Cody Grace For Texas House District 06
Part One of the Blue Battle 2024: Inside the Democratic races.
This year, leading up to November, I plan on highlighting and dissecting the various races Democrats are fighting for in the State Legislature. I’ll cover the seats, and we’ll probably flip. We could flip with a lot of money, and even the seats we know are more difficult, but we must stay optimistic about them.
To flip the Texas House, we need to flip 12 House seats. It can be done, but all the seats we have to flip aren’t cut in stone. I wanted to start this series with Cody Grace because I have a lot of faith in Grace, but I also see how Smith County has a path toward blue. Let’s get into it.
Who is Cody Grace?
Grace is a father, a Tyler native, and a small business owner. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago when he ran for House District 06 (HD06) for the first time. (We’ll get into that later.) Grace genuinely wants what is best for his family and community.
Being a Tyler native, Grace has deep East Texas roots, and he understands the unique challenges and opportunities of living in this part of the state. His approach to local issues is grounded in a deep commitment to enhancing the community’s economic and social well-being.
Check out his Facebook. You can see he is active in his community and has been at the forefront of civic issues for quite some time.
Who is he running against?
This seat was abandoned by Representative Matt “Meathead” Schaefer, who decided to retire because the pressures of turning the Texas Government into a fascist state were just too much for him.
(Fun Fact: Matt Schaefer blocked me on Twitter after I accused him of masturbating to the Second Amendment. He never denied it.)
The Republican elected in the primaries to take Schaefer’s place is Daniel Alders. Like all good Republicans trying to dog-whistle to their fellow whiteys, Alders claims to be a seventh-generation Texan. This is a claim I am highly suspicious of since I went to Ancestry.com to try and verify it, and I was unable to. (Maybe I’ll have to dig in deeper another day. His real name is Benjamin Daniel if you want to look into it too.)
According to Alders’ website, his priorities are:
Militarizing border communities, which are exactly 482 miles from his home, or 7 hours and 44 minutes with tolls.
Ending public schools and implementing vouchers.
That’s it. Those are his only priorities, which ultimately will do diddly-squat for the people of Smith County. The only private schools in Smith County are religious ones, and with 52% of Smith County students being non-white, the majority of them wouldn’t be able to get vouchers.
Further reading:
San Antonio Report: Private school vouchers are modern-day segregation
Center for American Progress: The Racist Origins of Private School Vouchers
Dallas Observer: Critics Warn Passing Vouchers in Texas Will Revive Segregated Schools
Since Alders’ only two priorities have to do with inflicting harm on Black and brown communities, we can easily say that Alders does not have Texans’ best interest at heart, nor does he have Smith County’s best interest in mind.
What about Smith County?
There are many reasons to be hopeful for Smith County. For one, its demographics resemble most of the rest of Texas. Smith County has a wonderfully diverse population, unlike some pockets of East Texas, where outsiders and people of color shouldn’t stay after sundown.
Even though the majority of this county is still Anglo, from the 2010 Census to the 2020 Census, Smith County went from being 62% Anglo to 56% Anglo. At this rate, Smith County will be a majority-minority district around 2030 and will become a crucial part of Democratic politics during the 30s.
Unfortunately, like all communities that have a concentration of people of color, Republicans gerrymandered the map by splitting Smith County in half.
(Side note: if Democrats can take the legislature in 2026, they can do mid-decade redistricting. They don’t have to wait until the next census. Republicans did mid-decade redistricting in 2003, leading to their total control.)
The biggest hurdle that Grace and Smith County Democrats have to jump over is voter turnout.
In 2022, voter turnout for HD06 was 41.4%, and for the entirety of Smith County, it was 49.5%. Yeah, it was a midterm year, and turnout was lower. Plus, Democrats stayed home in Texas in 2022, but we know what we must overcome.
I’m going to tell the brutal truth.
The Smith County Democratic Party has had years of dysfunction and chaos. It’s been several months since I’ve heard any rumors through the grapevine about Smith County, but over the last five years, they’ve had at least three County Chairs and multiple interparty fights that have made it to the media. I won’t rehash it, but to eventually flip Smith County (which I think can be done in 2030 or 2032), the Smith County Democratic Party will have to get its shit together.
Part of that starts with Precinct Chairs. Currently, Republican precinct chairs outnumber Democratic precinct chairs in Smith County.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a million times: Whoever wins the precinct chair race wins the game. Of course, precinct chairs need to be active and engaged.
What will it take for Cody Grace to win HD06?
It would be fantastic if the local Democratic Party could get more responsive precinct chairs who would work with Grace on his campaign and get out the voters. Active precinct chairs can boost turnout in their precinct by over 30% by putting in the work.
UT Tyler has 10,000+ students; outreach and engagement with them throughout this year will go a long way.
Grace will have to have an aggressive GOTV strategy in Black and brown neighborhoods, which would help the overall turnout in Smith County.
Mothers For Democracy recently opened an East Texas chapter. This year, they plan to target low-propensity women on the issue of women’s rights. I would like to see them partner with Grace this year and heavily target HD06 for some door-knocking. (Hint, hint.)
Most of all, Cody Grace will need volunteers and donations for his campaign.
He might have a good shot if he can put in a hard campaign, continue focusing on Daniel Alders’ alignment with vouchers, and show up in the least expected places.
You can learn more about Cody Grace on his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Important 2024 primary RUNOFF election days:
April 29, 2024: Last day to register to vote.
May 17, 2024: Last day to apply by mail
May 20, 2024: First day of early voting.
May 24, 2024: Last day of early voting.
May 28, 2024: Last day to receive a ballot by mail.
May 28, 2024: Election day.
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voting has consequences....a vote for an R means more rural hospital closings...if they all are not closed by now. Rural R's seemingly don't need a hospital......unfortunately D's undervote so they have no influence....don't feel bad Houston C.....Texas largest red county's Democratic Party(Tarrant) is as inept and indifferent.....
from TO: "Houston County’s struggle to keep its hospital open reflects similar challenges faced by rural hospitals across the state. Texas not only has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, it also has the highest number of rural hospital closures—26 as of 2023, according to an analysis by Chartis, a healthcare advisory firm. In the 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid coverage, including Texas, more than half of the rural hospitals are operating in the red, the study found. "
If i were running for State Rep this would be my Numero Uno issue
Dear Ms. Ivins....er Michele....great fun read..still laughing at ur fun fact