‘Lone Star Candidate’

Mike Minter, a Democrat, is under no illusion that he will be elected as the next congressman from the 13th Congressional District of Texas. He freely admits to anyone who will listen that he is there to “get his butt whipped.” And based on his opponent’s war chest, the slammed doors, and recent elections — a butt whipping is exactly what Mr. Minter is going to get on Tuesday.

So why is he running? Mr. Minter’s goal is to rebuild the Democratic Party in the Texas Panhandle. Over 40,000 square miles of endless plains stretching from New Mexico to the outskirts of Fort Worth, the 13th Congressional District is one of the most Republican districts in the country. Look at the slew of unopposed Republicans on a sample ballot, and it’s hard not to assume that the region is under its own one-party system.

But Mr. Minter refuses to accept that premise. He believes that most people in the district would vote for Democrats, because their issues, concerns and lives are more closely aligned with Democratic principles than Republican. The problem, he contends, is that Democrats have an inferiority complex and so they hide “in the closet.” The goal of his campaign is to stand up for them, so that Democrats will begin to become active at local levels of politics. The key to rebuilding the party, he believes, is to work from the small races on up.

Mr. Minter is the owner of a home foundation repair business, whose only qualification for office was that he was willing to run. He has not raised much money. He has no lawn signs, no tri-folds. His campaign office is the back of his pickup truck. Besides a firm handshake and a charismatic smile, his primary campaign tool is an iPhone with an unlimited calling plan. On a recent four-hour drive to a campaign event in Amarillo I watched him make over 200 calls.

But I wonder if the effort is going to make a difference. How many hands can you shake? How many phone numbers can you call? Even in local American politics, the name of the game today is money, something Mr. Minter does not have. His opponent, the 10-term Republican incumbent Mac Thornberry, has the resources of Texas Republicans behind him, and he barely needs to campaign. While I followed Mr. Minter on his canvassing trips, the victory of his opponent seemed so preordained I could not find a single Thornberry yard sign to film.

Over the past few months, filming Mr. Minter for a longer documentary about his campaign (“A Million to One”), I have come to realize that districts like Mr. Minter’s are caught in a cycle of apathy. Incumbents don’t campaign, not for the lack of funds or energy, but because the very act of campaigning would bring attention to their opponent. And the opposition party won’t invest in its candidates because they have no chance of winning. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle.

But we should not accept that. Like him or not, without candidates like Mr. Minter, voters have no choice. And choice is what will strengthen this democracy for us all.