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The Blast: Is the top TDP chair candidate eligible to run? [1]
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Date: 2025-03
Mar 21, 2025 | View in browser
By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team
55 days for the House to consider House legislation on 2nd reading
73 days until sine die
Leading TDP chair candidate’s eligibility questioned The Texas Democratic Party’s top lawyer says the leading candidate for party chair, Kendall Scudder, is ineligible to run, but instead of resolving the dispute by resigning his elected office, Scudder has so far stood his ground with eight days till election day. Some Democrats fear that could open the door for the courts to kick their candidates off the ballot come 2026.
Last week, TDP general counsel Chad Dunn issued an opinion that Scudder, the current vice chair for finance and the frontrunner to succeed outgoing Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, is ineligible to run for party chair because he is an elected official on the Dallas Central Appraisal District Board of Directors.
In statements, Scudder has been critical of “Hinojosa’s lawyer,” accusing the move as the establishment trying to deny the grassroots the right to pick their next leader when the State Democratic Executive Committee votes on March 29.
Dunn has been a longtime attorney for the party and is well-regarded by his contemporaries in the party apparatus. He has argued multiple election law cases in federal court on behalf of the party.
In the opinion, Dunn pointed to state law and party rules that prevent elected members of federal, state or county government from being party chair candidates. He also noted that central appraisal districts share boundaries with their corresponding counties and its members are elected the same way as county officials.
However, Scudder and a majority of the SDEC dispute Dunn’s assessment. Scudder’s attorney, Don Flanary, points to the state tax code that designates central appraisal districts as a distinct political subdivision and state attorney general writings suggesting that political subdivisions are separate from state or county offices. Dunn wrote that Flanary’s argument doesn’t tell the full story.
“You don’t usually get something like this that’s so definitive,” said one lawyer who’s familiar with the TDP’s rules. Counsel will often equivocate, but Dunn made clear in his opinion that he views Scudder as an ineligible candidate, the lawyer continued.
The Blast has talked to multiple Democratic consultants and operatives, and while their perceptions of Dunn’s opinion were mixed, even those who doubted Dunn fear that Scudder runs the risk of putting Democratic candidates in legal jeopardy if he does not resign.
The Republican Party of Texas could argue to a court that he is an invalid chair. If the Republican-controlled courts agree, that could make all his official actions invalid. That, in turn, could invalidate any candidate that he certified. It’s up to the state party chair to certify candidates for statewide or multi-county offices, including many congressional offices, legislative offices and judicial offices. That would wipe Democrats from key offices.
In an interview with The Blast, Scudder called Dunn’s opinion a “dirty trick” and said Democrats shouldn’t live in fear of Republicans “behaving badly.” He added that he doesn’t think a court would uphold such a challenge.
“It is my belief that the intention of this was to create confusion and to create doubt, and that’s really unfortunate because we should be talking about how to move the Texas Democratic Party forward, not trying to confuse voters, not trying to throw wrenches in elections, but instead trying to do what’s best for our party,” Scudder said.
Dunn issued the opinion after former Galveston district court Judge Susan Criss filed a challenge to Scudder’s eligibility. Criss is supporting one of Scudder’s leading opponents, former Harris County Democratic Party Chair Lillie Schechter, in the contest. And while the fight can be viewed under the lens of intraparty politics, some see it as a test of Scudder’s leadership.
All it would take to resolve the issue would be for Scudder to resign from the Dallas Central Appraisal District’s board sometime before next Saturday. Most observers agree he’s the frontrunner, although the race isn’t completely wrapped up.
“He’s a smart guy,” said a longtime Democratic operative. “I don’t see why he would invite the controversy into his own campaign if it could be easily reconciled.”
“He’s going to have to make a lot more personal sacrifices than that,” the operative added.
Continued below …
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Scudder eligibility, continued Scudder isn’t the first official to try to straddle party office and central appraisal districts. Then-Travis County GOP Chair Matt Mackowiak ran for the Travis Central Appraisal District in May 2024. The same statute that bans federal, state or county government officeholders from running for or holding state party offices, Election Code Section 161.005, also applies to county party offices. However, no one raised the issue during Mackowiak’s bid for TCAD, which he lost.
Scudder was just elected to DCAD in May 2024, and it’s his first elected office, apart from his overwhelming victory for vice chair in 2022. He previously lost bids for the state Senate and the state House.
He is one of nine elected officials serving on the board. Texas counties have corresponding central appraisal districts that determine property values. Board members are not compensated for the job.
The Blast spoke to an SDEC member who is sympathetic to Scudder but still concerned that keeping the office is more trouble than it’s worth.
“It’s difficult to do something like that when you also feel you’re in the right,” the SDEC member said. “His reputation is on the line.”
But before it goes to the courts, it will be up to the SDEC to decide whether Scudder is eligible to run. As of Monday, a majority of the SDEC, including some who have openly endorsed other candidates, signed a letter from the Progressive Caucus who question the legitimacy of the opinion and fear booting Scudder from the ballot could cause a mass exodus of officials, activists and donors.
Schechter, one of Scudder’s leading opponents, issued a statement on Monday saying she will support the SDEC in whatever decision they make.
“As a party, we pride ourselves on our commitment to democracy and working together to win elections to protect that democracy,” Schechter said. “Now is the time to uphold that principle by trusting in the judgment of our highest elected body so we can come together and build a stronger, more unified party.”
Not your normal party chair race Scudder’s dilemma also highlights an aspect of the TDP chair race that makes it different from prior chair races: This chair race is taking place between TDP conventions, which means the electorate is the SDEC, not all the delegates on the convention floor.
The SDEC is made up of 121 voting members, who were described to The Blast by Democratic operatives as “weird” or “ultrainsiders” who aren’t necessarily representative of the electorate.
“That fundamentally changed the campaign and the candidates who could win,” an SDEC member said.
For better or worse, the race is no longer about who can rouse the delegates on the convention floor. It’s less about race or region. It’s about “even insiderier baseball.” Yet, it will determine the incumbent for the next full-term election in 2026.
It’s a lot easier to get to know the 121 members of the SDEC, and Scudder has a leg up on that because of his time in state party leadership. Many of the SDEC members are also of the same grassroots progressive ilk, and many are dissatisfied with the direction of the party.
Although Scudder’s top opponents didn’t start with the same relationships that Scudder has, they have experience leading big operations. Lillie Schechter served as the Harris County Democratic Party chair and Patsy Woods Martin served as the executive director of Annie’s List for four years. However, that could be a disadvantage if SDEC members see them as “the establishment.”
Another factor is that the election will use ranked choice voting, or instant runoff voting. That could explain why some SDEC members who have endorsed someone other than Scudder still want him on the ballot.
On a related note, the Senate State Affairs Committee heard a bill yesterday that would make it illegal for political party offices to be elected on a ranked choice ballot. The Texas secretary of state and attorney general have argued that preferential voting doesn’t add up to the “majority” vote required in state law.
Cornyn on tariffs, CHIPS and Education Department While the stock market has taken a hit in the past month amid President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is defending the approach as a means to reach a more conventional deal. It comes as Cornyn gears up for reelection and a potential primary fight in 2026.
Cornyn stopped in Austin yesterday in the middle of a jam-packed spring break for a small business roundtable where he acknowledged that the economy is slowing down a bit. He mentioned inflation during the roundtable, but he also acknowledged the effects of interest rates and concerns about Trump’s policies when asked by The Blast.
“Some of the negotiations and uncertainty with regard to tariffs, I think, has caused some businesses to hit the pause button to wait to see how this story ends,” Cornyn said. “My impression is that President Trump likes to start big with big ideas and then ultimately negotiate something that I think most people would consider more expected and more predictable, and I think that’s what’s going to happen now.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever get a divorce from Mexico,” Cornyn added in response to another reporter’s question. “We are married, so to speak, and we can’t get a divorce. We got to make the marriage work.”
Similarly, during his speech to Congress this month, Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson that Congress should “get rid of the CHIP Act.”
“Well, as the principal sponsor of the CHIPS Act in 2020, I would say that’s not likely to happen,” Cornyn said, although he said he’d be open to tweaks.
President Joe Biden signed a later iteration of the plan into law in 2022, with Cornyn’s help. The legislation has brought billions in investment to Texas for semiconductor manufacturing and begun to shift manufacturing from Taiwan, where it is under potential threat from China. The Trump 45 administration had flagged the China concern.
Cornyn also OK’d Trump’s executive order to phase out the Department of Education.
“Unfortunately, the federal Department of Education has been part and parcel of the effort to impose requirements like DEI requirements — or what I would consider woke requirements — in the curriculum, intrude in the role of parents in determining what it is their children learn in their curriculum at the local schools,” Cornyn said. “I don’t think we’re going to miss the federal Department of Education.”
And on the radio with Chad Hasty on Wednesday, Hasty asked Cornyn about “activist judges” and how the Trump administration should react. Conservatives are concerned that liberal justices are pausing Trump’s policies with nationwide injunctions.
“Right now an individual judge sitting in any jurisdiction in the country can issue a nationwide injunction and basically shut down any policy of the administration,” Cornyn said. “My hope is that one of these cases … will make its way to the Supreme Court so the Supreme Court can say that’s no longer the law of the land.”
Following yesterday’s event, Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading Trump’s “Art of the Deal” at home.
“Recommended,” he said.
TX-18 candidate draws lawsuit Isaiah Martin, a Democratic political influencer vying to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, has been sued by a tech company for breaching a contract during his 2023 congressional campaign.
Grassroots Analytics filed a lawsuit against Martin and his campaign on Wednesday accusing the candidate of not paying for services provided during the campaign, including a text message campaign and fundraising.
The lawsuit alleges that Martin and his campaign owes Grassroots Analytics more than $200,000 for a text message campaign and more than $24,000 for 9% of certain contributions, as agreed upon in the contract between Grassroots Analytics and the campaign. These totals were sent in an invoice to Martin’s campaign in December 2023 and have not yet been paid, the lawsuit claims. A 10% late fee also would be applied to invoiced funds because they have been left unpaid for well over 15 days, according to the lawsuit.
Grassroots Analytics used a third-party service, Scale to Win, for the text message campaign.
In a statement to Chron.com, Martin accused Grassroots Analytics of breaching the contract with the campaign by failing to deliver services and terminating the contract to work with another candidate in the race. Martin told the Chron that the campaign “intends to defend itself and pursue all available counterclaims against GA.”
Martin’s campaign has not responded to a request for comment from The Texas Tribune.
— Katharine Wilson
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Texas especially hard, making Texans’ existing health challenges worse and straining the state’s short-staffed and underfunded public health system. Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, these long-standing issues remain — the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and Texans are more likely to distrust public health authorities.
How can state and local leaders strengthen the health care workforce, build up local and state infrastructure and cultivate the public’s trust and cooperation in preparation for the next public health crisis?
Tribune health and human services reporter Terri Langford will moderate a conversation with health care experts, including: John Hellerstedt , former commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services, 2007-2015
, former commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services, 2007-2015 David Lakey, M.D., vice chancellor for health affairs and chief medical officer, The University of Texas System Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, for lunch at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health’s Austin location, and the hourlong conversation begins at noon. Lunch is provided.
RSVP today
HIDDEN IMAGE The Texas Senate went through a marathon session on Wednesday and passed several priority measures. However, when they passed Senate Bill 19, seven Republicans, led by Sen. Robert Nichols , R-Jacksonville, joined Democrats to prevent the ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying from extending to nonprofits.
, R-Jacksonville, joined Democrats to prevent the ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying from extending to nonprofits. Authors of the “Life of the Mother Act,” set to clarify that exception to the state’s abortion ban, have sought a bipartisan group of coauthors to the bills. However, the authors are trying to be careful to keep a balance of Republicans and Democrats, so as not to scare off hardline conservatives.
The Senate will take up the budget, Senate Bill 1, on Tuesday. Highlights for next week: The Senate State Affairs Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Monday to consider several bills, including the Senate’s squatters bill, Senate Bill 38.
The House Ways and Means Committee will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday to consider several bills, including House Bill 103, a measure to create databases of bonds, taxes and bond-related projects. Watch out, Project Connect.
The House Public Education Committee will meet at 8 a.m. on Tuesday to consider six bills, including House Bill 7 on parental rights and House Bill 100 on school district materials. The notice suggests the committee may take up pending business. View the list of upcoming meeting notices here and here.
The Senate will convene at 2 p.m. on Monday.
The House plans to convene at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
HIDDEN IMAGE TX-18: Former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington, D-Houston, held a news conference this morning imploring Democrats to come together to find a candidate to succeed the late U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner. Washington doesn’t want the community to continue watering down their vote with a crowded field of candidates, but doesn’t want the Harris County machine to anoint a candidate. Meanwhile, County Judge Lina Hidalgo joined the ranks of officials endorsing Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee for the seat.
TX House: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, launched a six-figure ad-buy praising 14 Republicans, including Speaker Dustin Burrows, for supporting education savings accounts. Along with Burrows, Cruz’s ads support state Reps. Brent Money of Greenville, Joanne Shofner of Nacogdoches, Trey Wharton of Huntsville, Janis Holt of Silsbee, Matt Morgan of Richmond, A.J. Louderback of Victoria, Alan Schoolcraft of McQueeney, Wes Virdell of Brady, Helen Kerwin of Glen Rose, Shelley Luther of Tom Bean, Don McLaughlin of Uvalde, Marc LaHood of San Antonio and Andy Hopper of Decatur.
HIDDEN IMAGE Gov. Greg Abbott , Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton were all together at the White House to watch President Donald Trump sign his executive order to phase out the Department of Education. They got together for a selfie.
, Lt. Gov. and Attorney General were all together at the White House to watch President Donald Trump sign his executive order to phase out the Department of Education. They got together for a selfie. The state auditor’s report on Paxton’s impeachment found that the Legislature spent $5.1 million on the ordeal. “Now that taxpayers have the facts about how former Speaker Dade Phelan frivolously wasted taxpayer funds for an ill-fated political gambit, we can put this shameful epoch of our state’s history behind us,” Patrick said in a statement. “I thank Speaker [Dustin] Burrows for releasing the House’s records and for his commitment to transparency.”
HIDDEN IMAGE Texas pharmacists will rally at the Capitol on Wednesday morning in the Capitol extension rotunda to advocate against pharmacy benefit managers.
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(March 22) U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Waco
(March 23) State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston
(March 23) U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville
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