If Democrats do not achieve results in the 2027 legislative session, voters could be quick to vote them out.
By Aarón Torres
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
AUSTIN – Beto O’Rourke has a clear message for Texas Democrats following their historic victories Tuesday: deliver.
O’Rourke, whose narrow loss to GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 foreshadowed that flipping the state from red to blue was possible, believes Democrats should pass three policies that could appeal to Texans across party lines in the 2027 legislative session.
- Expand Medicaid.
- Raise the state minimum wage.
- Increase public school teacher salaries.
“Those are three things that would be felt by everybody, Republican or Democrat, rural or urban,” O’Rourke said Friday in a phone interview.
The statewide sweep Tuesday gives Democrats control of the state’s levers of power — minus the Texas Senate — for the first time since the 1990s.
However, O’Rourke knows that just as quickly as voters elected Gina Hinojosa as governor, Vikki Goodwin as lieutenant governor and dozens of Democrats to the House — giving the party control of the House for the first time since the 2001 legislative session — Texans can be just as quick to vote them out if they are unhappy with the state’s direction.
“If Democrats can’t deliver on this chance that Texans have given them, then they’ll withdraw the offer,” O’Rourke said. “And what we need to do is build on the success by delivering for everybody quickly in a way that can be felt.”
Democrats will control the House in the 2027 legislative session, but Republicans will maintain a majority in the Senate, where Goodwin will oversee the 31 senators.
Over in the House, Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston is on a clear path to be the first Democratic speaker since the 2001 legislative session. She said Friday she had the support of the majority of House lawmakers.
A Thompson speakership gives Democrats control of the legislative agenda in the House, and Hinojosa, as governor, will also lay out her legislative priorities for lawmakers. Goodwin’s influence on the Senate agenda will depend partly on the rules Senators adopt.
The split in the legislature means Democrats will have to find ways to compromise with Republicans, O’Rourke said.
He acknowledged it won’t be easy.
The path to compromise might require Democrats to arm-twist Senate Republicans and add public pressure from their constituents to show that the bills will benefit their communities.
Voters will ultimately judge Democrats on what they accomplish, not that they tried.
“I don’t know that anyone is interested in grading you on effort,” O’Rourke said. “They’re really holding out for the results.”
Austin Bureau
Aarón is an Austin native who writes about immigration and state politics. He is a University of Texas graduate, Spanish is his first language and is a dual citizen of Mexico and United States.
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