Kendall Scudder takes over the still-shaking Democrats after hurting election losses.
Dallas – It’s the toughest job in Texas politics and may lead the state Democrats.
And after shellac last November, the party is trying to reinvent itself.
For work, I enter Kendall Scudder, who thinks he is the right person at the right time. And Scudder wants to completely reform the party, not only tinker with it along the edges.
He said he spent his first week as chairman of the Texas Democrats trying to find ways to rebuild a more efficient and agile organization.
“I think Democrats, and anyone who’s really involved in government, they tend to addle themselves with bureaucracy. And I’m a private sector guy. I want an organization that moves, responds, and serves people on the ground.”
Scudder said it starts with a rethinking of what the party considers as “country” Texas.
The state has over 40 cities and has over 100,000 residents. And in these regions, Scudder argued that GOPs have free reins to explain and frame Democrats because they are not necessarily enabled in these medium-sized cities.
“If you put them in other states, they become population centers. But because it’s Texas, they’re considered country. That’s a bit strange. Sorry, Amarillo is not country. Lubbock is not country. Amarillo has 200,000 people. Scudder asked as an example.
Big spring. Abilene. Tyler. Texal Cana. Beaumont. Scudder will use all of these cities as a place where the party can start investing more resources and starting to build true infrastructure, and volunteers walking to county chairs and doors can tell those residents what Democrats represent.
So, rather than firing everyone when the election is over, Democrats will now keep their staff members year round.
And he believes that these steps will be combined to help the party ultimately establish a grassroots organization across the state.
“What we rely on as a party is a big savior at the top to gather a lot of money and bring the organisation together. “I think the way to do that is you have to build an organisational team and divide the state into regions. Don’t fire everyone when the election is over.
Of course, fundraising continues to run the political engine, so Scudder is focused on raising a ton of money, even if he wants to fold the original donor.
Scudder is taking over for Gilberto Hinojosa, who resigned after a major defeat in the 2024 general election. This means he will have to hold a full four-year term in 2026.
Seven people competed to lead the State Democrats, but Scudder won 65 of the 121 votes from the Management Committee, which is a total majority in the first vote.
And he quickly points out that Democrats have just chosen millennial advances to lead the party.
“You should see Democrats that bit more on it. You will see Democrats that throw them, not just take punches. You will see Democrats that have more of them in places where we weren’t typically there,” he said with confidence. “What we’re focusing on is to ensure that workers are at the heart of every debate we have and that every bill we write about, every bill we can pass on, every bill we advocate, cleats, soccer cleats, how it affects children.”
