Ignore Rural Texas, Keep Losing

The Road to a Blue Texas Runs Through Rural Dirt

Jun 02, 2025

Turning Texas Blue Starts Where You’d Least Expect: Rural Texas

If you’re looking to flip Texas blue, stop staring at Austin, Houston, or Dallas like they’re the whole chessboard. They aren’t. The real kingmakers live past the city lights—out in rural Texas, where the roads are long, the pickup trucks are many, and politics runs redder than a brisket on a smoker. But here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Rural Texas isn’t red by destiny. It’s red by default—by decades of being overlooked, under-engaged, and taken for granted. If we want to change the future of Texas, we have to respect its past, listen to its people, and show up where it counts. That means rural Texas.

Why Rural Texas Matters

First, let’s be real: the margins in Texas are razor thin. A 3-4% swing in statewide votes can change everything. Beto O’Rourke didn’t lose because urban voters didn’t show up—he lost because Democrats didn’t cut into Republican margins in rural counties. Even a 5-10% swing in places like East Texas, the Panhandle, or the Hill Country could tilt statewide races.

Second, rural Texas has been left behind economically, medically, and digitally. Clinics are closing. Broadband is spotty. Jobs are disappearing. And while national Democrats are talking about these issues, local residents don’t hear it—because we’re not showing up and making the case in their language, on their turf.

What Needs to Happen

1. Summits—Not Sermons

We need rural political summits—not once-a-year spectacles, but ongoing conversations. Let’s gather local farmers, teachers, ranchers, veterans, and preachers. Not to lecture them, but to listen. We don’t need to convince rural Texans they’re wrong. We need to show them that we see them, we respect them, and we’re ready to work with them—not just parachute in during campaign season.

2. Organize Like the Future Depends on It—Because It Does

Rural organizing is hard. It’s miles of driving between doors. But guess what? That’s how Republicans built their dominance—one VFW hall and one church potluck at a time. It’s time Democrats stop treating rural Texas like enemy territory and start investing like it’s the frontline. Because it is.

We need precinct chairs with gas stipends, volunteers with talking points, and door-knockers who sound like they’re from the community—because they are. The days of trying to win Texas with Instagram ads and wishful thinking are over. Boots. On. Ground.

3. Build Coalitions Like Our Lives Depend on It

You can’t win rural Texas with one message or one group. You need farmers and field hands. Teachers and truckers. Black, brown, white, and everyone else who knows that the game’s been rigged for too long.

There are already people doing this work—rural progressives, Latino organizers in South Texas, Black churches in East Texas, veterans-turned-candidates in the Hill Country. We don’t need to start from scratch. We need to connect the dots. Coalition isn’t about agreement on everything—it’s about shared goals and mutual respect.

4. Respect Isn’t Optional

Rural Texans aren’t stupid. They’re not racist caricatures or backward yokels. Treating them that way is a guaranteed way to keep losing. Respect means showing up to their county fairs. It means talking with them, not at them. It means finding common ground on issues like land rights, public schools, healthcare, and veterans’ services—even when there’s disagreement elsewhere.

You don’t change hearts by mocking them. You change them by showing up and doing the work.

Final Thought:

Turning Texas blue isn’t a fantasy—it’s a matter of math, messaging, and movement-building. But if you’re not willing to meet rural Texans where they are, don’t expect them to meet you at the ballot box.

The path to a blue Texas runs through the gravel roads and dusty towns where too many Democrats have feared to tread. It’s time to change that—one summit, one story, one handshake at a time.

2025 Rural Texas Summit | June 13–14 | Bastrop, TX
Where Rural Texans Make Noise, Gain Knowledge, and Take Action

Rural Texas isn’t a political footnote—it’s the frontline. Join us at the Bastrop Convention Center for two powerful days of grassroots strategy, bold conversations, and community building that puts rural voices front and center.

🔥 What to Expect:

Friday, June 13

Panels Begin: 9:00 AM
Social Hour: 6:00 PM
Fundraiser Dinner & Silent Auction: 7:00 PM
Live Music, Great Food, and Connection All Evening

Saturday, June 14

Morning Panels: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Afternoon Panels: 12:30 PM–6:15 PM

Summit Agenda

Why Attend?

Because rural Texas deserves a seat at the table—not just a spot on the map. Let’s organize, mobilize, and strategize for a stronger, more unified future.