Congressman Armando Walle also spoke about what he expects from the next leader of the Texas Democratic Party.
DALLAS — State Rep. Armando Wallet (D-Houston) spent several days thinking about what went wrong for Democrats on Nov. 5.
And even after heavy losses in Texas and across the country, the party sees no need to reset with control-alt-delete.
“Our policy is right. Our policy is right. We just have a messaging problem and we need to fix that,” Rep. Walley told Inside Texas Politics. “I’m not going to put the blame on anyone. We have to come together and get back on our feet.”
One of the sticking points for Democrats during the campaign was the turnout of Latinos in general, and Latino men in particular.
According to exit polls from multiple sources, 46% of Latinos voted for President-elect Donald Trump, the highest ever for a Republican presidential candidate. But when focusing on Latino men, that number jumped to 55%.
Both represent significant setbacks for Democrats.
And this demographic makes it clear that the economy is their biggest problem.
Rep. Walle said he understands the economic anxiety many are experiencing, but that Latinos are not solely responsible for sending President Trump back to the White House.
“We didn’t give Donald Trump the presidency. We were a little short on turnout in some areas. Some people looked at the president-elect’s message. Again, we… must do a better job of communicating its message to Latino men,” he said.
The Texas Democratic Party will have a new leader next year after its chairman, Gilberto Hinojosa, resigned after the election. That person will be determined at the state Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting in March 2025.
Rep. Walle says he’s looking for a leader who can bring together a broad coalition, not just from a racial perspective, but also from a geographic perspective.
“We have to be a big tent. Dear rural communities, I think we need to make sure that rural communities know our message that we are the party of workers.” The Democratic Party explained. “I’m going to listen to everyone. I want to hear what they have to say and I want to hear what their plan is to get us back to relevance and get us to a place where we can win across the state.”
Texas lawmakers have already introduced legislation for the 89th Texas General Assembly, which convenes in January 2025.
Congressman Walle introduced 19 bills.
One is to expand insurance coverage for IVF treatment to all state employees, including teachers.
Another bill would raise the state’s minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour.
“You don’t have to work two or three jobs to make a living in this state. We are the most prosperous state in the world, the ninth largest economy in the world. “It’s unbelievable that we would allow hard-working people to try to live on $7.25 an hour,” he argued.
