Texas Dems hone in on key issues
Just being anti-Trump won’t move state to blue, convention leaders say
FORT WORTH — Anger at Donald Trump alone is not going to change Texas.
That is becoming clear for Democrats as they meet in Fort Worth for their statewide convention to plan for the midterm elections and beyond. While frustration with Trump has sparked record numbers of candidates, boosted fundraising and fired up the base, many here are warning they need to shift the conversation to specific issues that will win over independents and moderates in a state where Democrats are mostly outnumbered.
“Anger at Donald Trump will get you just so far in a place like Montgomery County,” said
Marc Meyer, the Montgomery County Democratic Party chairman for the last two years. He said down-the-ballot Democrats have to hit on the issues that will not only get the base of the party fired up, but attract independents.
Jobs, infrastructure and health care are the issues most Texans talk about around the kitchen table, said John Richie, who sits on the state Democratic Executive Committee from North Texas. He said the party’s challenge is to convince those Texans that voting for Democratic candidates will change their lives.
“If we do that, I think we’ll win,” said Richie.
Polling in Texas shows Democratic voters want candidates to talk about health care and jobs, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of nearly 1,000 Democratic and independent Texans last month. Among Republicans, immigration issues floated to the top of the list.
Health care has been at the top of many Democratic candidates agendas. The continued rising cost of health care, the opioid crisis and the rolling back of the Affordable Care Act have all become key points for candidates like U.S. Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat running against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
“It means that every one of us is able to get healthy and stay healthy,” O’Rourke says at the top of the issues page on his campaign website. “It means we have access to the providers, medications and help that keep us on our feet and moving forward.”
There’s also Kim Olson, a statewide candidate for agriculture commissioner, who focuses on showing how important jobs and the economy are for farmers to put food on voters’ tables.
Valedez raps border chaos
During the first day of the convention, Democratic candidate for governor Lupe Valdez and lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier heaped criticism on Trump but honed in on immigration at the Texas border. Even though Trump has announced he is changing course on separating apprehended families, Valdez said the issue will remain front and center because she’s not sure Trump will follow through.
Just being anti-Trump is probably enough to help Democrats win in blue states, but in a place like Texas, that is just not going to cut it, said Larry Sabato, director of the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia. He said candidates get halfway there in a red state or red county by slamming Trump, but then they have to tell people why voting for Democrats will help make their lives better.
But Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said Trump has done so much to damage the state and the nation, he’s not so sure opposition to Trump alone will not flip seats in Congress and the Texas Legislature. Hinojosa told Democrats in one of their first sessions during the three-day conference that they need to “stop Donald Trump.”
Hinojosa said he’s convinced Democrats have a bigger base of support in Texas, but it has been hard to motivate them. But Trump has become the fuel to get those people out because everyone now knows the consequences of not voting, he said.
In the convention hall, others see issues helping the Democratic cause. Jax Finkel, executive director of the Texas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, hopes Democrats will get behind the legalization of medical marijuana.
The group has a booth at the Democratic convention, just like they did last week in San Antonio where Republicans were meeting. She said at both there is clearly a momentum.
And then there’s gun control
More candidates are taking up the issue realizing it can drive down opioid use and reduce prescription drug costs, she said, as is happening in other states.
“Absolutely, this is a big health care issue,” Finkel said. “People want access to it.”
More complicated is gun control, something Democrats are seeing first hand at their convention. A recent rash of school shootings have energized conversations about gun regulations and stronger school safety here and across the country.
Organizers put the Texas State Rifle Association’s booth in the exhibition hall next to Moms Demand Action, a group calling for curbing access to firearms. While many Democrats are calling for less access to high powered weapons, most have touted “responsible gun ownership.”
During the three day convention in Fort Worth, Democrats will choose a leader for the next two years, set party rules and the platform, plus give dozens of Democratic candidates an audience of more than 7,000 Democrats to speak to. The convention is in Tarrant County, a place Trump carried in 2016.