From KERA News:
On a bright Saturday afternoon, the Kaufman County Democrats are holding their monthly meeting to talk about the upcoming elections in November.
They’re in a space that looks like a modern classroom in Forney, a town about 20 miles east of Dallas. It’s a suburban area that still feels pretty rural.
Right now Kaufman is going through what you might call a boom — it’s the fastest growing county in the country, according to the U.S. Census. Its population increased more than 7% between 2022 and 2023.
“I’ve had people that have called, I guess, in the last two weeks, that want to get involved, and that have called to volunteer, which, in the past, we haven’t always had a lot of people called to volunteer,” said Sarah Whitaker, party chair for the Kaufman County Democrats.
Democrats making gains
It’s been about a month since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, and a couple of weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris was officially nominated to the Democratic ticket. Whitaker said the excitement among voters is palpable.
“Since he stepped aside to let Kamala be our now, our presidential candidate, and with Tim [Walz], they have come out of the woodwork. They are so excited,” Whitaker said.
Dane Adams is a college student who’s lived in Kaufman county for about 10 years. He said he’s seen the explosive growth in the county firsthand, and he hopes it’ll translate to more young voters like him turning out to the polls.
“There’s so many students that I’ve gotten to have in kind of my echo chamber that have been apathetic towards this election, but now, since the tides have changed, in a sense, they’re a lot more energized,” Adams said.
Taylor Bracey attended the party’s meeting with her mom and said she’s excited about her first time voting.
“I think now is my opportunity,” she said. “And I really do believe that it’s important for young people to go out and vote right now.”
Like most semi-rural counties in Texas, Kaufman County leans Republican — the last time it went to a Democratic presidential candidate was in 1980.
But — according to the most recent general elections — Democrats have been a growing presence here, driven by the influx of people moving to the state for job opportunities.
“What that’s tended to do is made these places more competitive electorally than they were in the past,” said Joshua Blank, researcher with the Texas Politics Project at The University of Texas at Austin. “As someone who watches Texas election campaigns, the suburbs really is where the most competition is taking place right now.”
That’s why Democrats like Whitaker and Adams are hopeful they can make gains this fall. But in the bigger metro areas, it’s Republicans who are making gains with the fastest growing demographic in the state: Latinos.
