Kendall Scudder wins race to lead Texas Democratic Party into critical midterms

By Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune
June 27, 2026

CORPUS CHRISTI — Kendall Scudder will lead the Texas Democratic Party into the critical midterm elections this year after Texas Democrats elected him to a full term as chair at the party’s convention in Corpus Christi.

The party’s delegates overwhelmingly chose Scudder to continue on as chair over former TDP staffers Monique Alcala and Marco Orrantia, ending a bitter race centered on how the party should be organized and whether it was building enough infrastructure to capitalize on this cycle’s political tailwinds and lay the groundwork for long-term Democratic gains.

Buoyed by President Donald Trump’s sagging approval ratings, the GOP’s standard-bearer in the embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton and backlash to rising everyday costs, Texas Democrats consider this November their best opportunity in years to win a statewide office for the first time since 1994 and to flip numerous seats down the ballot.

“Over the past two days, we have proven something important: We are one party with one purpose,” Scudder said to close out the convention. “When we leave Corpus Christi today, we leave with a unified message and a shared promise to the people of Texas: Texans don’t need more political theater, they need leaders who will strengthen our public schools, lower the cost of living, expand access to affordable healthcare, protect our freedoms and create opportunities for every family.”

Many worried that a divisive chair race or leadership overhaul would distract from Democrats’ more pressing task of mobilizing their party ahead of the midterms. Now, they’ll hope to unify the TDP’s rank-and-file activists behind both the party apparatus and Democrats all along the ballot.

Delegates also adopted the party platform, which this year took on a notable populist tone focused on rising costs and corruption — in line with Democratic campaign pitches all along Texas’ ballot.

The platform opens with a section on affordability, homing in on grocery, housing, and transportation costs, in addition to lowering property taxes and utility bills and raising taxes on the wealthiest. Also included in the platform are calls to stem the influence of money in politics; target corporate price gauging and “junk fees;” establish universal healthcare and universal pre-kindergarten; raise the federal tipped minimum wage; expand access to rural healthcare; and strengthen benefits and services for veterans.

“For the first time in recent memory, we have a really thorough and thoughtful platform,” Jen Ramos, a member of the party’s governing board, said. “The Texas Democratic Party was intentional in thinking about the way policies affect everyday Texans as opposed to Republicans, who focused on shock factor.”

Delegates also adopted a series of resolutions, including one backed by Scudder calling on Texas House Democrats to withhold their support from Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows in the race for the gavel next legislative session.

Scudder was first elected TDP chair by the party’s governing board, the State Democratic Executive Committee, in March 2025, taking over for longtime chair Gilberto Hinojosa who stepped down after Democrats’ disappointing 2024 election performance.

In the year since, Scudder has tied the party closely to Texas Majority PAC, perhaps the state’s best-funded Democratic political group, and other allied organizations, effectively turning TMP into the party’s campaign arm. Together, they recruited a candidate to run in every federal and statewide race on the ballot — a first for either party in recent state history — and launched a $30 million coordinated campaign aimed at boosting down-ballot Democrats.

Scudder has focused on reestablishing the Democratic brand as the party of working people and expanding the TDP’s presence around the state to tap into the party’s grassroots support. The party’s former vice chair of finance, Scudder also earned kudos from Democratic activists for paying off a $500,000 party debt he inherited upon becoming chair.

“When I became chairman just over a year ago, I did it on a promise that we were going to change the way this party operates fundamentally; that we were going to have a 254-county party that shows up in every corner of this state, leaving no one behind,” Scudder said in a campaign video.

Still, Scudder’s challengers criticized his leadership, turning the operational turmoil within the party’s staff during his tenure into flashpoints in the chair race.

Alcala, who served as executive director of the party during the 2024 election cycle until Scudder’s election to chair, pitched herself as a veteran political operative who could deliver the fundraising, organizing and vision required of the post. She placed second in race for chair.

She sharply criticized Scudder over the party’s finances, strategy and treatment of its staff amid his move to decentralize the TDP from Austin, which led to staff turnover and allegations of union-busting — but was praised by Democrats outside the state’s biggest urban cores. Alcala also vowed to conduct an independent audit of the party’s finances if elected.

“I’m proud that our race brought attention to the Texas Democratic Party’s ethical failings under Kendall Scudder’s leadership,” Alcala said in a statement after the race was called. “I respect the results. And I’m going to stay in the fight to defeat Republicans.”

Scudder ultimately pulled it out with landslide support from grassroots activists he had prioritized within the party’s infrastructure and a desire by many Democrats to keep the party focused on the November midterms.

“If we stay focused on the people we’re fighting for instead of the differences between us, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish together,” Scudder said before adjourning the convention. “So leave this convention energized, leave it ready to organize. Leave ready to knock on doors, make calls, register voters and tell our neighbors that there is a better future waiting for Texas.”

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.