What is a coordinated campaign and what could it look like in Texas?
I got hooked on campaigns in 2016 — addicted from day one. I started my campaign journey as an unpaid intern for the Missouri 2016 Coordinated campaign and would eventually be hired to be a full time field organizer. The people, culture, and work within a coordinated campaign are unlike anything else in politics. Hundreds of staff working together across the state towards one mission, electing Democrats up and down the ballot.
I spent most of 2016, 2018 and 2020 working on coordinated campaigns across the Midwest. As a young staffer these structures give you the ability to move up each cycle, become an organizer and learn some of the most important lessons about management. Coordinateds generate hundreds of trained staff each cycle. Anytime I am about to hire for a campaign I call former colleagues who were on coordinated campaigns the previous cycle for recommendations.
As I have previously discussed, Texas does not have a history of executing fully funded coordinated campaigns. At least not the way other states (especially battleground states) have funded their coordinated campaigns.
My goal in this substack is to outline what a Coordinated campaign could look like in Texas. It’s my hope that by describing a coordinated campaign in detail folks will see the value it can bring, especially heading into 2026, a cycle when Texas has almost every statewide office on the ballot.
What is a coordinated campaign exactly?
Before we can build a coordinated campaign in Texas, we need to define it — and that’s not always easy. Each campaign looks a little different and Texas is no exception. To help define that, I’ve listed a few principles of a coordinated campaign:
Coordination: Obviously coordination should be a part of a coordinated campaign. The entities that coordinate here can be anyone, but the coordinateds I’ve seen that are successful coordinated between the top of the ticket, state party, national entities (DSCC, DNC, etc.) and options for down-ballot candidates to “buy-in”. We’ll discuss what this model could mean specifically below.
Statewide volunteer direct voter contact program: A centralized field campaign is the core service that a coordinated campaign is responsible for executing. To be specific I’d define this as door-to-door canvassing, texting and calling voters. Coordinated can take on more responsibility, but this is the core duties any coordinated should aim to perform.
Joint fundraising agreement: This is the legal structure the campaign operates through. It happens when the state party (or in some instances a county party) “federalizes” a political party committee. I’m not a lawyer and all coordinated campaigns hire lawyers to help execute and manage this component. But this is an incredibly important piece of a coordinated, allowing federal and state money to come together.
You keep saying coordinate, but what does that actually mean?
When I say "coordinate," I mean two things: how campaigns conduct direct voter contact (DVC) — and how they share the data from it. There are several ways to coordinate direct voter contact:
Targeting: Many times smaller campaigns don’t have the funds or capabilities to get the best targeting so when they coordinate with a statewide candidate they can get access to better targeting. It is important to note that targeting can and often is a point of conflict for coordination. Some more localized campaigns may want to perform persuasion DVC and that can be difficult if you’re coordinated. When this is the case, I think doing persuasion separately or just coordinating during the GOTV phase of the campaign is the best path for both campaigns. One additional note on targeting is that coordinated campaigns can and should share where they are canvassing and who they are talking to with their coordinated partners. This will help those partners make the best decisions for the rest of their paid media.
Scripts and messaging: Coordinated scripts include all participating candidates, typically prioritizing the statewide ticket first. Sometimes, when there are more than 3 coordinated candidates you’ll incorporate a “Vote for all Democrats” question at the end to be a “catch-all”.
Literature: In addition to gathering IDs for coordinated candidates, you’ll carry all the coordinated partners walk literature when knocking door-to-door.
Data: Once you’ve conducted the DVC, that data gets shared with the coordinated partners (campaigns). This empowers campaigns to follow-up and send additional touches (mail, DVC, digital) to voters who have been canvassed by the coordinated campaign.
Recruitment and volunteer management: This is the biggest benefit for smaller campaigns. In addition to having thousands of more conversations about their candidate, they don’t have to spend money and time recruiting and managing volunteers. This allows the coordinated campaign to take over this function and run a much more scalable, efficient DVC operation.
One last thing to note when it comes to coordination is the ability for coordinated campaigns to do paid coordination and unpaid coordination. For example, the Missouri 2018 coordinated campaign would have State Legislative candidates give $5,000 - $15,000 to coordinate, competitive congressional candidates $75,000. The paid coordination had additional benefits and the unpaid required some commitment from the down ballot candidates to help generate volunteer leads, from joint events.
What can this look like in Texas?
One aspect of organizing in Texas that is different than other states is the sheer size geographically and population. Texas’s size is a challenge — but it can't be an excuse. Structure, standards, and goals should be just as strong here as anywhere else. This doesn’t mean we don’t let different regions of Texas do things a different way, but it does mean the fundamentals of organizing don’t differ across those regions.
Staffing a coordinate in Texas should be similar to other coordinated campaigns. That traditional structure looks like the organizational chart below. Please note the total staffing here is not a reflection of what must happen in Texas, rather it is just an example.
Determining the total number of regions and organizers necessary for a fully operational coordinated is where reality and strategy intersect. Every campaign operates with different levels of investment. Some campaigns may start with a lean budget, while others may have the resources to establish a broad presence from the outset.
Regardless of the initial investment, building a campaign to be scalable is crucial. A well-structured strategy allows for efficient expansion, ensuring that as resources increase, the campaign can adapt and hire more staff.
What else can a coordinated campaign do?
While organizing volunteers is the central goal of any coordinated campaign, it is not the only function it can serve. Coordinated(s) has performed some of the duties below:
Mail - Since a coordinated campaign is a special committee it has inherent benefits that allow it to save money on mail. For this reason many coordinated campaigns take on the task of sending GOTV mail to Democratic voters.
Digital - Similar to mail, digital ads can be run in-house by a coordinated campaign. This messaging has to be GOTV oriented.
Political - While sometimes coordinates have the budget luxury of hiring political staff this work can also be done by regional field directors and senior staff of the field team. The political work typically is working with down ballot partners, partner organizations, organizing constituency groups, etc.
Paid Field - To keep the data shared among partners, the “top of the ticket” candidate often runs any paid field through the coordinated.
Benefits of a fully funded coordinated campaign
Accountability - When there is one team being held to the same standards (goals) then leadership is able to hold the team and themselves accountable. This might seem small, but in my experience watching different programs pop-up across the state, it is important to have clear goals and people to hold accountable to those goals. Field organizers having the same call goal and daily structure ensures the program is executing at full capacity across the state.
Efficiency and Scalability - One challenge in Texas and frankly across the country for campaigns is hiring. It is tough to find leadership, managers and organizers. Having run local races, I know that challenge is even tougher at the local level. Instead of having 5-6 groups (campaigns, county parties, etc.) all competing for the same small pool of applicants, a coordinated campaign, able to frame itself as the state party, can spend resources and assign staff, full time to hiring staff.
Coordination - When there is one centralized program, there is no question who is responsible for what. Additionally, instead of 5-6 groups working in silos, one central team can easily coordinate with other outside groups and keep all partners (County Parties, campaigns, etc.) up to date on the work.
Money - When the top of the ticket candidate is running for U.S. Senate, then there is a max donation limit. Operating a Statewide Coordinated through a joint fundraising agreement allows maxed out donors to give again to a campaign that will benefit that Senate candidate and the whole ticket in Texas. Additionally, the coordinated is able to save thousands or hundreds of thousands on mail expenditures.
How can we make sure there is a coordinated campaign in 26’?
Typically, the top of the ticket is the main driver for the coordinated campaign. In 2026, this will be the U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial candidates. Advocating early and often to all Senate and Governor candidates is the best way to ensure a coordinated campaign happens in 2026 in Texas. If the campaigns believe in the benefits, they can make it happen.
Additionally, the state party is typically a big aspect of the coordinated. While the TDP’s ability to support a coordinated and make it a reality will depend greatly on its ability to raise funds, this is a positive sign for the prospect of a coordinated becoming a reality.
Lastly, when the time comes, you can make a coordinated a priority by donating to it. These funds will go directly towards ensuring Texas has a fully staffed coordinated with organizers across the state.
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Ensuring a fully funded, fully staffed coordinated campaign in 2026 will not happen by accident. It will require early planning, clear leadership, and a commitment from candidates, donors, and the party infrastructure.
We've seen the impact that coordinated efforts can have — and we have the chance to build something even stronger in 2026.
The path is clear. Now is the time to lay the foundation.