Texas Democrats feud over party leadership as hundreds back Kendall Scudder’s chairmanship
By Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune
April 20, 2026
Nearly 800 people signed onto an open letter supporting Kendall Scudder’s leadership of the Texas Democratic Party this weekend after three dozen Texas Democrats urged the chair to forgo reelection over alleged operational failures and a “hostile work environment” fostered during his tenure.
“At a time when Texas Democrats must expand the map, rebuild trust and invest in long-term infrastructure, continuity of leadership and vision matters. Abruptly reversing course risks undermining the progress that has been made,” reads the response letter, which was addressed to Scudder. “With only one year — and just a primary cycle completed — we believe more time is needed to make a fair assessment of your chairmanship.”
The dueling letters mark a bitter public dispute between Texas Democrats over their party’s leadership during a midterm election many see as their best shot in years to make significant gains up and down the ballot. Texas Democrats are set to elect a chair to a full four-year term at their party convention in June.
The original letter from last week, which was signed by former party staffers, a congressional candidate and a former Texas House member, reflected ongoing discontent among some within the party over changes Scudder made including moving the party’s base away from Austin and overhauling staff positions. The letter charged Scudder with shortcomings including the party’s out-of-date voter file, chaos at the polls in two counties during primary election day, “racism and a hostile work environment.”
The response letter, meanwhile, praised Scudder’s leadership since he was elected interim chair in March 2025. It pointed to the party’s success recruiting a candidate to run in every state and federal race on the ballot, expanding its presence with new offices across the state, paying off $500,000 in debt Scudder inherited and launching a $30 million coordinated campaign to boost candidates along the ballot.
“The reality is that the Texas Democratic Party is stronger today than it was one year ago: financially stable, more competitive and more structurally aligned with the future we must build to win,” the response letter reads.
Among those who signed the letter supporting Scudder were Texas House Reps. Ana-María Rodriguez Ramos, John Bryant, Venton Jones and Mihaela Plesa, all of whom represent North Texas. Numerous county chairs, precinct chairs, Texas House candidates and party activists also added their names to the effort.
“I completely understand there are ex employees that are upset with how things happened, but this is not going forward with what we’re all wanting: Get Democrats elected,” said Macey Burns, a co-author of the pro-Scudder letter and vice chair of the Texas Progressive Caucus.
“The vast majority of Democrats are excited to be on this team and we’re ready to get Democrats elected,” Burns added, arguing that many of the concerns raised in the original letter were outside Scudder’s control. “This is drama, and this is doing nothing but handing things over to the Republicans. They want to see this infighting.”
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.