It’s not easy being a Democrat in rural America. You learn pretty quickly to avoid certain topics in mixed company. There’s that one drawer in your bureau full of t-shirts you may need to think twice about before wearing outside of the house. Sure, you have a Beto rock. But it’s tucked away in a shady corner of your porch where strangers are not likely to see it.
So when you have a chance to hang out with like-minded folk, it’s a breath of fresh Democrat air. You can wear one of the cool t-shirts in your Democrat Drawer. You can badmouth the opposition and not worry about your car getting keyed. And you make some excellent networking connections.
Such was the case last Saturday. The Brazos Valley chapter of Texas Democratic Women held a seminar called You Can Run, You Can Win in College Station. It was amazing! We want to share some of the takeaways with you, just to remind you there are so many powerful like-minded folk out there. Smart, experienced people who are more than willing to support you if you are thinking you might like to run for office. Hint, hint.
“As a woman, it’s really important to credential." - Janet Dudding
The focus of the seminar was to encourage folks to run for office. The panel of speakers had a wealth of political experience, both as candidates as well as behind the scenes. Janet Dudding kicked things off. As you may recall, Janet ran for Texas Comptroller last year. She had some thought-provoking observations about how the dynamic changes for female candidates after they get past a certain age (which she described very colorfully). You can find her on Facebook.
“Women run because someone asks them to run. Men run because they think they can do it.” - Judy LeUnes
Judy serves in the TDP leadership for State District 5, which includes Bastrop County. She has extensive experience running for a variety of offices including for Texas House District 14. Judy also had a tremendous amount of pro tips for candidates, including this gem: if you seek an endorsement, and are rebuffed, don’t be afraid to circle back later and ask what you need to improve on. Many candidates (men, ahem) won’t do this. It could make all the difference. You can follow Judy on Facebook here.
“We’re in the situation we’re in right now because we don’t have enough women representing us.” - Laura Jones
Laura Jones is running for U.S. House District 8, which is a very rural area north of the Houston metro. She has become very familiar with what it’s like to be a candidate in the hinterlands. She describes rural Texas as beautiful, but flawed; often a throwback to the 1950s, where “women and minorities know their place, and white men run everything”. Laura had so many great tips for candidates, it was hard to choose one to include here. Maybe this one: “accept that it’s a popularity contest.” You can follow Laura on Facebook or at her campaign website.
“Democrats don’t show up very much in Texas anymore, and that needs to stop.” - Nancy Thompson
You may recall Nancy Thompson of Mothers Against Greg Abbott attended our meet-n-greet at Watterson Hall in March. At the TDWBV event she was very generous with her advice. She filled us in on all the latest activities of her famous organization, including an upcoming name change (Mothers For Democracy) as they go national in 2024. Listening to Nancy speak, you can’t help but get fired up about going on the offensive. Another gem from Nancy: “why aren’t Democrats afraid of their base?” We’ll let you ponder on that while we leave you some links to find her online and on Facebook.
Sometimes, winning just means moving the needle. - Ana Ramón
Ana Ramón is the Executive Director of an organization called Annie’s List that supports progressive women for elected office. Their support includes everything from block walking to raising millions, and everything in between. Ana’s presentation focused on how to make the best use of your group’s fundraising efforts. For example, did you know that 75% of your fundraising results from personal contact, actually speaking with people (as opposed to texts, emails, or mailers)? In 2024, Annie’s List will be focusing on flipping the Texas House. We are within 9 seats, and Ana said there are around 20 seats that they feel are competitive. Grab the popcorn, people! And if you want to support Annie’s List, you can find them online and on Facebook.
What are the big systemic holes, and how can we address some of these issues to allow more people like us to run for office? - Stephanie Phillips
Stephanie began her presentation with the troubling truth that in 2022, more than half of Texas counties had NO Dem candidates. None. Zero. Nada. Let that sink in for a minute.
CODA has already been in contact with Stephanie’s group, Blue Horizon, because they specialize in training and supporting progressive campaigns in rural areas. We hope to meet with them in September. It was great chatting with Stephanie about how we can work together as we head into 2024. You can learn more about her organization here as well as on Facebook.
Animals get way more attention on social media. - Thomas Cavaness
Thomas is the chair of the Brazos County Democratic Party. He spoke to us about branding, graphic design, and social media. That quote of his may seem a little doofy for the very serious business of running for elected office. But it’s representative of the extremely practical and common sense advice Thomas shared with us last weekend.
Don’t use old photos of yourself just because you looked good in that pic.
Avoid white backgrounds on yard signs.
Countdowns work great as ideas for social media posts.
And there were dozens more. These are just the tip of the iceberg.
If all this talk of candidate strategy has you thinking of running for office, let us know. We are planning to hold a Candidate 101 Zoom session later in August. We will go deep into the weeds with all the great info shared at last Saturday’s seminar. Details to follow here and on our Facebook page.
It has come to our attention that the other guys are losing their minds over the Barbie movie. Which of course means we must all see it now. CODA peeps are supporting the Bastrop Chamber event this Sunday August 6 at the 3pm showing at Film Alley. We hope you will join us. Click here for the event info on our Facebook page. Clicking the link there will take you to the Bastrop Chamber’s page, where you can purchase your tickets. If you’re going to join us, let us know so we can try to meet beforehand. Remember to wear pink! Plans are also in the works for a possible Sip & Bitch afterward.
Can’t make the Barbie event? Pencil in August 19 for our monthly Game Night. Details in our next newsletter, or at our Facebook events page.
Great newsletter and very informative!
Sounds like the event you went to was full of great information Thanks so much for sharing snippets it with us! Love your newsletter!