Top Texas Democrats ponder the state’s future at forum amid questions about what’s next for their party

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SAN ANTONIO — Hundreds of people packed into a music hall Friday night to ask three big Texas Democrats questions about concerns ranging from local housing struggles to the effects of President Donald Trump’s immigration and economic policies rippling through the state’s second-most populous city.

The town hall was the latest stop in a listening tour for former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the El Pasoan whose political future was called into question after losing three statewide elections in four years following a meteoric rise during which he almost unseated U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Houston, in 2018.

On Friday night, O’Rourke was joined by state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio — whose names have each been floated for potential statewide contests.

The elected officials introduced themselves with speeches that mixed biographical details with assurances that Texas Democrats fight for all Texans, regardless of who they have voted for in the past, and that there is hope on the horizon.

“We're going to vote our way out of this in 2026,” Castro told the crowd at Stable Hall. “We have seen tougher people than Donald Trump and we have prevailed. We will prevail again.”

Seated in front with the trio was state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, an Austin Democrat who has announced a bid for lieutenant governor, and former Democratic San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Both, as well as a local county commissioner, joined the platform at the front of the room for the portion of the night when the elected officials took questions from the audience.

In his remarks, O’Rourke pitched legalizing undocumented persons who arrived in the country as children, often called dreamers, and their parents; expanding health care for all; and better lives for educators.

“What if we had a Democratic Party that actually fought for these things?” O’Rourke asked.

The three Democrats held the town hall amid reports that it was unclear whether they would each campaign for different statewide seats or compete against each other in a primary for one post.

The Dallas Morning News this week reported that they had met — along with former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate last year — to hash out a possible lineup. But all are “steadfastly” interested in running for Senate, per the report.

As of Friday, none had officially entered any race. On Friday night, they downplayed the suggestion they were rivals, saying their priority is changing the politics of Texas.

The strategy of presenting to voters a team of candidates with high name recognition is not entirely new. Texas Democrats tried it in 2002 when a slate of candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and U.S. Senate failed to secure any victory.

While midterm elections typically bode poorly for the party of the sitting president, that year’s midterms handed Democrats wide losses in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, during which Republican President George W. Bush benefited from a strong approval rating that flowed down the ballot. In Texas, Republicans won the state House for the first time since Reconstruction.

Trump, and Republicans, may not have the same upper hand this time. A statewide poll released this week found approval of Trump’s performance in net-negative terrain among Texans, although Republicans in the state remain largely loyal to Trump, according to the poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

Democrats seeking a statewide win in Texas will still face a steep uphill battle. No Democrat has won statewide office since 1994. And last year’s presidential election complicated narratives about voters, especially the state’s growing Latino population that the Democratic party had long banked on for clawing back power from Republicans’ tight grip.

Trump earned 55% of the Latino voting bloc in Texas after years of Republicans losing it by double digits. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump won 14 of 18 counties — including Starr County, which is 97% Latino and had not been carried by a Republican for 128 years.

Rafael Lopez, a 76-year-old Vietnam War veteran, thinks the Democratic party needs to better engage those voters, especially the younger ones. At the rally Friday, he noted his own involvement in politics: He had not protested his whole life until a few weeks ago when he joined a demonstration against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Since then, he has also gotten involved with the party at the local level, he said.

“When you get to my age, you start to notice things and you notice that things are not going right,” Lopez said. “We have to lean on the young people.”

Few Texas Democrats have animated voters of all ages like two of the people who shared the stage Friday night: O’Rourke and Talarico, a seminarian and former public school teacher whose speeches against socially conservative proposals like book bans have often gone viral on social media.

Alee Briggs, a 28-year-old from San Antonio who volunteered on O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate campaign, is one of many viewers of Talarico’s TikTok videos — and wanted to see him in person.

Meanwhile, her friend, Brittany Watson, who attended after an invitation from Briggs, said she was first introduced to Talarico on Friday. She was “really super impressed.”

“Someone like that to me really embodies what we should be about as a society and the people who should be running the country,” Watson said.

Briggs echoed the sentiment: “He’s really refreshing in the rise of Christian extremism. He’s using his religion for good and inclusivity. … If he wanted to run for the Senate seat or anything like that, I would definitely support him.”

As the guests who secured seats inside the venue began asking questions, a line of people stood outside hoping to get in.

Among them was Debora Noble, a 65-year-old from New Braunfels who said she did not identify with any political party. She was drawn to the event because she said she has been following O’Rourke since he was on the El Paso City Council in the 2000s and wanted to hear what he had to say.

In particular, Noble said she was worried about cuts to veterans’ benefits. The U.S. Army vet of 30 years pointed to a veteran’s recent death by suicide in the parking lot of a San Antonio veteran’s hospital.

“It’s become very difficult for the veterans to get care,” Noble said. “I just vote for whoever I think is gonna do better for me and my family.”

In front of Noble in line stood Robin Pritchard of Austin. The 21-year-old has witnessed those needs for mental health resources following federal cuts as a volunteer with a crisis hotline.

“It’s been constant, constant calls, constant texts — like hundreds of people in a queue where there used to be maybe 50,” Pritchard said.

Inside the venue, the crowd roared at the suggestion of toppling statewide Republicans and booed at the mention of the Trump administration’s actions, like masked immigration officers without badges arresting undocumented people across the country.

After the rally, O’Rourke, Talarico and Castro stepped outside to take photos. Near the front of the growing line were those who were unable to get into the event, including Pritchard and Noble.

Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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