Mission: Texas

Texas is growing faster than anywhere else — and that growth means more electoral power. As blue strongholds lose seats, the road to protecting the White House must run through the Lone Star State. If we do not flip Texas by the next census, we risk losing the White House for a generation. “Mission: Texas” dives into the strategy, people, and stories needed to flip the state. Hosted by two Texas lawyers and parents — a former candidate and a long-time organizer, both with military roots — we mix mission-driven focus with a dose of pop-culture fun. Think of us as your Democratic club while you cook, commute, or go for a walk. And don’t worry: this mission is serious, but it’s definitely not impossible.(Viewpoints expressed are those of the hosts and not of their employers or of the U.S. Department of Defense)

Mission: Texas is a government podcast hosted by Kate Rumsey & Alex Clark, with 58 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Kate Rumsey & Alex Clark hosts Mission: Texas, a government show with 58 episodes published.

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  Mission: Texas

  Ep. 52: Kendall Scudder, One Year Later (Chair of TDP)

  Oct 1, 202644 min

  To mark Mission: Texas's one-year anniversary, we bring back our very first guest, reelected Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder, to check in on everything that's changed since our debut episode. Kendall reflects on a grueling year and a half in the chair, reports back on the three goals he laid out in that first conversation — message discipline, infrastructure, and statewide presence — and walks through the actual math behind flipping the Texas Senate.  We also get real talk on why he ignores public polling, what a full statewide-to-county candidate slate could look like in 2028, and the massive voter protection operation the party is standing up before and after Election Day. What we cover: A one-year reflection: the toll of a nonstop news cycle, the RNC in Dallas, and gratitude for his wife's patience while he ran the party Grading his three original 2026 goals — on-message candidates, precinct chair recruitment (1,000+ trained, aiming to outnumber Republicans), and decentralizing party offices into five regional hubs across the state The first full federal-and-state Democratic ballot slate since 1972, the filing-fee barrier for down-ballot recruitment, and plans to go even deeper into county races next cycle Giving red-district candidates free access to the voter file this cycle — an $800K budget hit — and using post-election data to decide whether to do it again The actual math on flipping the Texas Senate: holding Reamit's seat and flipping three more, with internal numbers showing Bob Hall down to Keenan Colbert and other close races in Bryan-College Station and Harris County Why Kendall refuses to trust public polling, rooted in the brutal 2010 midterm "shellacking" he lived through organizing in East Texas The case against writing off "unwinnable" districts — using his own 2018 Senate run and Keenan Colbert's redrawn SD2 as proof that candidates and redistricting math can shift a seat's viability Why Texas Democrats matter nationally regardless of outcome: forcing Republicans to spend an estimated $220 million defending Texas that they'd otherwise deploy in other Senate battlegrounds The party's post-election plan: the country's largest state voter protection program, five regional "boiler rooms," a 24/7 voter protection hotline (844-TX-VOTES), and bracing for Republican legal challenges and a possible special session if Democrats win Good news segment: Mission: Texas hitting 52 episodes and an ACL Fest trip with Kate's daughter; Alex's son's second birthday, a school-bus-themed party, and a State Fair trip to complete the family's "iconic Dallas landmarks" photo tradition with Big Tex. Kendall shares news about his relaunch of his podcast.  Kendall's closing marching orders: talk to the people closest to you, vote early (October 19th) to get off campaign contact lists, and become a monthly recurring donor to sustain a year-round party Support the show:  Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast, or leave us a five-star review. God bless Texas.

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  Mission: Texas

  Ep. 51: Beto

  Sep 24, 202621 min

  To mark our one-year anniversary, Mission: Texas sits down with Beto O'Rourke — founder of Powered by People and the Democrat who's come closest to flipping a statewide race in a generation.  Beto lays out exactly what has to happen between now and 2030 for Texas Democrats to hold the state Senate, the Speaker's gavel, and the governor's mansion: winning big in 2026, not waiting on national money to arrive, and doing the unglamorous relational-organizing work year-round rather than just during election season. We also go back to 2018 to compare that Trump midterm to this one, and Beto shares what he tells skeptical young voters who've concluded that voting simply doesn't work. What we cover: Why Beto believes Texas can no longer wait for national Democratic donors and has to build its own infrastructure first — and why 2026 is the hinge year for everything that follows The full 2026 wish list: winning competitive congressional seats, flipping R+5 to R+12 state house districts, James Tallarico's Senate race, and even the governor's mansion How winning majorities in the state legislature by 2030 sets up Democrats for a real seat at the table during 2031 redistricting ahead of 2032 Powered by People's relational organizing model: training volunteer deputy registrars, meeting young voters on campuses and at concerts, and staying in daily contact through early voting until a ballot is confirmed cast The stark turnout gap: 39% turnout among Texas 18-29 year-olds overall in 2024 versus 79% among those in Powered by People's program Comparing the 2018 and 2026 Trump midterms — family separation policy then, a Middle East war and $6/gallon diesel now — and what carried over from the 2018 Senate race into the current wave (12 flipped state house seats, Harris County Commissioners Court, judicial races down-ballot) The origin of Powered by People: the direct lesson Beto drew from asking "what could we have done differently?" after 2018 Rio Grande Valley organizing and the cost of Democrats taking the region for granted in 2020 and 2024 Beto's answer to young voters who've concluded the system doesn't work, and why he treats in-person organizing as "the antidote to despair" A one-year anniversary reflection on the podcast's own mission: meeting people where they are Support the show:  Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast, or leave us a five-star review. God bless Texas.

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  Mission: Texas

  Ep. 50: What Winning Looks Like (Cora Black & Tsion Amare, Dallas County Young Dems)

  Sep 17, 20261h 8m

  This week Mission: Texas sits down with two leaders of Dallas County Young Democrats: Cora Black, community advocate, HR professional, and the club's first Black female president, and Tsion Amare, DCYD's current co-president, former Texas House staffer and 2024 candidate, and political affairs leader at Environmental Defense Fund. We trace DCYD's rebuild out of the pandemic, the club's early and controversial call for Biden to step aside, and what actually makes a youth political organization effective versus performative. Cora and Tsion also get candid about intra-party accountability, the RNC's recent stop in Dallas, and what it will take for Democrats to remember, as they put it, "what winning looks like." What we cover: Cora and Tsion's origin stories: growing up around Dallas political fundraisers and Ron Kirk, and organizing against food insecurity as a child in Ethiopia before landing in Rep. Rafael Anchía's office and eventually EDF's political affairs team Rebuilding DCYD's leadership and fundraising infrastructure during COVID, and Cora becoming the club's first Black female president Lowering the price point for young donor engagement and trading volunteer labor (block walking) for access to traditional fundraisers DCYD's early, controversial 2024 vote calling on President Biden to step down — the backlash, the hate mail, and being proven right Why young Democrats who came of age entirely during the Trump era have a different relationship to political hope than older generations Critiques of Democratic messaging strategy: avoiding narrow culture-war fights, addressing "pocketbook anxieties" directly, and holding elected Democrats to the same accountability standard applied to Republicans The RNC's stop in Dallas, the Grindr outage jokes, the Hasan Piker Jumbotron moment, and Trump's $5,000-if-Republicans-win pledge The case for investing in younger, more relatable candidates — and for employers to protect paychecks for employees who run for office Good news segment: a $250,000 fundraising haul for the Christopher Barkley Foundation featured on Good Morning Texas, Tsion's appointment to the Dallas Environmental Commission and Ethiopian New Year celebrations, Kate's family trip to El Paso, and Alex organizing a Social Security town hall with former Gov. Martin O'Malley Support the show:  Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast, or leave us a five-star review. God bless Texas. Support DCYD:  https://dallasyoungdems.org/

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  Mission: Texas

  Ep. 49: Flipping Rural Texas (Chelsey Hockett, congressional candidate)

  Sep 10, 202659 min

  This week Mission: Texas sits down with Chelsey Hockett, the Democratic nominee challenging Congressman Lance Gooden in a district that Decision Desk HQ still rates as a 12-to-14-point Republican lean — even in a good year for Democrats. Chelsey makes the case for why TX-5 isn't as out of reach as it looks: explosive population growth in Kauffman County the 2020-census maps didn't account for, a swelling Democratic primary turnout, and a data center and land-use backlash pulling in voters who've never crossed party lines before. We also get into the healthcare crises and childcare costs that pushed this Terrell-based mom of two into organizing in the first place. What we cover: Chelsey's path into politics: pregnancy loss, a COVID-era insurance gap with a $100,000 hospital bill, and leaving the workforce over childcare costs before getting heavily involved with county Democratic parties Normalizing bringing kids to political events and organizing, and the extra scrutiny working moms face as candidates Lance Gooden's $750,000 in taxpayer-reimbursed travel (more than double the next-highest member of Congress) and the murky ethics investigation surrounding him The land-grab fight in Kauffman County: zero zoning regulation, MUD districts, four proposed data centers, and Build-to-Rent development tied to campaign donors The math behind "flipping rural Texas": how 2020-census-based redistricting missed explosive growth in Forney/Kauffman County, rising turnout in Palestine, Athens, and Terrell, and why Chelsey thinks the real district lean is closer to plus-10 than plus-20 Flock camera surveillance backlash and the odd-bedfellows coalition of privacy-minded conservatives and Democrats pushing back on it Campaign targeting strategy using L2 modeled partisanship data instead of VAN, and the 123,000 base Democratic voters she needs to turn out Reflections on Cherokee family history, the Trail of Tears, and how personal history shapes her approach to organizing in rural East Texas Good news segment: a cinnamon-roll-crust apple pie, a quarter cow order that aged well given the beef supply headlines, Notre Dame's season opener, and Alex's new ambassador role with Volition America Chelsey's closing call to action: full-time, year-round organizing and treating every local election — city council, county commissioner — as a battleground worth showing up for Support the show:  Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast, or leave us a five-star review. God bless Texas. Support Chelsey:  https://chelseyhockettforcongress.com/

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  Mission: Texas

  Ep. 48: Is West Texas Actually Red or Turning Blue? (Kyle Rable)

  Sep 3, 20261h 1m

  This week Mission: Texas heads to West Texas for the first time, sitting down with Kyle Rable — Army Reserve civil affairs officer, PhD candidate at Texas Tech, union member, and Democratic candidate for Congress in one of the reddest districts in the country (Trump +52 in 2024).  Kyle traces his path from accidentally getting pulled into local politics over Section 8 housing without AC, to becoming the first candidate in Texas to file for ballot access by signature this cycle. We dig into what makes a "West Texas Democrat" different, the history of how the district flipped red in the first place, door-knocking strategy in a place with almost no existing Democratic infrastructure, and why he sees the fight over data centers, rural healthcare deserts, and the farm economy as the real battleground issues — not culture war fights. What we cover: Kyle's winding path from Army quartermaster officer to civil affairs officer to Texas Tech PhD candidate studying psychological warfare in Vietnam How a Section 8 housing/AC crisis pulled him into Lubbock County Democratic Party leadership, and his decision to run for Congress after the 2024 election Being the first Texas candidate this cycle to file for ballot access by signature, launching on his wife's first Mother's Day Union roots with CWA Local 6186 (Texas State Employees Union) and why he sees labor as central to rural organizing What distinguishes a "West Texas Democrat" — carrying a firearm, going to church, and why that combination hasn't drawn scrutiny locally The history of how CD19 flipped Republican, including the story of Charlie Stenholm and redistricting that targeted him out Data center fallout in Taylor County/Abilene — housing costs, infrastructure strain, and Texas Tech selling its football stadium naming rights to a data center company Rural healthcare deserts, OB-GYN access, and the threat to rural clinics from Medicare/Medicaid cuts tied to the "Big Beautiful Bill" Field strategy: targeting "Triple D" primary voters, VAN scoring, and persuasion phone banking aimed at people who've stopped voting Why Kyle believes a Democratic win in West Texas would fundamentally reshape both parties, and what he wants to see from the 2028 presidential nominee (a real farm plan, real time spent in "flyover" country) Good news segment: Kyle's first "Top Block" military eval, his second child due October 20th, and half-marathon training plans for Kate and Alex.  Follow and support Kyle:  https://www.rableforwesttexas.com/ Support the show:  Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast, or leave us a five-star review — it helps more than you'd think.  God bless Texas.

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