Texas Democrats - One Team 

Democrats suffered a great loss this last election cycle. As democrats, we tend to overthink and overanalyze, missing the simplicity of the answer. From the American revolution, through the civil war, to the assassination of Dr Martin Luther king… it is now and has always been about economic prosperity.

I’m Delia Parker Mims, Chair of the Denton County Democratic Party, the best county party in the State of Texas! I am now proud to run for the interim Chair of the Texas Democratic Party. I’m running for chair because I love Texas, and I have a proven track record of success in increasing democratic turnout. 

On January 20th we will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday and I think its befitting because Dr. King offered us a way forward.

Dr. King told us, 56 years ago, “as long as the powerful can convince working-class whites that Blacks and Browns are their problem, the people will not focus on the one percent. They will not combine forces to change an inequitable system. This change won’t occur by scapegoating any particular race or religious group and it will not occur by attempting to undermine or destroy our democracy. It can and will occur if we strive to achieve our American ideals and values for and with all Americans.” 

Here it is, 2025, and we are fighting today for the same issues as Dr. King in 1969. 

In his final movement, Dr. King wanted to create a Coalition of Conscience. He dreamt of a coalition of people from diverse backgrounds, demographics, and perspectives… united by their shared values. Values that share a vision of a more economically equitable America. 

That sounds a lot like the diversity of the Democratic Party!

Think about this… when Dr. King changed his message from race to economic injustice, he was murdered. The civil rights act had already been signed and he was broadening his appeal to encompass All Americans. That includes all Americans — except the one percent which he identified even in 1968.

Fifty-six years later, we have not settled that fight. We have, in fact, empowered and emboldened the one percent moving us into an economy where we only have the illusion of opportunity.

The Coalition of Conscience for Dr King is no different than the ideals if the Democratic Party. We are a coalition of shared values. We, as democrats, believe that who you love is your business. What you read is your decision. Who you marry ought not to be a discussion for the government. Every human being should have a say over what happens to their own body.

The problem we have is that we are not fighting for shared values; we fight each other to make our individual identities and single individual issues the main issues during elections! Then we wonder why we can’t convince independent voters to make the effort to vote, when we can’t even convince each other about our priorities!

Want to know who I am? I am the lawyer who answers the phone in a calm and respectful manner when a gay couple wants to adopt a child. I’m the one who understands that everyone deserves the right to be treated respectfully and not have someone hang up the phone or shout out their beliefs with insults as they refuse your business. I’m the lawyer who will kick down the doors of oppression and exclusion so that we all can be a part of the process.

What do I think about immigrants? I’m a woman who cried — at 53 years of age! — when her best friend from El Paso told her she has just became a US citizen in 2021. I cried because I didn’t realize she wasn’t a citizen! She’s just been my friend, since the first grade. She was voted “most athletic” at our high school, she was drum major in our band. She’s a professional manager and high earner. But, I cried because it was during the time period when so many terrible things were being said about immigrants and it made me so sad to think how the hateful rhetoric must have made her feel. I don’t want that for any immigrant and will fight for their rights.

I am the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran and a waitress from the Ft. Bliss Officers Club in El Paso, TX. My father received the Silver and Bronze Medal of Honor for his bravery in Vietnam. He went back into enemy territory to rescue young soldiers who couldn’t read the map and get out.  My mom was a waitress for over 30 years. There were times I remember her getting home past midnight so cold and so tired… but before she went to bed each night she got on her knees and prayed. We grew up poor. But I didn’t know I was poor because we had access to resources. The things my parents imparted into me have shaped the way I have lived my life and my professional path to uplift others and ensure resources continue to be available to families in need.

My father and my mother taught me there is something bigger than myself worth fighting for. My parents taught me that it’s not about me but it is about what I can do in-service to others. They were complicated and they were fearless. They are why I am running for Texas State Chair. It’s time to fight for Texas. 

As Democrats, we do not have to agree on every single issue, but we must agree on the same values. We must work together become One Team.  

The Democratic Party is at a crossroads — we can keep moving in a self-destructive manner and continue to lose and eventually become an authoritarian country, as we are already seeing in the State of Texas. Or, we can learn from our mistakes and take the lessons of the past as a path to move forward. Martin Luther King gave us the blueprint. The Democratic Party can be that blueprint for diversity and economic empowerment for all of society, not just the one percent!

We are a big tent party. That is our strength and that is our weakness. 

Currently, we are letting that weakness define who we are by causing us to use our identities and single-point issues against one another instead of being a party that defines issues inclusively of all Americans in need. We can win in Texas. I’m old enough to remember when Democrats DID win in Texas and in Denton Count! But somehow we stopped the messaging to win…

What we need to do is move forward together, as One Team, one identity… TEXAS DEMOCRATS. A coalition of many identities united by our shared values. Values that share a vision of a more economically equitable America. 

How do we do that? We do that by turning out the vote. Increasing Democratic and Independent turnout. We stop messaging to Republicans, because by now we should know that we will NEVER convince enough of them to change the outcome! We’ve got to be ready by 2030 when we have the opportunity to change the maps.

The road to flipping Texas goes straight through our county parties. We will flip Texas not because of the top of the ticket, but because of the down-ballot candidates knocking on doors, hosting town halls, and getting the message out. These candidates are fueled by the efforts of county parties who will increase turnout, register voters, and get more voters to the poles.

Our county parties need resources, not just money. They need resources to help develop organizational structures to increase volunteerism, to create consistent fundraising raising tools, engage with more voters, and to fill precinct chair spots. 

Guess what? I speak county party language.

I’ve been successful doing just that in Denton County for two election cycles in a row. Denton County has been the largest county to increase democratic turnout. We’ve increased funding, we’ve increased volunteers, we’ve increased precinct chairs. We’ve accomplished these things by acting as ONE TEAM. Not as Progressives, not as Liberals, not as individual identities but as One Team of Democrats working toward a common goal. Getting Democrats to the polls, and getting our candidates elected. 

We operated under one belief — that once you get past the primary and wear that badge that calls you a Democratic candidate, it is our collective responsibility to get voters to the polls to get you elected.

I spoke earlier about my mother who taught me the importance of remembering that “it’s bigger than you.” And how she prayed every night by her bed no matter how tired she was. In her final moments of this life, in hospice, in my home, unable to talk, she transitioned laying on her back with her hands in the prayer position. Still teaching my children and me that “it’s bigger than you.” This is about knowing that there is something bigger than you and worth fighting for. Worth getting up for, worth knocking on one more door. Worth making one more call. 

Saving democracy and restoring Texas is bigger than our individual selves. I’m a 5th generation Texan and I’m running because the Texas Democrats need a proven leader who isn’t afraid to fight. A leader who understands that the vision is bigger than the self.

I’m Delia Parker-Mims, I’m running for State Chair of the Texas Democratic Party and I need your support. To the members of the SDEC who are listening, I need your vote. Vote for Texas Democrats - ONE TEAM.