I left the Texas Democratic Convention inspired by our volunteers—and worried that we're still repeating some of the same mistakes that have cost us elections.
I’m surprised that James Talarico was a no-show. His ads are blowing up on my TV and anything that requires WiFi. Maybe he’ll read this article and do better in the future.🙏
Amen to the organizing. And, it really takes a village. Volunteers have lives too. The more of us to take up the slack, the better.
I have everyone beat so far. In 1976, I was fifteen going on sixteen in August. I was driving around Austin and Hays County that summer with my friends, dazed and confused. LOL
Lol. I was 16. I marched and played clarinet in the National Tom Sawyer Days Parade on a hot and humid day in Hannibal, Mo. And then I worked at a fireworks booth until late into the night. The 200 year celebration was almost as disappointing as the 250th.
And…. we must work on relationships and rebuild communities to get THIS work done!💙
Spot on. I've been watching the same activities and hearing the same messages for 20+ years now. Then we get the same results. We're missing the boat somewhere. And I recall Obama's organization. It was impressive.
I'm in. Cypress, TX reporting for duty. I'm off to buy that book. And I was almost 5 on 7/4/1976 and all I remember is fireworks-y commercials and fireworks over a body of water on TV, that night I guess.
Ok first of all, I always swore you were younger than me. I was not even 2, but standing with a sparkler in Austin Texas. I always say, I learned to walk and talk in Texas. This state has always had a pull on me. Family history, my first memories.
Why Democrats Lost Rural Texas (And What the Research Says Would Win It Back)
On June 3, 2026, the New World screwworm was confirmed in Texas for the first time in 60 years. A rancher in Zavala County had to drive 50 miles to find a veterinarian.
That same month, the Pecos Valley melon farmers—a generational agricultural brand—were gone. A state agriculture official said it plainly: “There’s no water. They had to leave.”
In North Texas, the Permian Basin has seen 1,600 earthquakes since 2009, caused by wastewater injection. The ground is fracturing.
Schools are closing in Central Texas. Property rights are being stripped in East Texas.
And Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in Texas since 1994—32 years ago.
Here’s what haunts me: Rural and suburban Texans didn’t abandon Democrats because they “lost” the culture wars. They abandoned Democrats because Democrats put survival issues on hold while fighting the culture wars.
The research is clear: Democrats could win rural Texas if they fought both fights simultaneously—defending marginalized communities and protecting rural/suburban survival (water, schools, property rights, the ground itself).
Because the ground is telling you what is happening. The only question is whether you are listening.
I’m surprised that James Talarico was a no-show. His ads are blowing up on my TV and anything that requires WiFi. Maybe he’ll read this article and do better in the future.🙏
I’ve been disappointed at how absent Gina Hinojosa campaign has been. At last James is out there beating the pavement.
Oh, not good. Abbott has got to go!
He's going to go! We are going to work as hard as we can to make sure he does.
Yes!
Yes!
Amen to the organizing. And, it really takes a village. Volunteers have lives too. The more of us to take up the slack, the better.
I have everyone beat so far. In 1976, I was fifteen going on sixteen in August. I was driving around Austin and Hays County that summer with my friends, dazed and confused. LOL
Lol. I was 16. I marched and played clarinet in the National Tom Sawyer Days Parade on a hot and humid day in Hannibal, Mo. And then I worked at a fireworks booth until late into the night. The 200 year celebration was almost as disappointing as the 250th.
And…. we must work on relationships and rebuild communities to get THIS work done!💙
Spot on. I've been watching the same activities and hearing the same messages for 20+ years now. Then we get the same results. We're missing the boat somewhere. And I recall Obama's organization. It was impressive.
I'm in. Cypress, TX reporting for duty. I'm off to buy that book. And I was almost 5 on 7/4/1976 and all I remember is fireworks-y commercials and fireworks over a body of water on TV, that night I guess.
Ok first of all, I always swore you were younger than me. I was not even 2, but standing with a sparkler in Austin Texas. I always say, I learned to walk and talk in Texas. This state has always had a pull on me. Family history, my first memories.
LOL! I just wear really good sunscreen since I was 18 YO! No wrinkles! YET! LOL
Definitely!
Why Democrats Lost Rural Texas (And What the Research Says Would Win It Back)
On June 3, 2026, the New World screwworm was confirmed in Texas for the first time in 60 years. A rancher in Zavala County had to drive 50 miles to find a veterinarian.
That same month, the Pecos Valley melon farmers—a generational agricultural brand—were gone. A state agriculture official said it plainly: “There’s no water. They had to leave.”
In North Texas, the Permian Basin has seen 1,600 earthquakes since 2009, caused by wastewater injection. The ground is fracturing.
Schools are closing in Central Texas. Property rights are being stripped in East Texas.
And Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in Texas since 1994—32 years ago.
Here’s what haunts me: Rural and suburban Texans didn’t abandon Democrats because they “lost” the culture wars. They abandoned Democrats because Democrats put survival issues on hold while fighting the culture wars.
The research is clear: Democrats could win rural Texas if they fought both fights simultaneously—defending marginalized communities and protecting rural/suburban survival (water, schools, property rights, the ground itself).
Because the ground is telling you what is happening. The only question is whether you are listening.
Jorge