O'Rourke: What we've learned in Texas

[TexasTowelie]

I have spent the last week calling around the state to listen to voters, candidates and organizers. There are many more calls to make, but a few things are coming into focus.

First, we should remember that we protected 11 of the 12 State House seats that we won in 2018. Those were historically Republican districts, and it was no small feat to stave off the millions of dollars spent to retake them. Likewise for our two congressional pickups from 2018. Colin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher are both returning to the U.S. House. We also saw Joe Biden improve nearly 4 points over Hillary Clinton’s performance from 2016. That was the best showing by a Democratic nominee in Texas in 24 years.

However, we lost every challenger Congressional race and every challenger State House race except for one. And we didn’t come nearly close enough to winning statewide — Presidential, Senate or otherwise. It’s important that we understand why, so that we can do much better next time.

Some thoughts based on conversations from this week:

The asymmetrical advantage that Trump and the GOP had this cycle in Texas is far more powerful than many of us understood. And I think it begins to explain Republicans’ incredible performance on Tuesday night.

Read more: https://riograndeguardian.com/orourke-what-weve-learned-in-texas/

[Karadeniz]

1. I'm sure he's studied the Abrams' strategy in Georgia.. It can be done!!!

[Funtatlaguy]

2. We spent WAAAAY too much in Texas and SC.

We got fooled by some lousy polling
That money could have gone to Maine and Montana Senate races or even NC (where another roving penis caused a loss).

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. I wish I could rec 100x.....

Beto gets it. Change is always and he gets the lesson of thw 2020 loss in Texas. Worth a read...and it can be applied everywhere....


This point especially-

Nothing beats meeting your voters, eyeball to eyeball. We should always find a way to canvass directly at the voter’s door. There is a safe way to do this, even in a pandemic.
We should be talking to voters year-round. Not just the quick hits to determine partisanship or gain a commitment to vote or to turn someone out to vote. We should be having open-ended conversations with voters about what is important to them, to us, throughout the year, every year. Organizations like the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) have been doing this and have been winning races in places like Harris County. We should learn from them.

[LeftInTX]

7. Yes!

[al bupp]

4. Excellent recommendations, IMHO

Beto makes some great points, well worth the short read. Hopefully, the DNC is listening and receptive.

[Thekaspervote]

5. Bookmarking

[SomedayKindaLove]

6. Tough to flip a state that was lost by 800,000 votes in 2016

Right now Texas numbers for 2020 are Trump by about 625,000.

It might take a few decades still, but Texas is inching closer. Clinton lost by about 9%, Biden 5.5%. Wonder if that lead will shrink some once all the votes are counted.