Seven students in JOUR448, politics and government affairs reporting, took a reporting field trip to Texas ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections. There are nine Democrats hoping to replace Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who is retiring after 14 terms in Congress. The 30th District seat is in a strongly Democratic area, so no matter who wins the Republican primary, it’s a near certainty that one of the nine hopefuls will be headed to Washington. Each hopes to win at least 50% of the vote to avoid a May 24 runoff election. If not, the top-two finishers Tuesday will advance to the runoff.
The students met with a variety of political operatives, candidates, organizers and voters over the course of three days — Feb. 18, 19 and 20 — and put together some vignettes. The aim: to showcase what it’s like on the ground in the middle of a competitive congressional primary.
Friday
1 p.m.
Dallas Democratic Party prepares for the primary
When visitors of the Dallas Democratic Party step into the office, they are immediately greeted by a piñata lookalike of the viral photo of Sen. Bernie Sanders sitting cross legged sporting his oversized mittens. Aside from staying up to date on popular meme content, these Democrats pride themselves in selecting leaders who will be able to resonate with young and diverse voters.
Vice Chair Kardal Coleman, 31, the youngest-ever vice chair of a county party, highlights the importance of reaching potential voters through media outreach. They have a lot to do — according to Kathleen Thompson, the director of communications, the most prevalent issue for Dallas right now is voter suppression.
“We don’t need to keep people from voting to win,” Thompson said. “We’re working on a daily basis to make sure voters understand the new rules and not scare people because we want to empower them.”
Party Chair Kristy Noble describes spending “every waking moment” working to empower and educate voters, and address health care and education concerns within the community.
“We have a very limited amount of time to keep our democracy in the manner in which the forefathers clearly wanted it,” Noble said, calling Dallas County “the battleground zero” in determining the direction of the rest of the country.
The party is, of course, neutral in the 30th District primary. Noble herself is on the ballot as an elected chair.
6 p.m.
Southern Methodist University campus, not far from the George W. Bush Presidential Library
Campus itself is quiet — perhaps expected for a cold Friday evening at SMU.
The Hughes-Trigg Student Center — a modern, sleek two-story building adorned in the school’s red, white and blue colors — was home to only a few studious Mustangs scattered throughout the building.
The limited action is concentrated along SMU’s Greek row — home to Greek-lettered brick mansions that put USC’s fraternity houses to shame. Alpha Epsilon Pi, nicknamed “AEPi,” was preparing for a Shabbat dinner which the fraternity brothers asked Annenberg Media’s reporters to join. (They didn’t.)
A sophomore journalism major from San Diego, who introduced himself only as Dylan, describes himself as a voter. When asked if that’s in Texas or California, he isn’t sure: “California, I think.”
Dylan did, however, explain his disappointment with the Biden administration and pinpointed the departure from Afghanistan as the root of his disappointment. He called it “messy” without naming any specifics.
When pressed about his voting history and political leanings, Dylan says with a notable use of past tense, “I kind of liked Trump. I thought he was pretty funny.”
Dylan called the political climate of the university “50-50,” meaning he didn’t sense a huge sway toward the left or right. Actually, Niche, a site that ranks and reviews universities, identifies only 8% of SMU’s candidates liberal or very liberal.
Saturday
10 a.m.
Early voting in Oak Lawn
On the only Saturday of early voting in the Texas primary elections, there aren’t many people yet at the Oak Lawn Library. Signs crowded every patch of grass in the parking lot shared with a grocery store, most of them displaying the names of Democratic candidates here in the 30th District. Signs for state Rep. Jasmine Crockett note her endorsement from the retiring congresswoman.
Poll worker Tim West held a cup of Starbucks coffee in his hand as he welcomed voters inside, directing them to go into a small room that contained voting booths.
West says while the early voting lines were shorter than normal, on Election Day, voters could expect to spend an hour and a half to three hours waiting in a line wrapped around the library and behind the grocery store.
In the past, he says, cheerleading squads and drag queens have come to entertain voters waiting in line. He wants the reporters to come back later. “The queens are coming soon,” West said.
Henry Johnson, one of the few early voters to show up that day, said he was voting for Jane Hope Hamilton in the 30th.
“I see her as a strong female running in a world of politics where it has a demand for somebody that can stand up for the people,” he said.
Johnson added issues such as education reform were important to him as a voter. He also expressed his views on the future of democracy in America saying, it’s “in the hands of the people whether they are poor or rich.”
“That power,” he says, “it lies in the hands of the people regardless of whatever ethnic group, race, nationality, creed, color, religion, or gender they may be.”
Johnson is “riding with Jane,” he says, because she is a candidate “for the people.”
— Cassie Esparza and Ashley Carnahan
11 a.m.
Progressive Democrats block walk for Crockett, who had no public events this weekend
In the middle of a spacious, yet surprisingly deserted Buckner (Samuell) Park, five volunteers from Our Revolution North Texas meet to plan out which neighborhood routes they would take to campaign for Crockett, who they supported back in 2020 for her state race.
Kevin Patterson, a college senior at the University of Texas at Dallas wearing “Medicare for all” apparel, shares that this is his third weekend hitting the pavement. “Saturday is a big day for early voting,” he says, and time is of the essence to get out the vote.
Attempting to coordinate the path via an app showing the number of registered Democratic voters and their addresses proves tricky for the group.. The houses and streets they visit are sometimes repeated and not marked off, with volunteers finding brochures with Crockett’s face and other endorsed state and local candidates had already been left on a doorstep.
Even though the streets of the Baylor-Meadows neighborhood are particularly quiet, and there are more unanswered knocks than conversations with residents, it is the smallest of interactions that are the most memorable. Whether it was a supportive honk from a passing car, one woman saying she was going to vote later that afternoon, or even Patterson’s attempt at making conversation in Spanish with a non-English speaking resident, the group found the block walk is successful given that every vote counts.
After all, Crockett won her race two years ago by just 90 votes.
12:45 p.m.
Jessica Mason, a Navy veteran prepares to knock on doors
On a sunny afternoon in DeSoto’s Townsend Park, Jessica Mason, a 29-year-old who models herself as a Bernie Sanders progressive, sits with two members of her campaign staff on bleachers while a child swings on a creaky swing set in the distance.
Mason and her staff prepare the literature she will hand out when going door-to-door to engage with voters in the South Dallas area, hopefully joined by volunteers who will meet the group later at the bleachers. Raised by a single mother, she enlisted in the Navy and completed a public administration master’s degree before returning home to work in affordable housing communities.
As a South Dallas native, Mason says her connection and involvement with the community sets her apart from the other eight candidates competing for the congressional seat.
“South Dallas raised me. Congress will never change me,” Mason says, adding, “No other person in this race can say that.”
Beyond the Navy veteran’s ties to the community, she adds she doesn’t take corporate funding for her campaign, referencing two super PACs with ties to cryptocurrency that had recently donated $2 million to Crockett’s campaign. “Why?… They’re trying to buy a seat,” Mason says.
In the packed congressional primary, Mason’s team is canvassing, sending out mailers and engaging with voters on social media. She said canvassing is “tied” with mailers in terms of importance because while mailers give voters a quick look at a candidate’s policies, canvassing allows the team to meet with voters face-to-face.
However, in a district with 400,000 people, Mason said social media allows her to reach the people behind the doors she can’t knock on.
“Facebook for the older crowds, Twitter for the younger crowds, Instagram for the younger crowds,” she explains, adding, “That’s really how you get the messaging out.”
Sunday
11 a.m.
Jane Hope Hamilton, another leading candidate, takes her family to church
It’s a cold, windy Sunday morning at Dallas West Church of Christ, but congregants slowly ebb into the main sanctuary dressed in their Sunday best. They sit, masked, in socially distanced fold-out chairs, singing hymns from the “songs of the church” book held by Elder Gary McMillian.
“The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore,” echoed throughout the room.
Jane Hope Hamilton sits in the back row with her husband, two children, and sister Porsche, who has flown in from Virginia. A woman from her campaign sits quietly in the chair to the right of the family.
The sermon topic: dreamers. Minister Sammie Berry takes off his blazer and begins talking about the biblical Joseph and his dream of his brothers’ sheaves of grain gathering around his own and bowing to it.
“We need those who dream about having strong, Christ-centered goals,” he said.
Berry glanced up from the podium and looked at the back of the room. He refers to Hamilton as “sister Jane.” “I’m glad she’s dreaming about going to Congress,” he said.
Hamilton is called to the front of the church and thanks the minister for inviting her to speak. She discusses her qualifications for the job, mentioning her time as a campaign manager for the Dallas Democratic Sweep in 2006, which flipped Dallas County from Republican to its current status as a Democratic stronghold.
She also touts her role as former campaign manager and chief of staff for Rep. Marc Veasey, saying, “I’m the only person in this race that has worked for Congress.”
“Does experience matter? I think so,” she added. The congressional candidate says she “listens to a higher power” and “puts one foot in front of the other.”
Standing in front of the pulpit, Hamilton bashes two super PACs, backed by cryptocurrency financiers, that gave the $2 million to Crockett’s campaign.
“You watch me work,” she says. “[You’re] not going to tell us who is going to be our next member of Congress.”
Hamilton ends her speech, asking the congregation for their support, encouragement, and the “prayers of the righteous.”
“I’m asking for your vote, and I’m just asking you all to talk to people and let them know what’s going on,” she concludes.
Berry leads the church in a closing prayer, thanking God for letting “Sister Jane be bold enough to dream to go to Washington D.C.”
“Father, we pray that all of us will do our civic duty and go out to the polls and cast our vote for sister Jane.”