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The Texas Democratic Party’s governing board on Saturday elected Kendall Scudder to lead the party forward as its new chair after a devastating performance in November and years of electoral defeats.

“The challenge that we’re facing right now is terrifying for this country and for this state, and a lot of people are counting on us to come together and do the right thing and make sure that we are building a Texas Democratic Party that is worthy of the grassroots in this state,” Scudder said upon taking the gavel. “Let’s build a party that the working men and women of this state can be proud of.”

Scudder took 65 out of 121 votes, an outright majority in the seven-way race.

Scudder will take over as chair of the state party at a moment when Democrats are grasping for a way forward after blowout losses up and down the ballot last year, including President Donald Trump’s victory and a surge to the right by traditionally Democratic groups, such as Hispanic voters in South Texas.

After proclaiming Texas a competitive state where Democratic candidates had a fighting chance of winning statewide for the first time in three decades, party leaders instead watched as Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz trounced their Democratic challengers by roughly 14 and 9 percentage points, respectively. Democrats also ceded ground in the state Legislature and lost nearly every contested state appellate court race, in addition to 10 judicial races in Harris County — eating away at years of Democratic dominance in Texas’ largest county.

That left many Democrats concerned that, after appearing to come within striking distance of winning statewide in 2018, the party was back at a sobering low.

Longtime Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa announced his resignation shortly after the election, acknowledging the party’s poor performance and a need for a new direction.

That push for a fresh vision defined the race for party chair. Scudder will be the incumbent come 2026, when a broader group of delegates will elect the next full-term chair at the party convention in Corpus Christi. The 121-member State Democratic Executive Committee chose Hinojosa’s successor at the Saturday meeting, its first quarterly meeting of the year, because he resigned in the middle of his four-year term.

During his campaign, Scudder, an East Texas native, emphasized the importance of listening to the “grassroots.” Even before he launched his candidacy, he had accused party leadership under Hinojosa of ignoring those voters and activists. He wants to “recalibrate” the party toward a focus on working people.

“The reality is simply that Democrats on the ground don’t have a lot of confidence in party leadership anymore,” Scudder told The Texas Tribune in an interview on Thursday.

He wants the party to pay attention to areas he says it has previously written off, like rural communities, and put a priority on Spanish-language communications.

Scudder has worked in affordable housing and real estate. He came onto the state party stage through the SDEC, although he began his political activism with the Texas Young Democrats and the Texas College Democrats.

Scudder’s leading opponents, former Harris County Democratic Party Chair Lillie Schechter and former Annie’s List Executive Director Patsy Woods Martin, had offered similar but competing visions to re-establish Democratic credibility on kitchen table issues and reconnect with voters in their communities. During the campaign, Schechter and Woods Martin emphasized their experience getting Democratic candidates elected.

The SDEC hosted a candidate forum in Austin on Friday evening before toasting Hinojosa, the outgoing chair.

There, and at the panel’s meeting on Saturday, party insiders discussed how to rebuild credibility with working class voters, engage young people, fundraise and build a party infrastructure that better facilitates elected officials’ involvement in races around the state.

“The problem is that every Democrat thinks that if they had 10 more minutes, they could explain it to you,” Scudder said on party messaging during the forum. “We’ve got to get to a point where we’re speaking to people at their gut, because people vote with their guts and not their brains.”

While most party chair contests are shaped by region and race and decided at the party’s convention during midterm election years, this race was a more insular affair whose outcome was determined by a small group of the party’s activists, many of whom are progressives dissatisfied with the party’s strategies and operations.

Although the SDEC was prepared to go multiple rounds with their ranked choice ballot, Scudder’s 65 allowed him to win in the first round. Woods Martin took 27 votes, and Schechter took 26. Denton County Democratic Party Chair Delia Parker-Mims took two votes, and Meri Gomez rounded out the count with one vote. Eight candidates appeared on the ballot, but one dropped out before the election.

As the votes were tabulated, members passed out to-go shots of blue liquor — and non-alcoholic options — in an effort to liven spirits after a difficult 2024 election and an unprecedented chair race.

The candidates were largely aligned ideologically. And they especially all agreed on the need for change in the party’s direction.

“We are at an inflection point right now,” Schechter said, “and if we don’t learn lessons from the last election, and continue doing things status quo, we’re never going to win in Texas.”

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Things weren’t quite clicking for Zayden Sharp in the boys long jump Friday at the Texas Relays.

Sitting in third place with only two attempts left, Sharp walked behind a bench and huddled with his father, Mike, who was holding an iPad. The duo studied Zayden’s technique.

“It was my knees,” Sharp said later. “When I was jumping, I was dragging my knees. My legs were lagging in the air, so my dad said, ‘Get those knees up.’”

The quick study did the trick. On his fifth attempt, the Anderson senior landed a mark of 23 feet, 5.2 inches, earning him his first Texas Relays title as the third day of action drew to a close at Myers Stadium. 

“I know a lot of people say practice doesn’t make perfect,” Sharp said, “but you get a lot of practice in, and it will make you pretty darn close to being perfect. I came into this meet thinking it was a practice meet. Nothing to gain, nothing to lose. Just go out there and jump.” 

MORE: Texas’ Eva Jess impresses in rainy Thursday at Texas Relays

According to MileSplit, Sharp also entered the day with the nation’s No. 1 all conditions high school mark in the long jump. His 25-foot, 4-inch leap on March 1 in Round Rock is among five best other efforts in the country over 25 feet, a result which puts him in elite company.

But wins mean more, and on Friday the performance was significant for another reason: It cemented his status as one of the nation’s top leapers. Sharp has his eyes on reaching 25 feet again. 

MORE: Austin-area high schoolers to watch at this year’s Texas Relays

“It’s everything,” said Sharp, who’s committed but not yet signed to Air Force to play football and track and field. “My first indoor meet, I jumped 23-10, and that was kind of when it switched for me and everybody around me, that I am capable.” 

With that said, Sharp is still looking for his first state title. But with the district meet arriving on the calendar, the UIL postseason will be in full swing.

“I just want to see what I can put out there,” he said.

MORE: Elite 11 football players on the horizon

Around the Texas Relays: high schools 

A good day for Langdon: Friday was a busy day for Bowie’s Owen Langdon, who spent the afternoon qualifying for Saturday’s final of the boys 110-meter hurdles and the evening placing among the top eight finishers in the 300-meter hurdles. It wasn’t a perfect day by any stretch, but Langdon is quickly realizing what he’s capable of.

The senior finished fourth at the Texas State Outdoor Championships in the 300-meter hurdles in 2024. On Friday, his time of 37.77 netted him a sixth-place finish in the second heat. It was just five-tenths shy of his personal best.

“I’ve been doing this since the eighth grade,” Langdon said. “I just ended up being good at it, so I just kind of stuck with it and that’s it.” 

Langdon’s best race came earlier in the day. He clocked a wind-legal time of 13.89 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, earning him the second-fastest seed going into Saturday’s final. His three-step pattern was nearly flawless. Things won’t get any easier there, though, as Langdon will also feature in Bowie’s 400 relay.

He said it will take a “perfect technique, perfect pattern” to win the 110 hurdles final, but that “competition will help” and he’s targeting a time in the 13.6-second range.

Locals attack the 1,600 distance: Anderson’s Colby Huntress finished fourth in the boys 1,600 in 4:14.67, showcasing a strong kick in the final 100 meters, while LASA’s Eva Cragnolino mirrored him, clocking a PR of 4:53.21 to finish sixth in the girls event.

“Just building up the confidence to go with those top guys and put it all out there,” Huntress said. “Because as hard of an effort that was, I know I can push harder.” 

Anderson’s Faith Murphy, the reigning Class 6A state runner-up at 800 meters, was ninth with a time of 4:55.46. That personal best time also represented her first foray at the distance since her freshman season.

“My college coaches said, ‘Hey, you need to get your mile time down,’” said Murphy, who signed with Arkansas. “And I said, ‘OK, great.’ I just took it as a challenge.”

Cragnolino’s reward was her patience. She pulled away from Murphy in the final straightaway. The previous night, she had watched the college distance races from the stands as a way to prepare for her own moment.  

“The women’s race was so inspiring,” she said.

Other notable performances: Bowie’s Jazzlyn Hepburn finished sixth in the high jump with a mark of 5-5. … Del Valle’s Jeremiah Robinson was fourth in the discus with a mark of 8 feet, 4 inches.

2025 Spring Sectionals- Four Corners

• March 27-30, 2025
• Austin, Texas
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Mobile: “2025 Four Corners Speedo Sectionals –  Austin”
• Live Results
• Day 1 Recap

Texas freshman Jeremy Kelly swam to a lifetime best in the 200 free to earn the win by over a second as he touched in a 1:34.79. Kelly’s lifetime best was a 1:35.12 from midseason. Kelly did not make the SEC roster for the team and is currently in the transfer portal along with at least nine other teammates. It took a 1:32.37 to earn an NCAA invite in the event and a 1:34.99 to score at SECs.

NC State commit Gavin Keogh won the 100 back in a lifetime best of a 46.28. Keogh’s previous best time was a 46.77. He will arrive this fall. Keogh also touched 2nd in the 400 IM tonight, swimming to a 3:52.76.

Earning the win in the 400 IM was Mikhail Lyubavskiy who touched in a 3:45.56. Lyubavskiy’s best time was a 3:47.02 from the 2024 Atlantic-10 Championships as he swam collegiately with George Washington and now swims for Longhorn Aquatics.

Highlighting the girls side of night 2 was Ella Cosgrove who battled it out with Savannah Skow and Amelia Mason in the 200 free. Cosgrove flipped first at the 100 and was strong on the back half to earn the win in a 1:45.07. That improved upon her personal best of a 1:45.39 from December at Winter Juniors. Cosgrove is committed to Cal for next fall, alongside 200 freestyler Claire Weinstein.

Skow, a Princeton commit, dropped about two seconds from her previous best of a 1:47.65 to touch 2nd in a 1:45.80. Her swim would have been #1 on the roster this past season. Mason, a Tennessee commit, was 3rd in a 1:45.97 just off her best of a 1:45.62.

After winning the 100 free last night, Madi Mintenko earned another win tonight posting a 51.58 in the 100 backstroke. The high school senior has not swam the event in a while so the swim marked a huge personal best and also has implications for the fall when she arrives at Virginia. Her swim from tonight would have earned an NCAA invite this season and been #3 on the Virginia roster behind Gretchen Walsh and Claire Curzan.

Miami-Florida commit Taylor Johannsen posted a lifetime best en route to a win in the 400 IM. Johannsen swam to a 4:15.53, improving from her best time of a 4:15.92 that she swam at Winter Juniors in December. Her best time coming into the season was a 4:23.24.