As Republicans gathered at the American Airlines Center for the second day of their midterm convention Thursday, Democrats and supporters of the party gathered at Dallas City Hall Plaza for a rally focused on voting rights and the upcoming 2026 elections.
The event heavily featured candidates and party leaders from Tarrant County. County Judge candidate and Commissioner Alisa Simmons, Tarrant County Democratic Party Vice Chair Patrice Jones and former Texas Rep. Lon Burnam all spoke at Thursday night's event.
Its biggest focus was the reduction in Tarrant County polling sites. County commissioners recently approved a reduction of 92 Election Day polling locations, from 316 in 2022 to 224 for this year's elections. One of the polling sites was located at UT Arlington.
Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr. voted against the reduction.
Simmons urged supporters to focus on voter turnout, including in Arlington.
"We told UTA, 'You all can have early voting here,'" Simmons said. "But what did we do? I made amended motion after amended motion after amendment, and my colleagues voted it down."
Art Emery, a Dallas rally attendee, said his priority heading into the midterm elections is changing the balance of power in Congress.
"These midterm elections are all about regaining a Democrat majority in the Congress," Emery said. "The current Congress has not kept a check on this president and a Democrat majority in The House of Representatives and the Senate will keep this president within the law."
The rally also featured remarks from former senatorial and gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, who urged attendees to organize voters and challenge Republican candidates across the state.
"They are the party that has trafficked in fear one election after the next," O'Rourke said. "They want us to be afraid of immigrants, of Muslims, of trans Americans. They're trying to divide us on our differences and distract us while they pick our pockets and commit the worst corruption in public office that we have ever seen in the history of our country."
Charlie Guijarro, a Dallas resident, said he attended because of concerns about representation and what he described as unequal treatment in the justice system.
"It's very clear how different people are treated differently and I just want fair treatment," Guijarro said. "I feel like equal justice also means that due process be administered for everybody."
No Democrat has won a statewide office in decades. Polling suggests some races — particularly the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races — are more competitive than in the past.
The recent success of state Sen. Taylor Rehmet in a historically red senate district helped fuel the party's optimism.
Simmons shared that confidence.
"I'm tired of hearing about Tarrant County is almost blue," Simmons said. "We have to fight like hell to turn out the vote in Tarrant County."
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