Dem's State Convention Features Hot Fight
that Could Produce TDP's First Latina Chair
Capitol Inside June 24, 2026
The Texas Democratic Convention convenes on Thursday in Corpus Christi with a hotly-contested race for party chair and star-studded cast that James Talarico is leading as a U.S. Senate nominee who gives the Democrats their best shot to win statewide in two dozen years of GOP rule here.
The Democrats' biennial gathering boasts a record number of party celebrities from others states in the lineup - from U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker to a pair of popular governors in JB Pritzker of Illinois and New Mexico's Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Grammy award-winning Tejano singer Bobby Pulido, who's doubling as a candidate for Congress this fall, will be a special guest at a "Welcome Concert" on Thursday night with Lucky Joe - a Rio Grande Valley native and recording artist who's been nominated for a Latin Grammy.
While the state convention in the coastal city will be Talarico's show, the delegates at the Hilliard Center will be preoccupied to some degree in the event's early stages as a consequence of a state chair's fight that's not as predictable as leadership competitions for the Texas Democrats have been at conventions in the past few decades here.
Kendall Scudder captured the chairmanship in March 2025 in an election that was limited to members of the State Democratic Executive Committee. Gilberto Hinojosa led the state party for 12 years until stepping down midway through his most recent term last year. The former chairman's daughter - Austin State Rep. Gina Hinojosa - is the Democratic nominee in the race for the job that Governor Greg Abbott is seeking for the fourth time this year.
Alcala, who's been the current party leader's most serious threat in the party leadership fight up to how, served as the Texas Democratic Party's executive director after signing on in 2023. Alcala would make history if elected this weekend as the first Latina to ever serve as the state party chair in the nation's second largest state.
Alcala took a shot at Scudder on social media this week when she accused him on using his position to effectively undermine the opposition he faces in CC. "Unfortunately, Interim Chair Kendall Scudder recently announced that his opponents will be prohibited from addressing convention delegates at this week’s Texas Democratic Party convention," Acala said on Monday in a post on X.
Scudder hasn't been shy about upending tradition and the status quo since he claimed the leadership position - with the relocation of the state party headquarters from Austin to Dallas as his first major act of business as the chairman. The move has drawn mixed reviews - with some Democrats saying it was a mistake due to the fact that Austin is the center of state government as the Texas capitol city.
The TDP chairmanship appears to have the potential to be close nonetheless when delegates elect a party leader to a full two-year term. That could explain why most of the Democrats' elected officials have stayed on the sidelines since Alcala emerged as Scudder's most formidable foe.
Scudder and Alcala both have two Texas House members in their respective corners. Alcala has endorsements from State Reps. Erin Zwiener of Driftwood and Mary Gonzalez of San Elizario. State Reps. Venton Jones of Dallas and Richard Raymond of Laredo appear on a list of testimonials that Scudder has on his web site.
Scudder also has veteran State Senator Royce West of Dallas in his camp for the chair's election this week. West and Jones, who are Black, could mitigate allegations of racist tendencies that some former party staffers have lobbed in Scudder. Alcala by the same token has faced criticism as well from some former staff members who worked under her when she was the executive director.
Scudder lost a bid for the Texas Legislature's upper chamber in 2018 in a general election race that Republican State Senator Bob Hall won. Scudder finished third in the Democratic primary in 2022 in a field of five candidates who were competing for a House seat that State Rep. John Bryant of Dallas ended up winning after a runner-up finish in the first round that year.
The TDP chair's contest is similar to a race for state GOP chair than D'rinda Randall won two weeks ago in Houston when she unseated Abraham George - the incumbent who Talarico fall foe Ken Paxton had been backing.
more to come ...
Texas women have died after being denied abortion care, and countless others have been forced to flee the state to get the care they need. Ken Paxton thinks this is something to celebrate. pic.twitter.com/TXClps62TE
— Texas Democratic Party (@texasdemocrats) June 24, 2026
