Texas Democratic Party To Decentralize To Win Texas
TDP to build power where Texans live and vote.
This weekend at the Texas Democratic Party’s Q3 Executive Committee meeting, the SDEC voted to move the Party HQ to Dallas and set up satellite offices all around the state, approved putting resolutions on the March primary ballot, and announced they’re debt-free.
Yes, some folks are bristling that the Capitol sits in Austin. Fair. But anchoring HQ in the nation’s fourth-largest metro, and DFW’s 8.5 million people, meets Texas where Texans actually live and vote, while keeping a permanent Austin presence for the Legislature. For decades, Austin has been the gravitational center of Democratic politics. The result? Other regions never developed in the same way. This shift says, “We’re going statewide, for real.” It’s growth politics.
And the early scoreboard looks good. Clearing the Party’s inherited debt, opening satellite offices (including Austin, Houston, Eagle Pass, Amarillo, and a pledged site in the Valley), and giving primary voters a say through ballot resolutions are the building blocks of a modern, decentralized party. Kendall Scudder and the new team are moving fast and in the right direction.
The Texas Democratic Party is getting out of park and into drive.
I promise I’m not getting paid by the Party to say nice things about them (or for any other reason), but I got into an argument recently with an organizer who had signed the Party off entirely. Not all of her points were entirely valid, as she was angry in instances where she should have been mad at a particular campaign, but in some cases, she had valid complaints about the TDP from 2018 and 2020.
And we can’t do that.
Not only do we have a new chair, but a large majority of the SDEC has been replaced. It’s an entirely different party. And since Kendall Scudder took over in March, he’s had his foot on the gas. Those around Texas must know it’s a new party, and they’re doing things a lot differently.
The Executive Committee voted to move the mothership to DFW. Austin will still have a working office for Lege business, but the day-to-day nerve center shifts north. New satellite offices are set for Austin, Houston, Eagle Pass, and Amarillo, with a pledged Valley site coming online as the space is ready.
Why Dallas for the HQ?
Besides it being where Scudder currently lives? DFW is home to about 8.5 million people, with some of the fastest-growing suburbs in America. It’s where new Texans land, where young voters are, and where the map is still moving. North Texas is a monster media market. You can reach millions with TV and radio at a better price than national buys, and the coverage bleeds into half the state. More eyeballs. More repetition. More persuasion.
Two major airports. Easier statewide travel for candidates, staff, and surrogates. You can fly in the morning, hit two counties, and be home by night. That matters when you’re trying to build everywhere. North Texas has it all in one place. Corporate and small-business donors, labor, tech, faith, and community groups, and a deep bench of volunteers. Fund it, staff it, scale it.
The effect of this could move margins in Tarrant, Collin, and Denton, and the ceiling for Democrats jumps. Every point you shave in the suburbs pays dividends statewide. This pulls the Party out of the Capitol echo chamber and plants it in target turf. Less insider chatter, more field organizing. Austin maintains a strong legislative presence, while Dallas emerges as the hub for growth.
“But the lege is in Austin…”
I hear you. The Capitol is in Austin. Lobby days, hearings, press gaggles, Austin is where the sausage gets made. And guess what? Austin isn’t going anywhere. The plan keeps a staffed Austin office to handle session-time ops, coalition rooms, rapid response, and the daily grind under the dome.
Decentralization beats centralization. Where the HQ sits shouldn’t decide where power gets built. Year-round field capacity in multiple metros should be considered. A modern party runs like a network, not a single office. Austin has been the Democratic HQ for a long time, which helped the Capitol work, but it also meant other regions didn’t get the same long-term investment. Time to match that Austin muscle in Houston, DFW, the Valley, the Border, and the Panhandle.
Being debt-free is a huge accomplishment.
We don’t know what the debt was when Kendall Scudder took over. Although I heard rumors and speculations, Scudder’s touring and fundraising dug the TDP out of debt. The reason this is big is that if he can wipe the TDP’s debt in such a short amount of time, then raising the money for 2026 may be something he can accomplish.
This frees up money for the TDP to establish satellite offices, enabling them to hire more staff and, hopefully, access the best voter data.
This helps the Party’s credibility, having clean books matters a lot. It’ll help them retain staff. It’ll help them plan more in advance. And it’ll give them a bigger advertising budget.
The resolution for the primary ballot resolutions passed.
Last week, we discussed whether or not the Texas Democratic Party should add primary ballot resolutions to our March ballots. The SDEC voted overwhelmingly to do this. YAY!
Ballot resolutions could boost participation, especially in rural areas where they might not have any Democrats on the ballot. They could also test issues, provide the Party with data, or assist candidates in developing talking points.
Ultimately, what resolutions go on the ballot will be up for the SDEC to decide. I hope they use plain language that’s easy for people to read. I also hope they focus on kitchen-table issues. Healthcare, public schools, wages, flood relief, and anti-corruption. The last thing we need is long, meandering texts with hard-to-understand jargon, so I hope they consider that.
The TDP is moving forward.
Kendall Scudder looks like he’s doing the job he was hired to do: get out of debt, decentralize power, and start building muscle where Texans actually live.
One thing I’m still chasing is a real count of precinct chairs. I don’t have a final number yet because the Secretary of State’s office hasn’t posted an update all year, but I’m digging. When we can show growth in precinct leadership alongside these office openings, that’s when you’ll know the rebuild is taking root.
In the meantime, let’s feed the momentum by plugging into the nearest office, becoming a volunteer or a monthly donor (if you can afford it), helping shape clear, kitchen-table resolutions, and recruiting candidates for the races right in front of us. The car’s in drive. Keep your foot on the gas.
November 4: Constitutional/TX18/SD09 Election
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Of course, our committeeman for CD 6 voted against all of it. ALL! Yes, even though we are in DFW he voted against moving the executive office to DFW and having 5 regional offices that saves us $3,000 each month. But he voted NO! Luckily, our committee woman, there by proxy, voted yes on everything. But we are losing her as a result of redistricting. So get ready! As the 2024 national democratic delegate for CD 6, I am running for SDEC and we already have several other progressive young democrats who are considering to run against that white man. He has voted against our interests since his very first vote which was NOT to vote for Kendall Scudder. I told him that as soon as the country met Kendall Scudder we would be out of debt. And see, yes we are! So yes I am so happy the main office will be in Dallas. We have the largest growing population and the most need to grow and recruit democrats. Austin will be fine with all the great party chairs including the amazing Kim Gilby of Williamson County and strong precinct chairs like by mentor Kerri Stevens in Travis. But DFW is like four different countries compared to Austin and we have the opportunity to grow!
Girlllll this is the type of organizing i can get behind and the talent that i acknowledge. I may be left to the democrats but i will not deny hard work when i see it and i can definitely see a significant difference with Kendall. He is definitely working hard and the efforts do it. I will not deny and insult Kendall even if his politics are different because i cannot deny the efforts he is doing to make Texas more competitive. That alone has respect for me.