Could Texas flip blue in 2024? What role will issues like abortion rights, education, and housing costs play in the Dallas area in 2024? We asked Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Kardal Coleman.
There has arguably been no state that has been more at the center of America’s political universe in recent months than Texas.
Governor Greg Abbott seems hell-bent on causing a constitutional crisis by defying a temporary Supreme Court order and refusing to allow federal Border Patrol agents access to sections of the border in Eagle Pass.
Attorney General Ken Paxton—fresh off surviving an impeachment attempt from fellow Republicans over allegations of corruption—is taking every measure possible to restrict abortions in Texas, even in cases of severe medical complications, like the ones Dallas-area mother Kate Cox faced in December.
These are the actions of Republicans in a solidly red state. But is Texas really that? Or is it closer to flipping blue than Republicans think?
We asked Kardal Coleman, chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party about all these topics and more.
This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.
What are some of the things you’re hearing the most about from voters and community members in Dallas County in terms of issues that are most important to them?
There are a lot of issues that we’re seeing right now. One, housing as a basic human right here in the city of Dallas. We’re living in what some might consider a housing crisis, and so that’s key and top of mind.
Also, in a state where women, they’re losing control or the ability to choose, bodily autonomy for women is a key issue here in Texas. Also, gun safety is another key issue here that we hear about.
Criminal justice reform [too], there is a ballot measure that [could] be on the November ballot to decriminalize marijuana here, specifically in the city of Dallas. So city of Dallas residents [might] have the opportunity to vote for that this November.
So there are a lot of issues that are on the ballot and a lot of issues that people care about here in North Texas, specifically in Dallas County that they’ll have a chance to address.
There’s been a lot of efforts over the years to boost voter registration in Texas and to try to flip Texas blue. Do you feel optimistic about that effort still? What do you think it’ll take for that to happen?
It’s possible, and we’re not too far away from that concept, but it takes all of us. It’s about building political infrastructure. Somebody used the term “friend banking,” having one friend to tell another friend. And also our electorate is getting a lot younger. So Gen Z, now they’re emerging as a large voting bloc within the electorate as well. So things are changing and I think Texas will reflect—we’ll see the voting demographic change as the age demographic changes as well, but we’ll see those values come to play and come to bear.
When we talk about turning Texas blue, I think again, we have to get organized and we have to have more people in the conversation and get in the fight. Not saying that ‘I really don’t get involved in politics’ or ‘I don’t do politics.’ If you’re not at the table, then you’re on the menu. And so we have to have more people willing to get in the fight and have the conversations with us.
There’s a Senate race this year between Ted Cruz against whoever emerges from the Democratic primary. Do you think there is a chance to flip this seat?
There’s always a chance, especially when you have the number of voters in Texas that we do, especially when Ted Cruz is on the ballot. This year is the first time that Trump and Ted Cruz will be on the ballot at the same time, and so there’s the appetite there from voters to do something about it, and so it’s just on us to organize, mobilize, and make sure that we’re getting people out to vote.
You mentioned the ballot measure in terms of decriminalizing marijuana. Obviously something we’ve seen a lot in Texas and other states is the Republican state government, trying to override local governments when they don’t like what they’re doing. Is there a concern with that in terms of marijuana decriminalization?
Yeah, but I mean we have to keep the narrative straight, we know that people will try to run with it and create false narratives. But this is about one thing, it’s really about justice. We talk about decriminalization. We’re not having a conversation on legalizing marijuana, but just decriminalization right now. When we talk about decriminalization, we know that communities of color, Black, brown, and poor communities are disproportionately affected by the criminalization of marijuana.
So even in a state like Texas, where we have [about] 70% who are ready to legalize marijuana, we have to first focus on decriminalizing and also reducing the harms that have been in place by criminalizing marijuana for people who are arrested on low-level misdemeanor crimes and then end up losing their jobs because they’re in jail for the weekend, they lose their car, maybe it’s impounded. It’s all compounding effects of why people may be arrested and are jailed for a while based on these low-level misdemeanor crimes.
Reproductive rights have been a huge issue everywhere, but especially in Texas. What are you hearing about it from community members or party members, and do you think it’ll play a big role in the 2024 election?
I think when you look at the electorate, women show up to vote more than men. And so we look at that, I think we have to prioritize issues that matter most to the electorate as well. It is always going to continue to be an issue, but we’re living in Texas and there’s so many compounding issues at one time, so it is hard to say which one is a priority. We have to try to lift all of the issues at the same time, and that’s what we’re focused on doing for the next couple of weeks until the March primary, and then we’ll do it again in a general election. It’s just to run an issue-based campaign, run a campaign that is really focused on the needs of the people.
We know AG Ken Paxton has tried to block every federal effort to expand access to abortion and it’s Texas judges who have tried to block access to abortion medication. In a state that’s controlled by Republicans, what are Democrats doing to try to really highlight the impact of these actions?
I think in a state like Texas things that we can do is to make sure that we are creating safe spaces for ourselves, not just in our households or in our safe spaces where we might convene as friends, family, and our places of worship, but also we can create a voting utopia that is Dallas County. We can create a voting utopia that reflects the values of the people. Dallas County is solidly blue and we don’t take that for granted, and it takes a lot of hard work to be able to get there, but we can’t lose our grip.
And so we try to, number one, educate voters and then also mobilize them to Get Out the Vote on all of these issues so that we don’t lose any momentum here in Dallas County. We see what happens when we go to a county north or south of us. They don’t have the luxury that we do to have as many Democratic elected officials, and so we’re maintaining our progress, but also trying to grow a majority as well.
You mentioned housing costs and the housing crisis. What would the county party like to see happen on this issue?
One is just budget allocations to make sure that we’re putting the right amount of resources to things that are most needed. There’s been a conversation around parks versus housing, and we know that parks and creating community spaces and green spaces are important, but it should never be at the cost of giving people housing or providing housing for individuals who need it.
I think that it has to be a balance and so I think our county party has tried to be the voice or the convener of thought leaders to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is what the people really want,’ and making sure that we’re always allocating budgets to make sure that it follows what people really need.
School vouchers have been a big issue in Texas in terms of the governor and the lieutenant governor trying to expand vouchers, but Democrats and rural Republicans have blocked it. Is this something Dallas County residents have strong feelings about? Do you think it’ll be determinative in terms of the legislative races this year?
It’s been defeated in the Texas legislature, one, because we have strong public schools here in Dallas County, and then also we have strong advocates for those public schools. We produce some of the best and brightest out of our schools here. The number one school in America actually sits in the city of Dallas and Dallas County, which is Townview High School. It’s a magnet school. So there’s so much talent, there’s so much brilliance here in Dallas County. But also as we talk about our schools in Texas, we have to make sure that they’re fully funded and fully resourced to be able to train up the brightest minds that we have.
I know there’s a difference between the districts, but we have seen the state take over Houston ISD. Is there any concern about that happening in Dallas?
In Dallas, specifically Dallas ISD, we have strong leadership, we have a strong superintendent, strong trustee board. But also we have to make sure that we’re making strides. We have to make sure that we’re providing different programs that parents want as well, parents and students that they can be involved in. And so I think that what we see in Houston is unfortunate, but also it’s not what the students want. It’s not what their parents want. It’s kind of been forced upon them. So we have to show that our schools are strong and the programs that we provide are competitive as well.
In the last couple of years we’ve seen a lot more extreme heat, extreme cold, power grid issues, water boil notices, and just a lot of infrastructure issues in Texas. Do you anticipate this is something that will become an electoral issue? What would the party like to see happen that isn’t happening?
I think it will remain an electoral issue. We talk about the extreme temperatures, we’re not that far removed from the winter storm. And voters’ memories, I don’t think they’ll have a short memory, they won’t forget that they had a US senator that fled to Cancun and went on vacation while we were all left without power and resources. So I think this is a conversation that will continue to play out specifically in the 2024 general election, but also in years to come.
Perhaps the biggest story right now in Texas is the standoff at the border with Governor Abbott blocking federal agents from accessing the border. I’m curious what your thoughts are on this broadly and what it says about the governor and his agenda?
The governor has had an infatuation with trying to please the national Republican base. And so this is all politics coming to bear. This isn’t really focused on humanity or how we show ourselves to be friendly as Texans or how we handle individuals who are coming over in a state of crisis.
We talk about living in Texas, which is a Bible belt, but also we see the actions on the border not being really Christ-like. So we have to ask ourselves who we really want to be as a state. We’ve not really seen humanity there on the border. We’re not seeing care and concern for individuals on the border, it’s becoming more of a Republican talking point. And so how we care for people and I think that we have leaders here in Texas, specifically on the Democratic side, who want to provide real tangible solutions, comprehensive immigration reform, but also care for people as they try to come seeking asylum or seeking a better life.
Is there anything else you want to share, you think is important to know that I haven’t asked you about?
I would just say that this year is important. We talk about every election being the most critical election of our lifetime. I think this is not one that we can sit out. This is not one that we can take lightly. I think Donald Trump has shown us who he is and what he’s willing to do. The question is, we have to ask ourselves, do we want to reelect Donald Trump by not participating? Do we want to reelect Donald Trump and give him the chance to do whatever he may think of doing in a lame duck president’s status? So we don’t want to not participate.
Also, we want to make sure that we support our current administration and Joe Biden. We’ve gone through a pandemic, we’ve gone through a lot of things in this country, and I think that he’s been a steady hand to guide and help lead us through those situations. And so democracy really is on the line on this election. We’ve said that in a lot of different elections, but this one is maybe the most critical because these two presidents have shown you exactly who they are and how they’re able to govern and how they’re able to lead.
We have to think about what we want our country to be and how that affects us in our day-to-day lives.
