A Democrat is running in every state and federal race on the Texas ballot next year, the first time in modern state history that either party has fielded a full slate of candidates, according to the Texas Democratic Party.
The complete field is the result of a recruitment campaign run by a network of the state’s top Democratic groups and politicians, including Texas Majority PAC, the Texas Democratic Party, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former state Sen. Wendy Davis.
Together, the groups recruited 104 candidates to fill every congressional, state House and state Senate seat up for election in 2026. The effort also ensured that a Democrat is running in every statewide judicial and State Board of Education race.
“No Republican gets a free ride in Texas,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said in an interview. “If you are a Republican and you want to hold public office in this state, you’re going to have to fight us for it.”
The push to run a candidate for every seat — no matter how red-leaning — comes as Texas Democrats look to capitalize on turnout and backlash to the Trump administration. The theory, Democratic organizers said, is that running candidates everywhere will not only maximize the party’s chances of flipping down-ballot seats, but also increase Democratic turnout and engagement in areas that top-of-the-ticket candidates may not be able to reach — potentially creating an upstream effect to boost statewide Democrats.
“Even the most relentless statewide candidate is never going to talk to every voter that they need to,” Texas Majority PAC Director Katherine Fischer said. “We need a network of talented, compelling Democratic communicators across the state to clearly communicate the message that Republican leadership has failed us, and that Texans should consider voting differently this cycle and in the future.”
[…]
One oft-repeated strategy for turning Texas blue is maximizing Democratic turnout in the state’s liberal metropolitan areas. But the level of turnout required to flip the state — which went for Trump by 14 points last year — is “so high that it’s, if not impossible, quite improbable” to get there through urban and suburban areas alone, Fischer said, pointing to the party’s dismal showing in rural Texas.
Why have Democrats performed so poorly in rural areas? One partial theory the party has landed on: Democrats simply haven’t been campaigning there.
“When you don’t have Democrats running, you don’t have Democrats showing up in communities telling people what we stand for,” Scudder said. “The Republicans have an opportunity to brand us and tell people what we stand for instead of it coming out of our mouths.”
Longtime Republican strategist Dave Carney, meanwhile, said the Democrats’ candidate slate was “just a gimmick, if they don’t back it up with serious resources.”
“When they start funding these outliers get back to me,” Carney, who is Gov. Greg Abbott’s chief strategist, said in an email.
At the same time, Abbott is vowing to spend big to flip Harris County red. He recruited Republicans to run in every state House seat in the county, according to the Houston Chronicle, including in safely blue districts.
Fischer said that Texas Majority PAC — one of the state’s most deep-pocketed Democratic groups, backed by millions in donations from liberal megadonor George Soros — plans to spend about $1 million between its recruitment efforts and helping candidates pay for various campaign overhead costs. If the effort garners even 2 to 3 percent more Democratic turnout, she argued, that could mean thousands of votes sent to the top of the ticket.
I’m very happy that we have a full slate, especially in a year where we can reasonably expect to do well. Waves can get bigger than you think, and they can sometimes swamp boats that weren’t expected to be in danger. You want to maximize your opportunities for gain.
That said, while I hate to give the devil his due, Dave Carney is right that it means a lot less if there are a sizeable number of candidates who aren’t getting proper levels of support. Fundraising, data, qualified and competent campaign managers, and so on and so on. The upside of running everywhere is expanding your target list and making the bad guys work a lot harder to hold onto what they’ve got. The downside is burning through a bunch of earnest people who won’t want to get involved at anywhere near that level again because they felt like they were ignored and disrespected and hung out to dry. While it’s on the TDP and local parties and the organizations named in the story to hopefully set as many of these candidates as possible up for success, it’s on all of us to do what we can to help them along the way. We’re off to a good start. Now let’s make the most of it.
I applaud those who are running in red areas. It’s important to change the narrative that Ds don’t care. To decide to run in a red setting is heroic. Candidates will usually spend 5-10k of their own money. They will organize blockwalks and knock on thousands of doors. Their families and friends will see less of them because they will go to every meeting where there are potential voters. In these races every D vote is a victory. Sometimes the party totally ignores them and offers little to no support. Supportive and active Precinct Chairs are worth their weight in gold! So, deciding to run is an act of love for this democracy. Thanks so much! IF you don’t win please don’t disappear. You are now a treasure trove of needed experience for those who come after you. You can share what worked and what didn’t. I salute you because I “been there, done that!”