Texas Democrats Face Uphill Battle in Statewide Races, Strategist Says

Veteran Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett outlines the challenges his party faces in the Lone Star State.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Democratic insiders often joke that Texas is like Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football in the "Peanuts" cartoons, with the "football" being a statewide victory that Democrats keep failing to achieve. In a recent podcast interview, veteran Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett discussed the challenges his party faces in Texas, including voter suppression, a lack of infrastructure, and the need to assemble the right coalition to win statewide races.

Why it matters

Texas is a crucial battleground state, and Democrats have struggled to win statewide elections there for decades. Hackett's insights shed light on the obstacles the party faces and the strategies it may need to employ to be competitive in future Texas elections.

The details

Hackett cited several key factors that have kept Democrats out of power in Texas for the past 30 years, including Republican efforts to suppress the vote, a lack of Democratic infrastructure to compete in all of the state's counties, and the challenge of winning over a sizable number of unaffiliated independent voters in rural and suburban areas. He emphasized that if Democrats want to win statewide races in Texas, they will need to assemble a winning coalition that includes Latino, Black, and young voters.

  • The last time a Democrat won a gubernatorial election in Texas was in 1990.
  • The last Democratic U.S. senator from Texas, Bob Krueger, left office in 1993.

The players

John Thune

Senate Majority Leader (R-South Dakota)

George Will

Washington Post columnist

Sarah Matthews

Former White House Deputy Press Secretary

John Cornyn

Incumbent U.S. Senator (R-Texas)

Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General

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What they’re saying

“Republicans have done a fantastic job of suppressing the vote in Texas, of keeping voters at home, of making it extremely difficult to vote in the state.”

— Sawyer Hackett, Veteran Democratic strategist (The New Republic's "The Daily Blast" podcast)

“If Democrats want to win, they have to go everywhere. They have to compete everywhere. They have to maximize their voters. They have to divide Republican voters, and they have to win over the sizable number — 15 percent or more — of unaffiliated independent voters that are often in the rural and suburban parts of Texas.”

— Sawyer Hackett, Veteran Democratic strategist (The New Republic's "The Daily Blast" podcast)

What’s next

The 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas will be a key test for Democrats, as they seek to field a candidate who can appeal to a broad coalition of voters and overcome the state's Republican dominance.

The takeaway

Texas remains a formidable challenge for Democrats, but Hackett's insights suggest that the party may be able to make inroads by building a diverse coalition, maximizing voter turnout, and addressing the issue of voter suppression in the state.