Massaging their messages. What Democrats and Republicans say to woo undecided voters

Sep. 21--FORT WORTH -- Candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties are tweaking their campaign messages to win over undecided voters in Tarrant County.

While the two parties are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, many undecided voters are in between.

For example, Candace Valenzuela, who won a tough Democratic primary runoff for Congressional District 24 partly by winning over Black and Hispanic voters, is now talking less about social justice issues during the general election campaign, and more about issues such as health care and jobs.

Her opponent, Beth Van Duyne, also is talking about health care and jobs -- especially the need for health care policies to cover pre-existing conditions -- and her campaign mailouts don't mention that she is a member of the Republican Party.

In a state House race, Republican state Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington recently released a campaign advertisement saying that he is on a "new mission" to improve Texas schools and he supports raising teacher pay. A Democratic group known as the Lone Star Project says that ad is misleading, because Tinderholt in the past has supported private school vouchers that would take money away from public schools, and also opposed expansion of certain pre-K programs.

Tinderholt, who represents District 94 in the Nov. 3 election, faces Democrat Alisa Simmons. Her website says she will "work across the aisle to get the job done."

Those candidates are all competing in state and federal districts that were once solidly Republican, but are now considered toss-ups because of Tarrant County's growing and increasingly diverse population.

Rick Barnes, Tarrant County Republican Party chairman, said the GOP candidates aren't intentionally hiding from the title of their party or their conservative beliefs.

"But I do think that a lot of people are realizing that one of the challenges that we have in our country is that the two parties have become very polar opposite," Barnes said. "And there's a lot of people in the middle there, looking for some cooperation and some, you know, some work together-type mindset and particularly at the federal level."

It's nothing new for candidates, after winning their party's primary, to inch toward the middle of the political spectrum for the general election.

But in Tarrant County, in the past some Republicans have used phrases such as "constitutional conservative" and "staunch conservative" on their campaign literature even in general elections, said Deborah Peoples, Tarrant County Democratic Party chair.

This election cycle there are far fewer such phrases on display, she said.

"They are worried. They know that Tarrant County is in play," Peoples said.

She added that when Republicans spend money in Tarrant County, that helps the Democratic Party's cause, because that's money the GOP could be spending in other areas.

"The reason the Trump bus came here is because they've got to try to hold on to Tarrant County, which is good for us ...," she said.

Statewide, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who according to Democrats has voted against the Affordable Care Act more than 20 times, is now being characterized in a campaign flier as "protecting health care for Texas families." The pamphlet was paid for by Americans for Prosperity Action, a political action committee founded by billionaires Charles and David Koch.

Cornyn faces Democrat M.J. Hegar, who has made health care a primary theme of her campaign.

Cornyn also was criticized by Democrats in May after saying that Texans who lost their health care coverage during the pandemic had the option of signing up for a plan under Obamacare. He said at the time he hadn't changed his mind about opposing Obamacare, but was merely stating a fact.

All of the candidates contacted for this story strongly disagreed that they were changing their messages to appeal to moderate voters.

But Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University, said candidates must look at the demographics of their district to determine how to frame their campaign messages in a way that makes voters comfortable with them.

"They're going to try to decide whether it's advantageous, for example, to tie yourself to Donald Trump and national leaders, or whether it's advantageous to kind of distance yourself from Donald Trump and national leaders. And the same could be true on the Democratic side," Riddlesperger said.

Backing the police

Valenzuela, who prior to running for Congress was the first Black and Latina member of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board, was endorsed by nationally-known civil rights leader John Lewis just before his death in July.

"Candace Valenzuela is exactly the type of leader we need in Washington. Issues of racial and economic justice are front and center in America right now," Lewis, a long-term Georgia congressman, wrote. "Candace brings a unique perspective to these issues and will be integral in driving our national conversation forward."

But with the Nov. 3 general election weeks away, Valenzuela is focusing much more closely on health care and jobs issues.

In a questionnaire for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Voters Guide, which will be published in October, Valenzuela said she was against "defunding the police," a phrase often used by protesters who want cities to make police department funding contingent upon officers receiving better training to reduce incidents of violence against minorities.

When asked about her previous calls for police reform, and whether she was now talking less about the Black Lives Matter movement to avoid alienating voters who "back the blue," Valenzuela said the question was "a false choice."

"Our need for racial and economic justice is not at odds with the police or keeping our communities safe," Valenzuela said in an email. "Of course we should not abolish the police, but there are certainly reforms we can make to ensure accountability, create police departments that are better rooted in the communities they serve and keep our communities safe. I also believe the best way to support law enforcement and protect all North Texans is to invest in specialists that can assist police officers with non-violent and mental health emergencies in our communities."

Republican label

Van Duyne was appointed by President Trump as regional administrator for U.S. Housing and Urban Development in 2017, a position she held until resigning to run for Congress. She was Irving mayor from 2011-17.

Her campaign manager, Donald Rickard, said the lack of the word Republican on her campaign mail is a non-issue, and that even during the GOP primary, when she faced four other conservative candidates, she didn't make a specific reference to the party on pamphlets.

Van Duyne's support for expanding health care coverage, including coverage for preexisting conditions, comes from political beliefs she has long held, he said.

"Beth has had the same positions throughout this race -- for example, expanding healthcare options to lower costs and deliver more comprehensive coverage is something she's spoken about the entire campaign," Rickard said in an email.

Rickard said that any new content in her campaign messages "has been driven by changing circumstances due to the pandemic and, now, increased violence in our cities. Prior to COVID-19, the North Texas economy, job opportunities, and rising wages were doing phenomenal, now we have to get that job growth going again."

Standing by campaign ads

Tinderholt has a record of supporting public schools and teachers, and stands by his ads, spokesman Luke Macias said.

Macias said a Lone Star Project report that described Tinderholt's ad as dishonest is a "ridiculous attack from a socialist organization."

"We are so confident in the facts of this ad that we know, through thorough research, you will conclude the ad is 100% accurate," Macias said in an email.

Even so, candidates for state and federal offices in districts that could go either way in this election must cater their messages to their constituents, if they want to appeal to voters who aren't already loyal to their cause.

"And so, if they're in the district where Donald Trump's going to be very, very popular, what you're going to see them is wrapping themselves in Trump flags," Riddlesperger said. "But if they are in districts where Donald Trump is problematic or not very popular, then you're going to see Republicans running with signs that may not even have their party affiliation listed on there."

"So, you know, that's all unique to the individual district."

Staff Writer Tessa Weinberg contributed to this report.

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