The Texas Democratic Party is undertaking a major shakeup to end a losing streak marked by its inability to win a single statewide seat in 31 years, Texas Public Radio reports.

The ambitious plan for the party, which is under new leadership, includes geographical and philosophical changes, an upending of business-as-usual practices and getting back to basics.

Change of scenery

In an effort to focus less on Central Texas, the Texas Democratic Party has moved its headquarters to Dallas, according to TPR’s reporting. The State Executive Committee approved a plan to shift principal operations to North Texas while maintaining a satellite office in Austin.

The relocation is part of a larger expansion effort across the state, which will include the party opening more offices in Houston, Amarillo and Eagle Pass. Party insiders also tell TPR that they’re eyeing another potential office in the Rio Grande Valley.

“This is a full-fledged effort to make sure that we’re competing all across the state,” Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder told TPR. “We’ve been very Central Texas-focused as a party, and that’s left large metros like Houston and DFW and, of course, West Texas, East Texas [and] South Texas feeling left out.”

Part of the reason for relocating the headquarters to Dallas also is likely because Scudder, who became party chairman in March, lives there.

Not everyone is convinced it’s wise to relocate the party from the seat of the state government, however.

“That would be like moving the Democratic National Committee to Pittsburgh or Denver rather than having it in Washington, D.C.,” Cal Jillson, who teaches Texas politics at Southern Methodist University, told TPR. “I don’t know why you would decide to do that, nor do I think it makes much sense here in Texas, because the government is, in fact, in Austin. That’s where you want to have your institutionalized, permanent presence.”

Kitchen table issues

In addition to geographical changes, the state party is shifting gears on messaging, choosing to eschew national talking points for kitchen table issues that affect working-class Texans, Scudder told TPR.

“I grew up on a farm in East Texas where, back in the day, East Texas farm families, we were all Democrats, because Democrats earned our support and showed us what it meant to elect Democrats that were throwing down and fighting for working-class families,” Scudder added. “We have to get back to that mentality.”

According to Scudder, the party’s failure to focus on such issues — including access to healthcare and expansion of Social Security — has caused it to lose ground.

“That’s why you had 1.1 million Democrats who voted in 2020 that chose to stay home in 2024,” Scudder told TPR. “Unlocking our base is a huge step forward towards flipping this state, and so that’s what I’m trying to do in making sure that we’re harnessing the power of our grassroots.”

These grassroots talking points are echoed by some of the party’s top contenders for public office, including State Rep. James Talarico, who’s running for Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s seat. Talarico will first face off against Dallas Democrat Colin Allred in the primary.

Other rising stars among Texas Democrats, including U.S. Reps Jasmine Crockett and Greg Casar, and Austin City Council member Mike Siegel, also maintain messaging focused on working-class issues. As does Former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke, though he hasn’t yet announced a candidacy for any office in the current election cycle.

The return to what worked when Democrats dominated Texas is a departure from the more recent reign of TDP Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, who largely operated in lockstep with the national party. When the party lost ground in his home turf of the Rio Grande Valley, Hinojosa chose to blame pro-trans messaging, which he argued didn’t resonate with voters who are more middle-of-the-road.

This messaging reflected the national party leadership’s effort to put distance between it and the more “controversial” planks of its platform, such as immigration, abortion and trans rights, rather than embracing the left wing of the party. The misstep led to fierce backlash and Hinojosa’s ultimate resignation from the role he held for 12 years.

But with Scudder’s recent election, it seems to be the dawn of a new day for the state party.

What it takes to win

Scudder told TPR that repairing party infrastructure is one of the keys to getting Democrats back to fighting shape in the Lone Star State. That includes filling vacancies for party chairs in areas that have long gone without them.

“If you look at where there are and are not Democratic county chairs, West Texas and the Panhandle are where largely our vacancies are,” Scudder told the news outlet. “Our party has been virtually defunct, other than some really hardcore activists that have been holding down the fort out there.”

But repairing the infrastructure starts at the granular level, SMU’s Jillson told TPR.

“They need, I think, to start by working to fill all their precinct committee chair positions,” the professor said. “Every voting precinct in the state is supposed to have a committee man and committee woman from each party. Only about half of those slots are filled.”

Precinct chairs are ideally supposed to serve as the face of the party for their immediate neighborhood, canvassing residents, registering them to vote, reminding them to vote, telling them who’s on the ballot and getting them engaged.

Additionally, the Texas Democratic Party suffers from the problem that some of its existing precinct chairs don’t carry out the required duty of connecting with voters, insiders also maintain.

Voters who don’t know who their precinct chair is can contact their county’s Democratic Party.