Texas Democrats are meeting in El Paso this week to discuss ways to acquire more votes in statewide elections and increase support for the party’s political agenda.
The convention is taking place June 6-8 at the El Paso Convention Center, with scheduled appearances from Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), and Sen. César Blanco (D-El Paso).
While the three-day event will result in the selection of 273 national delegates and 20 alternates to attend the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, the major focus will be on mounting an offensive against Texas Republican priorities.
“Texas Republicans have repeatedly shown who they are. They are a group of MAGA extremists hellbent on stripping away women’s rights,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party, per KERA News. “Our message to voters [is] this: Texas Democrats are the party of freedom.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Republican Party of Texas held its own convention in San Antonio last month. Alongside electing a new chair, Abraham George, the event saw party members discussing Republican legislative priorities, such as passing an education bill with a taxpayer-supported school choice program and electing a House speaker that will keep Democrats from chairing House committees.
George recently told Fox News that the legislative priorities have not been published yet but will center on border security, school choice, election integrity, and grassroots mobilization to earn Republicans more seats in the Texas House and Senate.
Similarly, Texas Democrats are looking to increase voter support by focusing on opposing Republican stances on key issues, including abortion, guns, and education. For instance, caucuses entitled “Reproductive Freedom,” “Stop Gun Violence,” and “Education and School Finance” are scheduled during the convention.
The launch of a new Democratic political action committee is occurring alongside the event. The Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund (ADIF) will aim to drum up more sustainable support for Texas Democrats through more effective messaging.
“We’ve seen clearly that demographics are not destiny in Texas; that we need to do more to make Texas Democrats sustainably competitive and move past the boom-and-bust cycle of excitement and momentum that centers around specific candidates,” said Luke Warford, founder of ADIF and the Texas Democratic Party’s former chief strategy officer, according to The Texas Tribune.