The Machine, and the Messaging, That Won Texas for Democrats
Years of organizing met a moment of voter discontent, as James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa offered Texans a vision of economic relief and political change.
The Democratic Party’s stunning domination in Texas on Tuesday began with the promise of one candidate, James Talarico.
"Dems stunning domination in Texas", I have to blink.
After decades of Republican rule, his well-funded, disciplined and scandal-free U.S. Senate campaign helped convince voters that winning was possible this time.
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With Democrats poised to occupy nearly every statewide office — a tectonic shift...
...fielding candidates for nearly every race — all 150 state House districts, every statewide office, every state board of education position and every major judicial race. The Republican Party in Texas did not do the same, leaving some Democrats with uncontested seats.
“This is the first year where we really had a machine built,” said Katherine Fischer, the executive director of the Texas Majority PAC, which worked with the Texas Democratic Party to run and train candidates. “We filled every single state and federal seat for the first time in state history of either party.”
...the scale of Democratic success was so great that it appeared likely to propel a legislative candidate in Fort Worth’s conservative suburbs to victory despite having suspended her campaign over questions about whether a conviction could disqualify her.
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The Democratic Party’s candidates, especially in statewide races, stuck to a consistent middle-of-the-road message, promising to address cost-of-living concerns and to curtail cultural battles that have consumed Texas politics for years.
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By contrast, Republicans leaned into culture wars that had seemed potent just two years before. They believed they had easy targets in Ms. Hinojosa and Mr. Talarico, who had spoken publicly about gender, race and equity.
“Some people know him as ‘Tofu Talarico.’ Some people call him ‘Six Gender Jimmy,’” said Mr. Paxton on the night of his primary victory in March. “I’ve even heard some people even call him James Talafreako.”
That nickname stuck, but not as Mr. Paxton expected.
At a Houston rally the next day, Mr. Talarico told supporters that they could buy a T-shirt declaring “I’m a Talafreako.” More than 43,000 did, netting his campaign more than $1 million.
The nimble response — parrying rather than counterpunching — captured the instincts of his campaign. Mr. Talarico stuck relentlessly to a core message: Texas politics was dominated by billionaires and politicians like Mr. Paxton who had served their own interests at the expense of ordinary Texans.
And like Trump nationally.👇
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👆Democrats also had one major, if unintentional, benefactor: President Trump, who visited the state repeatedly, reminding voters of why he was unpopular.
“The biggest thanks have to go to Donald Trump,” said Cristóbal Alex, who helped advise a super PAC supporting Mr. Talarico.