Shortly after the November election, long-time Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa submitted his resignation, which will be effective upon the election of a new chair on March 29th, the Q1 meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee. 

ABOUT OUR RANKINGS

About the TXPC Endorsement Committee: This committee consisted of 20 progressives from across Texas with various backgrounds, histories, specialties, and more. The committee didn't always agree 100% on each ranking. To see the committee's composition, click here.

1. Overall Ranking: Our application was graded on a 300-point scale. 100 for Ideology, 100 for Party Enhancements, and 100 for Personal/Political History. THIS APP WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY CANDIDATE TO RECEIVE A PERFECT RANKING. It was a very difficult application, and we thank each candidate who took the time to complete it.
   • Ranking are ranked from highest to lowest using the following stages of the progressive movement:
     • New Dealer
     • Great Society
     • Rainbow Coalition
     • Populist
2. Ideology: 25 questions about policies, such as stances on healthcare, housing, climate, Wall Street, monopolies, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, reproductive healthcare, labor unions, veteran issues, agriculture, international trade, guns, peace, cannabis, immigration, corruption, privatization of public services, mental health, big tech, no-knock raids, etc.
3. Party Enhancements: 20 questions about how they plan to build and strengthen the Texas Democratic Party, such as stances on ranked choice voting, term limits, accountability measures, how to improve accessibility, the role of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC), how to improve data and information technology (IT), consultant outsourcing, etc.
4. Personal/Political History: 24 questions on personal and political history, including fundraising history, number of counties visited, hours per week, management style, leadership roles within the Democratic Party, experience within the Democratic Party, relationships with other caucuses, etc.
5. Special Notes: These are special notes from the TXPC Endorsements Committee.

Kendall Scudder

1. Overall Ranking: New Dealer
2. Ideology: New Dealer
3. Party Enhancements: Great Society
4. Personal/Political History: New Dealer
5. Special Notes:  This candidate is the Vice Chair of Finance for the Texas Democratic Party, is a political activist, and sits on the Dallas Board of Appraisers. 

Patsy Woods Martin

1. Overall Ranking: Great Society
2. Ideology: New Dealer
   • While overall very strong on Ideology, the Endorsements Committee had some concerns regarding one answer. Further review is pending.
3. Party Enhancements: New Dealer
4. Personal/Political History: Rainbow Coalition
   • While this candidate has a great fundraising history and promises to put a lot of time into this role, they lost points for not having a history of holding roles within the Democratic Party.
5. Special Notes:  Former Executive Director of Annie's List and is a rancher. 

Delia Parker-Mims

1. Overall Ranking: Great Society
2. Ideology: New Dealer
3. Party Enhancements: Great Society
4. Personal/Political History: Great Society
5. Special Notes:  This candidate is the county chair for Denton County and an attorney.

Aaron Arguijo

1. Overall Ranking: Great Society
2. Ideology: New Dealer
3. Party Enhancements: New Dealer
4. Personal/Political History: Populist
   • While the candidate promises to put a lot of time into this role, they do not have a good history of fundraising, and they have little history of holding positions within the Democratic Party. 
5. Special Notes:  This candidate is a veteran and business owner. 

Patricia Olivares

1. Overall Ranking: Great Society
2. Ideology: New Dealer
3. Party Enhancements: New Dealer
4. Personal/Political History: Populist
   • While this candidate promises to put much time into this role, they have little history of holding positions within the Democratic Party.
5. Special Notes:  This candidate is a veteran and has worked on several campaigns. 

Lillie Schechter

1. Overall Ranking: Great Society
2. Ideology: New Dealer 
   • The Endorsements Committee had some concerns regarding peace.
3. Party Enhancements: Rainbow Coalition
4. Personal/Political History: Great Society
   • While overall a B, this candidate has a strong fundraising history. 
5. Special Notes:  This candidate is a former Harris County Chair who successfully fundraised for the county, and currently works as a consultant.

Meri Gomez

1. Overall Ranking: Great Society
2. Ideology: New Dealer
3. Party Enhancements: Great Society
4. Personal/Political History: Rainbow Coalition
5. Special Notes:  In the majority opinion of the Committee, this candidate was perceived as displaying a lack of decorum at the Houston Forum.

Rabbi Misha ben-David

1. Overall Ranking: Populist
2. Ideology: Populist
3. Party Enhancements: Rainbow Coalition
4. Personal/Political History: Populist
5. Special Notes: This candidate has not attended many forums, so the TXPC does not know much about them. This lack of attendance could be due to most forums on the Sabbat (Saturdays).

Rev. Steve Miller

• The TXPC did not receive an application despite multiple contacts. 

Darceal Tobey

• The TXPC did not receive an application despite multiple contacts. 

Learn more on our Events page.

RECORDINGS

• TXPC's TX Dem Chair Forum (Jan 25)
• Black Caucus Forum (Jan 16)
• South Texas Forum (Feb 1)
• Houston Forum (coming soon!)
• DFW Forum (coming soon!)
• Lubbock Forum (coming soon!)

The State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) will be the body that elects the new chair on March 29th.

The SDEC is the elected body that governs the Texas Democratic Party. There are up to 122 members in the body (assuming no vacancies or members who are both SDEC & DNC). Click here for the full list of voting members.

The SDEC is composed of:

• Two (2) members for each Congressional District elected at the Texas Democratic Convention;
• Members from various SDEC caucuses such as the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus, Black Caucus, College Democrats, County Chairs Association, Disability Caucus, Environmental Caucus, Indigenous Peoples Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Labor Caucus, LGBTQ Caucus, Rural Caucus, TX Lege Caucus, Veterans Caucus, Youth Caucus, and Womens Caucus; and 
• Members of the DNC who were elected at the Presidential Texas Democratic Convention.
• Five (5) Executive Officers elected during the Gubernatorial Texas Democratic Convention including: Chair, Vice Chair, Vice Chair of Finance, Treasurer, and Secretary.

The SDEC meeting will take place in Austin on March 29th. It'll be open to the public and any Democrat can join. More info to come on location and time.

Click here to learn more about the SDEC.

Click here to learn more about the TDP Chair Election Process.

On March 29th, the SDEC will meet to elect a chair to serve the remainder of Chair Hinojosa's term (2026 Texas Democratic Convention). Due to the work of the TXPC and other activists, the SDEC shall use Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV). Here is how that works:

1. Each SDEC member will list their top three (3) candidates in the order of 1st Choice, 2nd Choice, and 3rd Choice.
2. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the "1st Choice" vote, then they automatically win. 
3. If a candidate DOES NOT receive more than 50% of the "1st Choice" vote, the candidate who received the fewest "1st Choice" votes is removed. 
4. If a member's "1st Choice" candidate is removed, their "2nd Choice" candidate automatically receives the member's vote.
5. After the candidate with the fewest "1st Choice" votes is removed, the candidate who now gets 50% of the vote will win.

Example:

A board of 100 members is electing a new mascot. We have three mascot candidates: Donkey, Goat, and Elephant.

• ROUND 1
  • Donkey gets 40 votes, Goat gets 40 votes, and Elephant gets 20 votes.
  • The Donkey and Goat proceed to the 2nd round while Elephant is removed. 
• ROUND 2
  • The 20 people who voted for Elephant as their "1st Choice" could also list which mascots they liked the 2nd most after Elephant. 
  • Let's say 15 Elephant voters put Donkey as their "2nd Choice" and 5 put Goat as their "2nd Choice."
  • In this scenario, Donkey would automatically get 15 extra votes and Goat would get 5 extra votes during Round 2.
  • The new vote totals for Donkey would then 40 (Round 1) + 15 (Round 2) = 55 (new total)
  • The new vote totals for Goat would then 40 (Round 1) + 5 (Round 2) = 45 (new total)
  • Donkey wins!

Click here to learn more about the TDP Chair Election Process

If there's a candidate or set of candidates you like, you should contact your SDEC members. The TXPC will provide resources to help local Democrats connect with their relevant SDEC members. 

More info to come in late February or early March.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE OUR POLL.

To learn about the TXPC's endorsement process, click here.