Moderate Texas lawmakers blame progressive issues for election results
If anyone thought the 2020 election results would put a pin in the 4-year internal strife among Democrats of different ideological stripes, they were wrong. Three weeks after the election, moderate lawmakers in Texas are deadset on warning others that the left-leaning...
Rona isn’t done with us yet
As national political news remains in a state of oddly arrested development as we wait for Donald Trump’s frivolous lawsuits to at last finish their business of getting laughed out of courtrooms for Waukesha to Las Vegas, it was uncomfortably easy to miss the news....
Today in the transition: Biden names chief of staff
While Trump still refuses to concede, the Biden camp is already preparing for the transition. We can expect important leadership picks to be announced in the coming weeks. Here at the Signal, we’ll be providing you all the information you need as president-elect Biden...
Nine words that haunt me
From the moment Texas was called for Donald Trump I’ve been haunted by nine words echoing in my mind like a rock climber’s calls for help cascading off cliff walls. I was at a bar on Rainey Street with Reed Galen, who would go on to found The Lincoln Project. It...
A Range of Emotions for Democrats in Texas
A week after Election Day, Candace Valenzuela officially conceded to Beth Van Duyne. It was the last outstanding congressional race to be called in Texas, and a stinging blow for Texas Democrats who had hoped to flip the North Texas district that seemed within reach....
Trump surge and lack of door-knocking cost Texas Dems, says party chair
On Tuesday, the Signal spoke with Texas Democrats Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa about last week’s election results. President Trump won Texas by 5.7 percentage points and there was little to no movement in down ballot races. The following is an edited transcript of...
Reflections and Takeaways from Sri Kulkarni
It has been almost a week since the election and I want to say thank you one more time to all the supporters, the staff, and especially the volunteers who worked their heart out over the last three years. Some of you have asked for my reflections on the campaign and...
Candace Valenzuela concedes after close race with Beth Van Duyne
Democratic congressional candidate Candace Valenzuela conceded her race against Beth Van Duyne on Tuesday. Valenzuela, a former school board member, came 2,133 votes short of defeating Van Duyne in Texas 24. The contest in the Dallas suburbs was the last chance...
Let’s Talk About the Polls in Texas
Excitement and optimism was everywhere in the leadup to Election Day for Democrats in Texas. But as the returns came in Tuesday night, it was clear that things were not going how people imagined. All those polls that looked so promising were, to put it bluntly, dead...
Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez: Young voters of color are key to flipping Texas
To discuss last week’s results, the Signal recently spoke with Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, a former U.S. Senate candidate, founder of the Latino progressive organization Jolt, and cohost of the Three Righteous Mamas podcast. What are your overall thoughts on...
Don’t Buy the Great White Hype
So, hey, I called it wrong. In the final weeks of the 2020 election, friends of mine working on races around the country would periodically text me to ask if it was real. Could it be? Are y’all about to flip Texas? I fielded the same texts in the final days of the...
Mike Siegel: Dems needed to organize more and spend less on TV
On Friday, the Signal spoke to Mike Siegel, a former attorney for the city of Austin and one of 10 congressional Democratic candidates who came up short in flipping targeted Republican seats on Tuesday. Siegel’s race with Rep. Michael McCaul in Texas’ 10th Austin to...
What went right for Texas Democrats signals bright future
I will freely admit that in many ways I’m still picking myself up off the mat. The results from Election Night in many ways continue to confound me. While Signal has begun to unpack what exactly happened in Texas this cycle, I was struck this morning by the fact that...
Biden Wins
Early this morning Joe Biden overtook Donald Trump in Georgia, and began to close in on the 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Donald Trump. Shortly after 9 AM CT, he moved into the lead in Pennsylvania and Decision Desk HQ called the race for Biden. Joe Biden will...
Joe Deshotel talks Democratic messaging in the Valley
On Thursday, the Signal spoke with Joe Deshotel, a veteran Democratic political consultant and a contributing writer to the Signal. The following is an edited transcript of our discussion about the results, Democratic messaging in the state, and Latino voters. Texas...