Texas Democrats are hoping to channel the street protests against the Trump Administration which have become a way of life in the first ten days of the new government into serious opposition to Republican domination of Texas politics, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Every step of the way, the Texas Democratic Party has strongly supported the street protests, from last weekend's large Women's March on Washington to demonstrations in San Antonio and other Texas cities against the border wall and the refugee order which erupted in cities and airports this past weekend.
“It is a sad night in America when bigotry and racism flow from our sacred White House," Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement following the release of the White House order on Saturday restricting refugee admissions from seven Mid Eastern and North African countries. “History will remember where we stood today. Every elected official is duty-bound to remember who we are right now and speak out. The world expects America to lead, not to turn its back on those in desperate need only yearning to survive and breathe free."
San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro, who is considering a run for the U.S. Senate agaiant Republican Ted Cruz next year, released a similar statement.
“President Trump's ban on Muslim refugees betrays American values while undermining national security and economic prosperity. It is wrong," Castro said.
But analysts agree that the Democrats have a long slog ahead to turn the energy of the anti-Trump protests into serious electoral gains in the 2018 statewide elections.
One problem is that there is no connecting focus of the angry groups which have taken to the streets over the past month.
Another is that there is frequently a series disconnect between people who participate in street protests and people who actually vote. When an Oregon TV station studied records of people who were arrested in anti-Trump protests in Portland in November, they discovered that two thirds of the people who were so vehemently anti Trump a week after the election didn't bother to vote on Election Day.
Many Democrats recognized that disconnect during the women's march on Washington on January 21, one asking in a tweet 'where was all this passion in November?'
Some Texas Democrats are suggesting the party adopt the successful model that the Republicans began using during the Clinton years of the 1990s, and which has turned to success not just in Texas but across the country.
For years, Democrats have focused on the 'shiny object' of the Presidency and the governor's job, and have generally ignored down ballot races. With more and more of the major cities in Texas dominated by Democrats, some party leaders are suggesting focusing more on recruiting candidates for City Councils, County Commissioners, the State House of Representatives.
One area where Texas Republicans have been able to reshape Texas politics is by focusing on powerful but obscure down ballot offices like the State Board of Education and the Railroad Commission, which many voters don't even know exist.
Other Democrats are suggesting that the part focus more on important statewide offices like Attorney General, where the Republican incumbent is facing felony charges.
Former HUD Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has been openly discussed for Texas Attorney General, although he has not indicated any desire to run for office in 2018.
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