Tag Archives: Texas 2016 elections

Battleground Texas: Now With Battle Scars

In a post election email sent to campaign volunteers, executive Director Jenn Brown made one part of those future plans abundantly clear… Battleground Texas may be bruised, but here to stay.

Tuesday was not the result any of us wanted. The national headwinds were stronger than anyone thought, and Texas got swept up in it. But I hope you’ve got your head held high today, because we’re just getting started and there’s plenty of exciting work to do.

The email was not a solicitation for more funds, but actually a request from volunteers to provide feedback on how they thought the organization performed in its first major campaign.  I already provided feedback to the email, but also wanted to share those same thoughts, with just a bit of expansion, on the blog.

As ‘the new kid in town’, it’s no surprise that a lot of excitement surrounded Battleground Texas. But all the excitement in the world could not compensate for what proved to be BGTX’s biggest hurdle in 2014… being new, and unfamiliar with the Texas voting landscape.  Instead of forming a support network around existing local organizations, it seems that BGTX chose to mostly go it alone.  This lack of any coordinated strategy often lead to repetitive outreach efforts to the same voters, or missing critical voters altogether.  In a year filled with so much general voter apathy, everyone knew it was going to be tough to make a difference at the statewide level, but these novice mistakes made the disparity even more apparent.

Criticism aside, BGTX had much to be proud of during this election cycle.  Though the turnout goals were not achieved, at the end of the day there are now more Texans registered to vote than any mid-term year in state history.  Building organization of over 33,000 volunteers was certainly no small feat, and a true testament to the vast potential for making Texas into a swing state.  Better yet, those volunteers are now connected to more people right in their own communities that care enough actualize around important issues.

Organization is a skill that can be applied far beyond just particular candidates or elections. Building momentum around issues like raising the minimum wage or equality is just as important, if not more so than political aspirations.  Battleground Texas should “keep going” in off-election years.  Even if it is just a bi-monthly service project like a health fair, community garden or an immigration law workshop, BGTX has room to grow and join the true fabric of the state. No one is going to awake the “Silent Majority” overnight. But now that we’ve lived through an election, the real work can begin.

On the political campaign side, 2015 presents a vast opportunity with local races. BGTX leaders should be working with local candidates because they are the ones that know not only the needs of their communities, but also how to best engage them.  All of these strategies carry into the next.

Organizing in the digital space is important too.  How are those in the 33,000 member volunteer base supposed to connect with each other after the latest campaign ends??  Much of this work can be done through a more website that contains forums, a community page to post events and ways for people that care about common causes to find one another.  A better, more comprehensive web presence would be another step in the right direction.

Ask any of the greatest politicians to ever live.  If Bill Clinton had given up after being ousted as Arkansas Governor in 1980, he wouldn’t have ascended to the Presidency just 12 years later.  Barack Obama knew the sting of defeat in 2000 when he lost out on a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he didn’t give up.  The greats take a defeat, and learn from it. BGTX has been introduced to Texas, but now is the time to truly become part of Texas.  Once that happens, the Lone Star state will have some real contests at the ballot box, and beyond.

Congratulations to all the staff members and volunteers with Battleground Texas.  We finally have some real battle scars.

BGTX Epic Flag

 

 

UPDATE:  BGTX Executive Director Jenn Brown has published a letter to supporters via the Battleground Texas website.  In it she addresses next steps for the organization and what they will be doing to move forward, including reaching out to people to find out why they didn’t vote.  It looks like internal feedback is simply the first step.

Blue Texas: What the National Media is STILL missing

Time to Turn Texas Blue?

It appears that my initial criticisms were a bit premature. Today, much of the news media has been dominated by the roll out of Battleground Texas… a grassroots initiative aimed at making Democrats competitive in the state. Founded by former OFA director Jeremy Bird, the new organization has promised to make a long-term commitment to Texas Democratic causes. Needless to say, this is one Texan that is impressed with today’s events.

But what is far from impressive is the continued mythology held by the national media regarding Texas. When I hear commentators on MSNBC talking about the state, it’s clear that they are NOT familiar with Texans or Texas politics in the same intimate way that they know Florida, Virginia or New York. Take the classic map that MSNBC’s Chuck Todd posted this morning on The Daily Rundown…

He correctly points out that since 2004, Dallas County and Harris County (Houston) have flipped from a Republican majority to a Democratic majority. But his map suggests that Travis County (Austin) is somehow a red county? No… actually Travis county has been majority Democratic since the 1990s!! If we’re going to have a discussion about how Democrats can advance in Texas, it’s critical that we start that discussion with an accurate picture of the state. In 2012, 4 of the state’s 5 largest counties voted blue, including Travis. It may seem like a small thing, but on a national show, it’s important to present factual information.

Another issue continues to pervade national media coverage is the sole focus on demographic (racial) shifts. It’s true that the state of Texas is majority-minority, but it’s also true that plenty of Hispanic voters (the ones that show up to vote) are solid Reopublicans. But Texas will not go blue on any single statistic, and there’s one HUGELY important fact that people do not cover enough.

Not only does Texas have a growing Hispanic and Asian population, but it also has a rapidly-growing URBAN population. The long-held stigma of Texas no longer holds true. The majority of Texans now live in the state’s core urban areas… Dallas- Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso. As the state continues to condense it’s population, it also takes on more characteristics of other large cities around the country. Millions of Americans have moved from all over the country thanks to continued Texas job growth, and as luck would have it, they are also bringing their political beliefs with them. And they’re mostly moving to the urban areas. Texas will not become blue by the growth of the Hispanic community alone. But if we can turn blue, it will be due to the confluence of rapid domestic migration AND changing racial demographics. These two trends have to move toward Democrats in tandem, along with an overal increase in voter participation. Groups like Battleground Texas and local organizations have to continue to expose the great travesties that Texans have suffered under Republican governance, like draconian cuts to our state’s education funding, and Governor Perry’s refusal to expand Medicaid.

Like the rest of the nation, the doors to a blue Texas continue to swing open thanks to the continued failings of the GOP. But if we’re going to get there, it is critical for Progressives and the Democratic Party to come to state, talk to voters, and get a better understanding for what’s really going on down here. I invite MSNBC to broadcast some shows from the great state of Texas. Come to cities like Austin and Houston, and meet some of your faithful audience members. Show the rest of the nation that when it comes to turning the state blue, Texas Progressives are ready to rodeo.