The Democratic nominee for senator from Texas wants to win conservative and moderate voters — but without giving them any ground on policy. At the Washington Post, I argue that’s a well-trodden dead end.

Democrats have, however, often come to grief by supposing that a candidate with traits associated with conservatism doesn’t need to moderate on issues. Whenever the party nominates military veterans, strategists suggest that their service will insulate them from charges of progressive extremism. Often, it doesn’t. John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran and the Democrats’ losing presidential nominee in 2004, is one example. Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot who took on Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky in 2020, is another: Her biography helped her raise more than $90 million from Democrats nationwide, but she lost by nearly 20 points.

Democrats have, however, often come to grief by supposing that a candidate with traits associated with conservatism doesn’t need to moderate on issues. Whenever the party nominates military veterans, strategists suggest that their service will insulate them from charges of progressive extremism. Often, it doesn’t. John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran and the Democrats’ losing presidential nominee in 2004, is one example. Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot who took on Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky in 2020, is another: Her biography helped her raise more than $90 million from Democrats nationwide, but she lost by nearly 20 points.

It was partly for similar demographic reasons that Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in 2024: She thought he had a special appeal to rural White voters. It didn’t show in the results.

It was partly for similar demographic reasons that Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in 2024: She thought he had a special appeal to rural White voters. It didn’t show in the results.

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