And 547 of them have precinct chairs. So that's about 47%. So not much bigger than Dallas. So Dallas, looking at you.
00:20:52
Speaker
We need you to like turn out some more precinct chairs so we can beat Houston at least. Gotta be Houston. Yeah, gotta be Houston. I'm i'm looking at you. And then Austin, this isn't this is crazy.
00:21:03
Speaker
So it has, it's a smaller city, 287 precincts. 215 of them have precinct chairs. That is a 75 percentage of precinct chairs in Austin.
00:21:16
Speaker
That's
Houston's Role in Voter Turnout
00:21:17
Speaker
crazy. I cannot believe you. So went from 47% in Houston to 75 in Austin. I just can't accept this. Austin's going to be just fine without the TDP. Yeah, you're going to be fine out there.
00:21:29
Speaker
They're doing the Lord's work. ah But I think one of the things I think about with Houston is that It's not a coincidence in my mind that we've seen and heard people. like i hear i I read Lone Star Left, which is a sub-stack, and incredible daily sub-stack. And she was making the case about how Houston's going to be the place where we are turning out voters and it's going to be the place where we really need to talk about for flipping the state.
00:21:55
Speaker
And I think that seeing this, it makes sense. and it's you You've seen Gavin Newsom. Where did he come through when he i was in the the state after the redistricting fight. And it was in he Houston because it's such a large city and has more pre-sumt shares than the others, even though it's not Austin. ah But it's like so ginormous and it's more organized than our other cities.
00:22:18
Speaker
I think Texans forget that just the scale of it. Like Houston is the fourth biggest city in the country. And it's probably not too long before it' be number three. Yeah. um Houston is yeah just geographically massive, but also like by population, it's just so many people. And i think I think we're not alone in recognizing the opportunity there.
00:22:40
Speaker
i think the Republicans are are very aware of the issues ah that would happen if we were able to really maximize turnout there because... I remember early in this election cycle, Governor Abbott said, this is the quote, I just pulled it up from the Texas Tribune. He said, I've got $90 million dollars in my bank account, and I'm going to spend most of it in Harris County, Texas, which is where Houston is, to make sure precinct by precinct, we turn out voters who voted in the presidential election, turn out voters who never voted before.
00:23:11
Speaker
We've got to win Harris County and make Harris County dark red. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think there's a coincidence there. I think that that and there's also a reason why I think when Kamala Harris was coming through Texas, she had a rally in Houston and you just see a lot of things going on. And this also may have had something to do with Beyonce being there. But yeah, Beyonce. And I think there was a funeral for a congresswoman. But I just think that you don't see a lot of the like big nation, national or statewide candidates doing things as much in the other cities, which is maybe we need to make a case for that. But I think there's going to be a we're going to all be watching Houston and Harris County. So and here's like we said this here's ah here's a crazy step before we move on from Houston in the same Texas Tribune article.
00:23:56
Speaker
It says that Harris County is where one in six Texans live. Wow. Yeah, exactly. And how many blue are there of them? So, and yeah yeah, and highly diverse. So just to recap, number five was Fort Worth, number four, San Antonio, number three, very sad, Dallas. I'm looking at you. Number two, Houston, and number one. Austin. um So anyway, so we have a couple other episodes that we, Nathan Johnson was our third, who's running for attorney general. He's a state senator here in the North Texas area. But we are interested in talking to the other people running in his primary, the AG primaries. We're going to talk to Joe Jaworski. We've also been in touch with Tony Box, who's a new candidate, also very much sponsored by VoteVets, which is an organization that we're close to.
00:24:46
Speaker
i Shout out to them. ah But I wonder, and then we had our fourth episode, which was with Alex Andrade, who's a fundraiser. and I'm wondering, do you have any thoughts or reflections on either of those episodes?
00:24:58
Speaker
Yeah, and this is maybe the the the thing that people talk to me um the most about whenever they're just like, that's something I didn't know before. That's really interesting. Senator Nathan Johnson did a crazy number of episodes of Dragon Ball Z's music for In America.
00:25:17
Speaker
I was trying to explain this to Kate before we interviewed him, ah just about how much of a cultural impact Dragon Ball Z has on on young young men, at least, is is really kind of incredible.
00:25:29
Speaker
But no, but in all seriousness, as far as what we're actually here to talk about. I think that Alex Andrade made some really interesting points about kind of the efficiency of our dollars and and how we can use them better. We haven't released the episode on some other kind of ah donors that we've interviewed, but I think they also make the point that you can spend money in ways that are smarter than others. Um, and yeah I think a lot about how even a little podcast like ours, not a very expensive endeavor. It costs money that we'll need to just, just so y'all know listeners, we will be trying to fundraise in the new year. Um,
00:26:14
Speaker
it can make a big impact on this fairly low low dollar lift, but can make a big big impact. um um And then I think it's a matter of that kind of mindset shift too, with with Nathan talked about seeing the opportunity, believing that the change is possible. Because too so often we've convinced ourselves that the state's too expensive or it's just not going to happen.
00:26:39
Speaker
And those can kind of become self-fulfilling prophecies. And they really there's really no good reason for it. I think Texas is ripe for opportunity. um Buy the dip is what I always say. And that's the thing I take out of those two episodes is both in terms of dollars and cents, but also in terms of kind of that unquantifiable...
00:27:00
Speaker
sense of optimism and hope that has to, has to happen. Right. Yeah. I think that for me, it's just learning about who all is fundraising. It's not just the Senate candidates who are raising the dollars. It's, it's the down ballot people who, if you give them a hundred dollars, say you give a hundred dollars to your state house candidate versus a hundred dollars to ah the Senate candidates, like your money's going to go way farther with the state house rep.
00:27:28
Speaker
candidate because they're not their budget just isn't as big. And also just giving dollars like recurring donations is, is really important. That's something that I think I've learned and heard from them, which is, you know, it's a predictable amount of money that is coming in every month. So if you're giving $5 every month, like that's meaningful, because they know that that's coming in in a predictable way and not just these like chunks at a time. And So I think that's a you know a third resolution for people is just like, if you're going to donate, like figuring out the best ah ROI for your money and where that could go and not just to these like flashy people that we all are enamored with at first, like because we all want to be heard of being the person supporting Jasmine Crockett James Tallarico, but really thinking about the folks down ballot and other groups that you can um support as well.
00:28:19
Speaker
Yeah, and and and not only did it at the different levels for this cycle, but thinking long term, right? Regardless of what happens next November, we have to keep our eyes on 2030, right? That's where we really have to make sure we get this right. We have a great opportunity to be a part of the redistricting of five new congressional seats that in and of itself is going to be really important at the national level for Congress. But it's also go be important for the next decade of what our so what our legislature looks like, you're gonna be redrawing all those seats too.
00:28:52
Speaker
And then, you know, as we we always try to point out, like, the way the Electoral College works is if we get five new seats, that means we're getting five new Electoral College votes, and we're getting them at the same time that other places are losing them.
00:29:04
Speaker
And so if there are ways you can spend money that will outlast any given campaign, If it can help an issue you care about, or if it can help ah further conversation, or to build infrastructure to registered voters, right? The things that you don't necessarily typically associate with a one and done campaign.
00:29:26
Speaker
So that's our first four episodes. The next ones were with Cliff Walker, who was my, luckily my mentor from the LBJ Women's Campaign School, a long time, just a person in the party. I loved hearing the history of the party with him. And then we had Alison Campolo, which is,
00:29:45
Speaker
ah we briefly mentioned from Tarrant County, the chair of Tarrant County Democrats. um I think one of the things that I thought was the the most the biggest takeaway I got from Cliff, which kind of came around the same time as our election that happened in the fall, which is that we have to stop the navel gazing of like, what should we be doing as Democrats? And i remember hearing this debate when Mamdani won and then all the other governors won. Like,
00:30:11
Speaker
are do we need to elect more progressives? Do we need to elect more moderates? Do we need to elect you know certain kinds of Democrats? And I think he would say, based on that, was like, let's stop talking about it that way. Like, we need to talk about what we can all do for voters.
00:30:26
Speaker
That is the navel-gazing discussion that, like, I think turns away people. And then maybe we're a party that elects an Abigail Spanberger and a Mumdani. Like, that's okay. And that is the party that we're in. We're a big tent.
00:30:38
Speaker
And let's talk about what we can actually provide our folks in our constituencies instead of that like progressive versus moderate debate which i think we all have engaged in well especially in a state like ours right like let's figure out how we win first right yeah like it's all so speculative and academic like we have to win the legislature back In all the talk about whether we're going to win a Senate seat or not this cycle, like that would be great.
00:31:08
Speaker
Be very happy for for James or Jasmine to be our next senator. But my question, I think, is more important, like for the long term health of our party and just consequentially, what's going to help us take back the Texas legislature and.
00:31:25
Speaker
Wishing it weren't as divided up the way it is doesn't accomplish anything. We have to win in the districts as they are drawn. And if someone can help us do that, that's what we need.
00:31:39
Speaker
If someone will hurt us to do that, that's what we need to avoid. That's the way I think about it. Well, i think that gets into our seventh episode with Mahila Pisa, which is, ah it was really fun to talk to her because she and I grew up together in the same schools and public schools in North Texas. And she was saying, like, we need to stop all speaking as a monolith. Like, it's okay to speak differently.
00:32:02
Speaker
in terms of issues that pertain to your area. And we should all be okay with that. And let's not like just all talk about that. We can all talk about gun safety and abortion and healthcare, care but what ah what about the issues that pertain to that particular area? And I really appreciated that kind of wake up call for her because she's saying like she was able to flip a seat or not flip. It was a newly drawn seat in Collin County that It was believed to potentially go to Republican and she was able to keep it as a Democrat and that she was talking about recapture in public schools. And going back to the West Wing, it reminds me of the Let Bartlett Be Bartlett ah episode where we we should just let our candidates be authentically them and talk to the issues that pertain to the area they're trying to speak to and not force some other version of a Democrat on them.
00:32:52
Speaker
Right. and we We shouldn't presume to know, right, what message is going to resonate in an area of Texas that we don't live in. Right. I think that's I think that's a good point. Great. Great. Bartlett, the Bartlett reference. And then the eighth episode we had was with your friend, John Turner, who is a former representative, part of the class of people who flip seats in 2018. think one of the things that he said that really stuck with me was that we need to maybe do better messaging between cycles that we can as Democrats maybe advertise a little bit better and how we as Democrats also can lead with patriotism and
00:33:28
Speaker
like And that's it's really interesting to me to hear that because it does feel like as a party, we don't necessarily wave the like patriotic flag as much as we could. And I think that he was saying that, in fact, we do. We we we are a party of patriots and um that we should be talking more about that, especially with the No Kings rallies that were happening this fall and summer.
00:33:49
Speaker
that you saw more people talking about democracy and patriotism and seventeen seventy six in 1776 and our history, and that he thinks that as Democrats, we can turn up the volume on that.
Incorporating Patriotism in Messaging
00:34:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's right. And I think when you do it in an intentional way and um you are getting out ahead of issues that Republicans might try to to use against you, um i remember him talking about some those key endorsements he was able to acquire early in the process from like the police association or the firefighters or who whoever. I think that can be so important and it doesn't have to be the same kinds of people in every district, but being think really thoughtful about
00:34:33
Speaker
What are kind of the easy ways some voters might check out that if they had a permission structure in place, they could come around to doing something new, something different, which is voting for a Democrat, right? Like he told the story of a woman who said, well, you know, now that I know you're Democrat, and we don't need to continue this conversation because my my husband's a police officer.
00:34:56
Speaker
He was able to immediately say, well, I have the endorsement of the Dallas Police Association. And that was that was a new thing. And it surprised her. and they were able to have a a new and different conversation than one she was expecting to have so i think um especially when we're trying to do new things like take power back to win in areas where democrats haven't traditionally won we have to be thoughtful about what is it that these people who are either persuasion targets or just getting them off the couch right to show up and vote in in the election what is it that they are going to need for that permission structure?
00:35:33
Speaker
And sometimes that's the the key endorsement from an organization, or from maybe a moderate Republican or or what have you. But I think it can be helpful to think about what those might be. Yeah.
00:35:45
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's right. And, you know, I ah wrote an op ed with the Dallas Morning News about my journey as someone who grew up as a Republican. And thinking everybody was Republican and not really realizing that like, oh, my actual of hopes and dreams for my family and our country align more with the Democratic Party and switching and putting on a different hat, so to speak, and maybe...
00:36:10
Speaker
And I've heard have other people approaching me about that and saying like, oh, that's that's me and saying it's OK. It's OK. You have other people out there. You can find a community with folks like us who may not have always been a part of the party, but are now. And you're welcome to that permission structure that we're saying that this is a big tent. You're welcome here.
00:36:29
Speaker
um I wanted to pause a little bit and reflect on how the West Wing and how they had Texans it portrayed as Democrats in and the West Wing. like ah Yeah, from the jump.
00:36:43
Speaker
Yeah, from the jump. Okay. What was his name? The senator who became his first vice president. John Hoynes. John Hoynes, yeah. Can you believe that? like We had a Democratic senator from Texas as the VP. like I can't believe that.
00:36:58
Speaker
Yeah. And not so far fetched, hopefully coming up soon. But um yeah John Hoynes was an interesting character in that show. But but then obviously, um when the show was coming to its end, the the charismatic congressman from Houston, right? Yeah.
00:37:16
Speaker
Yeah. Santos. Congressman Santos. Congressman Santos. He was a mayor. was fellow Force man, I believe. Yes. Yeah. He was a pilot. I think still on the guard while he was a congressman.
00:37:29
Speaker
I remember the episode where he had to take a break from the presidential campaign to go do his like weekend tour or whatever. Yeah. And they thought it was a publicity stunt. He's like, have to do this anyways. And they're going to show photos of me hopping in my jet, which I thought great. Yeah, that's right.
00:37:47
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of veterans also in the the West Wing, which I really, ah really appreciated. ah Leo McGarry, I think he said he was a Vietnam vet. There's a lot of folks. the the The guy who took over Sam's job, who was in the Orange County race. Yeah, he showed up sometimes in his uniform.
00:38:07
Speaker
So I really liked that. And also the patrol Texans as Democrats, because I think people don't really think of that these days, ah that in the national conversations.
00:38:18
Speaker
Okay, so our ninth and tenth episodes. Nine was Brian Recker, not a Texan, but somebody who talked to us about Christian nationalism and someone who I think he wrote a book called Hellbent and talking about how Christians and their conversations about hell, which I had told him offline that when I was growing up here in North Texas, I'm Catholic. i sometimes had people telling me from a Protestant church that I was going to H-E-L-L because of that. And i growing up in that way, thinking like, wow, am I not, ah do i not belong in this area because I'm Catholic? And so he and i had a conversation about that offline.
00:38:59
Speaker
But i wonder your thoughts about his conversation, especially in terms of messaging to Christians and what their message is here and why like maybe we as Democrats are not part of that conversation.
Diverse Theological Perspectives
00:39:12
Speaker
Yeah, the big thing take away from it, and it's so resonant from my experience growing up in Sherman, is that for for most folks, they are only hearing one perspective on theology.
00:39:29
Speaker
And it's, I think, limiting um and it can be really damaging I'm not here to say that my my views on God or our spirituality are inherently superior than anybody else's.
00:39:40
Speaker
But I think for that particular brand of theology, that is what they're saying. That theirs is the one true way and you're either on board or you're not. And if you're if you're you're on the out group and not the in group, you're going to hell.
00:39:53
Speaker
And it can create this dynamic where people can be really terrible to one another. and What I've found in in my personal life is that it's usually people in the church who have driven folks out of church. so It's not usually... Jesus or the Bible or anything like that is usually like someone who has kind of weaponized faith and hurt them with it.
00:40:19
Speaker
um Like you, I, we, we had an off, off mic conversation about, I had a young life kid. um I was, ah I was an air director for a ah nonprofit ministry called young life. when I was in Sherman and I had a kid who went with me to camp and had such a good time, had a great experience, he had heard the gospel in a really profound and and compelling way.
00:40:43
Speaker
And he was so inspired by that, that he wanted to come home and rejoin his local church because Young Life is not a church. is It's a nonprofit. It's ah kind of like a parachurch organization. but he rejoined his church and he went to camp with his church that next summer. And this kid is gay.
00:41:01
Speaker
And there were notes passed underneath his door saying, you're a faggot. yes You're going to hell. You should kill yourself.
00:41:13
Speaker
ah And I've never been more angry to be associated with people who claim to be Christian because... even as a like a young person, you know, in high school, like I i was no theologian, i was no great, you know, student of seminary works or anything like that, but just the Jesus I had like heard about and read about and stories and from veggie tales, right? Like that did not jive with my understanding of the love that we supposed to be showing to each other. And so that affects the broader conversation about what we're having, this this kind of existential cataclysmic event coming down in 2030. I think we have to remember that people are
00:41:58
Speaker
only getting that one version unless we are able to find a way to enter the conversation. It is a very powerful thing to contend with.
00:42:09
Speaker
mean, how how are you supposed to convince someone to vote for a Democrat? Like you said, ah kind of like you grew up thinking everyone was a Republican, right? How are you supposed to convince someone to vote for a Democrat, even if they agree with them on every other policy position, if they believe that they are like...
00:42:26
Speaker
somehow enjoy enjoy abortions that they they want to kill babies right is very easy actually from my perspective to understand a single issue voter like that who says i agree with you in public education i agree with you on guns i agree with you on taxes i agree with you on the billionaire oligarchs and all these things but if you're pro-choice i'm voting for the other guy I can understand that if no one has actually had an actual theological conversation with them that is different from what they've only ever heard. And that takes patience. I know. and i wonder how we I can't be at the pulpit in every church, right? Like a Democrat can't be at every church gathering. So how do you break through? Because I understand why folks in a church might
00:43:11
Speaker
want to they trust their pastor they trust their priest they trust the people that they're praying with and the people that they have bible study with and they're telling them democrats or the devil or whatever and i how do we break through is a question i have for the new year like something i definitely want to understand better And I wonder, is it through different forms of media?
00:43:32
Speaker
Is it people like us speaking up? And I want to be clear that even if you're not a Christian or not if you're not religious, like this is still a podcast for you. Like this is not, this is an open space. It's not a Christian podcast, but we are providing maybe a different perspective of folks that are, ah who are of faith. And we want to have conversations. I've already talked to some of my friends who are Muslim and I want to have them on the podcast and talk about their,
00:43:57
Speaker
their communities and what's going on here in Texas, because we have a really large growing population um here, especially in my area where we've got several mosques. um So i I just wanted to make sure that that was clear. But I think what I took away yeah i just think from a practical and tactical perspective, like I think we mentioned this at the top of the the Brian Wrecker episode is just we are what the most church per capita state over 60% of adults are identify as some form of Christian. And, but I think what, to your point in his is that what's going on now within the Republican party, isn't about Christianity. It's about Christian dominance, which I think turns a lot of people away from the faith. And that as the three of us that we're talking are of faith and want to bring people back into
00:44:42
Speaker
that if they want to, if they if they are so called, ah because it's not about dominance, it's about love and also how you treat your neighbors and what that means for immigrants. And i'm I'm really proud of the Pope for speaking out about that and the Catholic um bishops across the country. So so then our our next few episodes were Julie Johnson, who's running for Congress now against Colin Allred, who dropped out of the Senate race. So that was a very interesting episode and very grateful to her.
00:45:11
Speaker
We should mention there's a third third candidate in that race as well. Yeah, who's self-identified, but very progressive. So we appreciate that there there are now three people in that race. It's going to very interesting to watch what happens at which the new Congressional District 33 after redistricting.
00:45:28
Speaker
um But I think the question I had was, how does all this affect turnout? How all is this going to affect us down the road and being able to flip Because if we are so overly gerrymandered, then does that increase voter apathy? And also is having a competitive primary good for all of us? I think so a lot of people have said yes, because it increases the conversation about Democrats. Like people have come away saying that having Jasmine Crockett and James Tallarico in the same race is actually...
00:45:56
Speaker
elevating the conversation about Texas and as Democrats, which I think is a good thing. And I've come out saying that I don't, I'm not necessarily for a slate where somebody has just handpicked everybody and we're going to go forth in the general. I think it's still, that seems to me anti-democratic in my opinion, but it's a, it's a good thing. I think that we have a competitive primary and we are elevating that conversation.
00:46:20
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think especially with the long view in mind, I totally agree with you. And I think Chairman Scudder and others who have have said that the the competition is is is welcome. And I think the reason why you want to see a good fight, um people I know people will bemoan like it's a waste of resources. We're lighting money on fire that we could use on the general election.
00:46:41
Speaker
I actually do think that having candidates be forced to talk to Democrats and forced to go, like when I say talk to them, I mean literally find them at the door to get them on the phone with a phone bank or to target them with mailers or what have you, they are going to be incentivized to have candidates those people really well organized to get that data file we talked about with Cliff, right? The van, get that cleaned up.
00:47:13
Speaker
Because if you're in a safe seat, like the Colin Allred, Julie Johnson district, CD33 is even bluer than it was before. There is a temptation to be like, let me coast through this primary. I'm not talking about them specifically. I'm just talking about ever throughout the state. I think it's a good idea to have competitive primaries to force people the candidates to have to defend their turf because that helps everybody because there are candidates above and below them on that ballot who will benefit from it, especially to have such a like marquee race like you talked about with the Jasmine and James Tallarico. I think for both of them, it elevates the conversation, like you said, but also elevates both of their profiles. They're both going to be more well known than they were before because of them being in the race. If only Jasmine had been in the race,
00:48:00
Speaker
She would have been as famous as she was before, but probably not all much more famous. But because there is an actual competition going on, she's going to get a lot of media that she wouldn't have otherwise and discussion and and articles and all the kinds of things. And same for James. Whoever comes out of that primary will be more well known, they'll be it better prepared, and the state's Democrats will have been better organized. Yeah. Yeah.
00:48:25
Speaker
So I'm looking at the website. Zeeshan Hafiz is the person running in the 33rd congressional with Julie Johnson and Colin Allred. And apparently there's a fourth, Carlos Quintanilla. And I'm also, it's a D plus 19 district according to Cook's, which is incredible. That means it's the 60th most democratic district in the United States.
00:48:49
Speaker
60, six zero. So that's a pretty, pretty blue seat. And that is a lot of voters that we could turn out to help in our statewide election. So I think that it's really important to make sure that whoever we are voting for, I'm not in that district, but that they are talking about turnout. You know, what's the turnout game for that that seat? Right.
00:49:11
Speaker
um So then our 11th episode was with the lieutenant governor, not um one of the candidates in lieutenant governor race, Vicki Goodwin. um and then the 12th, which was our just most recent episode, which was with the Gun Owners for Safety group.
00:49:28
Speaker
ah called Gifford with Giffords. ah So former candidate, Democrat and a gun owner here in the state of Texas. So with Vicky, I was really interested in, you know, that she was a part of that 2018 class of flipping a seat in Travis County, which was very interesting. She beat a long-term Republican. It was a contested primary fight, which was very interesting. and then talking about how she had flipped that race, but also reminding us just the importance of the Lieutenant Governor and The current person who holds that race, that seat, Dan Patrick, and his role in so many different things in the Senate and the the impeachment trial and all those other things. So um but what were your thoughts on what she had to say, smart especially as you know flipping the state?
00:50:14
Speaker
Yeah, I think she is on to something with trying to distill a message that can resonate across the state and be memorable. All right. Kind of getting it down to four things. I think if she can hammer those in a consistent way, that'll be helpful.
00:50:30
Speaker
I just know you're probably going to wince when I say that I'm just still so fired up about the whole Mike Collier bullshit. yes oh man i know you are yeah it bothers me so much i'm gonna look right now live i don't even i didn't know this game was gonna i didn't know the answers to the game i don't know what's gonna happen right now i'm looking at mike collier on instagram is he still a democrat on his yeah so first word on his profile democrat yeah what who does he think he's
00:51:02
Speaker
I know. also as running as a listener Yeah, he's running as an independent. He declared as an independent and he's running in the race come this fall ah between the Republican and the Democrat nominee. which we assume at this point is Dan Patrick. And then I know Vicky is sort of pulling better than anybody else in her race, but it's just like, how can, how dare you? I mean, I think he's just trying to maybe potentially win on name ID. Like, I don't know. Like what, what is his thought process? I'd love to know, but it it is um disappointing to say that we're in the least just now on the primary yeah Yeah. I don't get it. It is disheartening to see that, that he's doing that. And,
00:51:43
Speaker
Whether or not that takes away votes from a Democrat or a Republican. I think at this point, we assume it might take away from a Democrat, given that he was a Democrat. He is still is Democrat. He was a Democratic nominee for three cycles in a row for lieutenant governor twice and then as comptroller before that.
00:52:00
Speaker
Yeah, i yeah, that was really disappointing to see. But I really appreciated her, ah her takes and ah having and coming on our podcast.
00:52:15
Speaker
And then our last one was with Giffords, which just what just came out. I think you and i I was at least weary because we keep seeing in the Charlie Kirk assassination. we have all these, you know, what's going on in so many different, every day, know, there's a new,
00:52:30
Speaker
horror. And I'm thinking, is it appropriate to have this conversation about guns, especially from a gun owner? And i think ah we took away that there's no, it's always appropriate. Like we have to talk about this. There's no time where we're not going to have gun violence here in the state.
00:52:45
Speaker
ah Texas or in the country. And so we have to talk about that. And just being reminded by Stephen, who is a Democrat, an Army veteran, a gun owner, and with Giffords, that in the state of Texas, just universal background checks is so widely accepted. It's something that we all want. 80-something percent of us want background checks, which means that when you go buy a firearm, you have to have ah background check to make sure that you don't have a felony, you know, to make sure that anything else in your background that prohibits you from having a firearm. It just makes sense, you know, and like why we can't get on board with that. And just the the new laws that are coming out that people propose that seem to not make sense, like an 18 year old who could bring, you know, it, it could be the fact that 18 year old could bring a firearm to,
00:53:33
Speaker
to the school and just the things like that, like, just doesn't make sense given the fact that we have such a widely accepted or desired ah want for gun safety legislation.
Gun Safety and Ownership Debate
00:53:45
Speaker
So I thought that was a very interesting conversation with him. And one I'm i'm was nervous about having in the fact that we are talking about gun ownership and having but also having gun safety.
00:53:57
Speaker
Yeah. I think of the the line from ah the West Wing after the terrorist attack. um He says, this is a time for American heroes and we've reached for the stars.
00:54:08
Speaker
Yeah. don't know that there is ever going to be the right time. Like, I just get so frustrated by the idea of like, how dare you politicize this school shooting? How dare you politicize this theater shooting? How dare you politicize this out of the Allen outlet malls, which I've been to ever since I was a kid. i remember and we talked about in the episode, just bawling my eyes out after Sandy Hook happened, like,
00:54:34
Speaker
We have to have these conversations. We can't be shy about it. We can't like worry that we're going to politicize it because it is political. When 80 plus percent of the people want something to get done and it's not getting done.
00:54:50
Speaker
That's a democracy problem. And we can't be shy about it Yeah. I think if that's a resolution for us, it's just not being shy about so certain issues like that, like being a gun owner for gun safety, for safety also being a proud Christian ah Democrat, you know, all these things that I think folks have just not really had as a part of that conversation. And maybe we should have that. And it feels uncomfortable, but maybe we need to have uncomfortable conversations like that. And so I'll add that as a resolution, like uncomfortable talking points that we need to have as as Democrats in the new year. um the The stakes are too high.
00:55:26
Speaker
Yeah. So those are our 12 episodes so far. I can't believe we have, we had 12 plus our introduction, but I was wondering, just talking about that shooting that happened in the West Wing, one of our things that we do as a family is that we always watch the holiday episodes around the holidays, like the Thanksgiving, Butterball, Turkey fine And then we, we watch the Yo-Yo Ma, like Christmas special where Josh is going through PTSD of the shooting and
00:55:56
Speaker
Um, it just, it it's such a great, uh, I mean, you don't think like shooting and Christmas, but it it was such a great episode and it reminds me every year, like we tend to watch those episodes and, uh, what it means, like the realities of Christmas, um, in this time of year. So, you know, i was reflecting on like families that don't have their family members at Christmas, you know, what that, what's that like? And because of the shootings that we've had this year, also thinking about the flooding that happened in the summer and all those families that don't have their children. So things that we need to be doing as Texans that we think that we can accomplish in the new year.
00:56:32
Speaker
think we have to have those those tough conversations. Yeah. Still got that green bow around my tree in the front yard, thinking about back to the July 4th flooding. Yeah, no, I think...
00:56:46
Speaker
It really puts it in stark relief, doesn't it? that That there are bigger issues than whether you're going to rub someone wrong or be perceived as too political.
00:56:57
Speaker
Like these issues matter. Forget about like the red and blue and the ups and downs and what district is plus this and plus that. Like at the end of the day, let's forget like These are real people's lives. It really matters.
00:57:12
Speaker
It's bigger than partisan politics. It's bigger than who's up or who's down, who's polling well. Set all that aside, like we're going to do it because it's the right thing to do. Right.
00:57:26
Speaker
So after, so i have four things on our list right now on my whiteboard. I've got one, do you have a praising chair question mark? Two, messaging discipline, affordability, working class voters. ah And then I've got three ROI on your fundraising and money.
00:57:47
Speaker
whether that's a reoccurring donation, not just to the top of the ticket, and forehead uncomfortable conversations. Are there any other ones that you think that we should add?
00:57:58
Speaker
I think the one I would add here at the end for us, number five, would be to be open to learning from others. And by that, I mean, I think it is really hard for a Texan to take advice out of state.
00:58:13
Speaker
And I mean, there is some truth to that. The wisdom we talked about with you know running a district for for your district, I get that. But for some of the things that are not as specific to a locality, I think there is a lot we can learn in the tactics and the structures, the systems of campaigning that we can that we can draw lessons from in other other states, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Arizona.
00:58:43
Speaker
literally every other state that has elected a Democrat more recently than we have statewide. So um ah my my personal resolution is to bring on more voices from out of state.
00:58:55
Speaker
Right. i mean, it's only we can hear them out and hear what the success stories are and what would happen. I mean, I think a lot of people, it's really funny. You hear people will inside Texas criticize folks who have consultants out of state or even these like DC consultants that they think are, you know, out of touch with what we have here. But I don't think people also realize that we have a lack of people who are running campaigns and are consultants here in the state. So we have to, in some way, learn from the lessons of
00:59:28
Speaker
what other folks have done across the United States, what's worked, what's not worked, what's new, and maybe grow still grow within our own party, people to run races, because we don't have that many here in this great state.
00:59:42
Speaker
All right. That wraps up our resolutions and recapping our episodes. I'm wondering, Alex, before we leave, do you have any predictions for the new year? o get into Who do you think is going to win? Who do you is going to win the primary? i mean, we all obviously care about the race. Gina Hinojosa is going to win the primary for governor.
01:00:05
Speaker
Yeah. oh yeah. We called it. now Yeah. That's the big that was a big question you were asking, right? Yeah. one Yeah. Lieutenant Governor. ah I guess AG could be really interesting between Nathan Johnson, Joe Jaworski and Tony Box. That one seems like it's going to go to a runoff.
01:00:20
Speaker
Yeah. That's my that's my prediction is that it's going to go to a runoff. And it seems like right now Tony doesn't have his good name ID, but he put out a poll. But he's the latest jump in, though. Yeah, he's the latest to jump in. we'll see.
01:00:32
Speaker
He's never run before. but i think if people look at his bio, people are pretty ah ah impressed that he has a former federal prosecutor, veteran, now an attorney at a law firm. He's got a very similar story to mine, and so I'm very interested to hear from him.
01:00:47
Speaker
um But come on. We've got to talk about the Senate race. Like, what do you think? know you're you're close to James Tallarico's race. Yeah. What do you think is going to happen? And I'm not saying this as a shill for James.
01:00:58
Speaker
I genuinely don't know. I know that that the last poll I saw had ah Jasmine out by eight. And it actually doesn't surprise me. If anything, I was actually a little shocked that it wasn't higher because She's a member of Congress and James is a state representative.
01:01:19
Speaker
And she's been not only in Congress, but she's been on TV a lot. um She's been very bookable on on on on news and politics. And i see her in magazines and she's everywhere. She's got a real knack for attention. And in this this kind of a environment, that's going to really, really beneficial I think a lot of people also forget she was the co-chair of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.
01:01:49
Speaker
And she has like, uh, she has a lot of connections through the vice president and all the people who, who worked on that, on that race. And so she has a lot of DC connections that can help her, um lot of celebrities that she can do collaboration videos with and and these things. yeah So I was actually surprised that the the gap was actually only eight points, right? Like a single digit.
01:02:14
Speaker
That's a very respectable lead. But I think this is going to be actually a very competitive primary. And I don't know who's going to win. And I stand by the fact, the the opinion that I said earlier, which is whoever comes out of it, I think is going to be much better suited ah to go against Ken Paxton or John Cornyn, most likely Ken Paxton, because of it.
01:02:39
Speaker
Cards on the table, the only thing I'm concerned about is if we somehow figure out a way to jazz up turnout for Ken Paxton. that wouldn't have otherwise been there.
01:02:50
Speaker
yeah Like if, if, yeah if they're like, I don't like Ken Paxton, but I just can't stand James Tallarico or or i just can't stand Jasmine Crockett. If one of those things happens, if we can, if we can get our candidate through the, through the nominating process without them having a strong negative polarization effect, I think that that's the only thing I'd be concerned about is if the the primary were to get nasty and produce that kind of effect.
01:03:18
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I think, like, are we going to flip a seat or statewide come the fall? And I think one of the things that I've reflected on is, like, are we going to have a blue wave? And is it going to be bigger than 2018? And you think about, like, for every action, there's a reaction. Like, Trump and what he's been doing, is there going to be a bigger reaction? Kind of like a a pebble in a...
01:03:40
Speaker
um in a pond versus a big rock in an ocean. Like, are we gonna bigger wave because there's more rock here, you know, with his actions and how horrible that they've been um in terms of just relationally to what happened in 2016.
01:03:57
Speaker
And I'm wondering if that's the case, but I also hate to talk about blue waves in terms of that because it seems so passive and we forget all the work that we actually did in 2018 and all the people that like stood up and started doing more. And I think that's something we've heard a lot from folks that is that they hadn't really been active in 2016 until Trump was elected and that really spurred them to action.
01:04:20
Speaker
And so we have to not only want or know hope for a blue wave, but also one where we're like helping it along, right? Like we have to like get, make it bigger. through our works. And I'm hoping that that happens. And I think my prediction is that we are, we're gonna have a bigger wave.
01:04:35
Speaker
I'm hoping that carries us through to the two or three points that we only um have to make up from the 2018 election where Beto only lost by a few points. And I'm hoping that that happens in one at at least one of our statewide races. yeah then And it was not just Beto. it was It was Beto and newly independent Mike Collier. And it was Justin Nelson.
01:04:55
Speaker
right for lieutenant governor and attorney general in
Speculating a Blue Wave in 2026
01:04:57
Speaker
2018. And I agree with you, I think it will be a bigger wave ah in 2026 than it was in 2018. eighteen But it will fall on the wave will fall on if we're going to continue the metaphor of a wave is going to fall on a state with lines that were drawn differently.
01:05:13
Speaker
and So I think it might be discouraging. If you are just looking at, you know, seats flipped or something like that. But if you're looking at the overall turnout, like we always say, you can't gerrymander a statewide race?
01:05:28
Speaker
I think that the the margins are going to get way better on the statewides. I'll be really interested to see that if that wave is big enough to overcome even these really grossly drawn districts, which it can.
01:05:41
Speaker
I think the the phrase is dummy mander. ah Sometimes when a party gerrymanders their seats, Too much, they can actually cause themselves to lose seats because to to make ah seats more Republican, you have to to to to draw them, draw support out of some of the other districts. And so by weakening some of these other districts, you may be creating opportunities where you didn't think you had a problem.
01:06:07
Speaker
Like, here's what I mean. If the Beth Van Dyne district, which is drawn to be very Republican, my is like kind of the kind of movement like we saw in the special elections, um like in Tennessee and elsewhere, um Beth Van Dyne is not going to be a member of Congress anymore.
01:06:24
Speaker
I know. Yeah. And if that's happening and in a seat like that, we could see a big turnout ah shifts in congressional seats and state house seats, state Senate seats, but also in these judges. I just think Vicki Goodwin said it this way. Sometimes the Democratic Party doesn't dream big enough.
01:06:41
Speaker
I think this can be a really, really big election for us. But like you said, it's going to take all of us doing the work. Right. We can't forget that. and We did all the work in 2018. Got us close. We got to do it again.
01:06:54
Speaker
right, that's it for our recap resolutions and predictions episode. I guess we will see all in the new year where we've got a lot of new fun guests that we're going to have on, especially ah ahead of the primary.
01:07:07
Speaker
And we will say happy New Year and God bless Texas. God bless Texas.
01:07:16
Speaker
You can follow us on all socials at Mission Texas Podcast. Email us at missiontexaspodcast at gmail.com. This episode is edited by Juan Jose Flores.
01:07:28
Speaker
Our music bumper is by Adam Pickerel, and our cover art is by Tino Sohn.