Democrats Don't Have a Messaging Problem, We Have a Conversation Problem.

Republicans don't win because they have better ideas. They win because they decide what everyone else spends their time talking about.

Every election, I hear the same complaint.

“Democrats need better messaging.”

Usually what follows is a discussion about slogans, logos, colors, fonts, TikTok videos, or whether we should say “working families” instead of “middle class.”

None of those things are the real problem. Our problem isn’t messaging.

Our problem is that we’ve allowed someone else to decide what the conversation is about. And once your opponent controls the conversation, you’re already losing.

Think about the last few years in Texas.

How much time have we spent talking about drag queens?

• Bathrooms.

• Library books.

• Critical Race Theory.

• Woke.

• Flags.

• Pronouns.

• Disney.

• Bud Light.

• Whether a teacher used the wrong word.

How much of that affects the average Texan’s daily life?

Almost none of it.

Now think about what Texans actually complain about while standing in line at H-E-B.

• “My insurance just went up again.”

• “I can’t believe what groceries cost.”

• “My property taxes are ridiculous.”

• “Our hospital closed.”

• “My daughter can’t afford a house.”

• “My electric bill is insane.”

• “My kid’s school keeps losing teachers.”

That’s the real election.

But too often Democrats leave that conversation because Republicans have convinced us to chase theirs instead.

Every hour spent arguing over a manufactured controversy is an hour we’re not talking about why Texas keeps getting harder to afford.

And that’s exactly where Republicans want us.

Republicans Understand Something Democrats Often Forget

Republicans don’t expect every voter to remember every policy.

They expect voters to remember a story. Their story changes over time, but its structure almost never does.

• There is always a villain.

• There is always a threat.

• There is always a promise that only Republicans can protect you.

• It’s simple.

• It’s emotional.

• And they repeat it until everyone else starts repeating it too—including Democrats.

Democrats often make the opposite mistake.

• We answer every accusation.

• Correct every statistic.

• Respond to every tweet.

• Fact-check every interview.

• Issue another press release.

• By the end of the week we’ve spent all our energy talking about issues Republicans selected.

We didn’t choose the battlefield. We walked onto theirs.

Stop Playing Defense

One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is believing they have to answer every question exactly as it’s asked.

You don’t.

• A reporter asks a question.

• An opponent throws an accusation.

• A voter raises a concern

Answer it honestly. Then bridge back to what matters.

Imagine someone asks:

“What do you think about the latest culture war controversy?”

A campaign that loses spends five minutes debating the controversy.

A campaign that wins says:

“Texans deserve leaders focused on lowering insurance costs, fixing our schools, and making life affordable again. That’s what families are talking about where I live.”

Same question.

Completely different conversation.

That’s not dodging. That’s leadership. Leaders decide what deserves attention.

Republicans Have Owned Texas for More Than Twenty Years

Here’s something Democrats rarely say enough. Republicans campaign like they’re the opposition. They’re not.

They’ve controlled statewide government for over two decades.

When people complain about:

• property taxes...

• insurance premiums

• the electric grid

• water shortages

• healthcare

• maternal mortality

• having to drive 2 hours to get to nearest hospital or doctor

• school closures

• jobs being taken over by AI

We need to ask them if they know who’s been running Texas?

Republicans

The point isn’t to attack Republicans personally. The point is to remind voters that records matter. And Republicans are sitting on worse records than Democrats; it’s just that we do a really shitty job of calling it out.

Dear Texas Republicans, you don’t get to run the state for twenty-plus years and still campaign like someone else is responsible. Those days are OVER!

Photo credit to Centre for Ageing Better

Democrats Need One Story

Sometimes I think Democrats have forty different campaigns happening at once.

• Healthcare.

• Schools.

• Housing.

• Water.

• Infrastructure.

• Workers’ rights.

• Women’s rights.

• Voting rights.

• Climate.

Each issue is important. But voters don’t organize information that way.

People remember stories. So give them one.

Here’s mine:

Texas families are working harder than ever, but life keeps getting more expensive because the people running our state are looking out for powerful insiders instead of the families who built Texas. This means my family pays more in Taxes and my kids are getting less and I am sick of it.

Suddenly every issue connects.

• Insurance.

• Housing.

• Healthcare.

• Schools.

• Property taxes.

• Water.

• Corruption

• Education

They’re no longer separate debates. They’re chapters in the same story.

Simplicity Isn’t Dumbing Things Down

One of the biggest misconceptions in politics is that simple messages are simplistic.

They aren’t.

Simple messages are memorable. Nobody remembers your seven-point housing policy. They remember how you made them feel and whether you understood their life.

They remember whether you sounded like someone who lives in their neighborhood instead of someone who writes white papers.

Talk like your neighbor at H-E-B and don’t forget to wear your “Ask Me Who I am voting for shirt” and bring a few candidate trading cards. Don’t talk like a legislative policy director.

The Election Starts Long Before Election Day

Here’s the part that gives me hope.

Republicans aren’t better storytellers because they’re smarter. They’re better because they’re disciplined. Discipline is something Democrats can learn.

Imagine every Democratic candidate in Texas, whether they’re running for school board, city council, the Legislature, Congress, or statewide office, telling the same basic story.

• Life costs too much.

• Government should solve problems.

• Freedom means making your own decisions.

• Texas should work for families—not insiders.

Different voices. Different communities. One narrative.

That doesn’t erase our diversity. It amplifies it.

Because voters don’t need a hundred disconnected messages. They need a reason to believe we’re all rowing in the same direction and that we as Democrats are relatable.

That’s how conversations change.

Conversations are how elections are won!

Now I am determined that the only way we can win this at this part of the game is not to wait for TMP, James Talarico, or Gina Hinojosa to save us, but to work from the bottom of the ticket up, go super local, and work our way up the ticket. We need to recruit our friends and neighbors to knock on doors with us and tell them about candidates. We need them to recruit their friends and so on and so on. But the relational marketing we need the most isn’t coming from an app; it’s coming from getting our asses off the couch and talking to people, telling them our story about why we are volunteering to help get Democrats elected and be seen as relatable in our communities and not the picture that Texas Republicans are trying to paint about Democrats.

I get called radical a lot. And trust me, there is nothing radical about me at all. The most exciting thing I do is sometimes I run and get a Dr. Pepper. My life involves taking kids where they need to go. Helping my special needs son and packing orders. Hardly a radical. But a very frustrated Mom who wants Texas Democrats to get their shit together and win elections. Losing means more innocent people die due to Republican policies.

I guess if wanting people to live is radical, so be it. I thought it was just being a good Christian.

Nancy Thompson