“Texans are ready for change and M.J. Hegar’s 2018 run showed that a strong Democratic nominee can compete in TX-31. These primary results show Democrats across Williamson and Bell Counties are energized and the ultimate Democratic nominee will be well-positioned to win this fall.” – DCCC spokesman Avery Jaffe
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To: Interested Parties
From: Avery Jaffe, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: March 3, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Congressman John Carter
When it comes to working on behalf of the people of Texas’s 31st Congressional District, John Carter has been missing in action. For more than 17 years in Congress, Congressman Carter has happily cashed his taxpayer-funded paycheck while failing to do his most basic job – working on behalf of the people who elected him. Instead, he ignores constituents, repeatedly votes to undermine our current health care system and falls in line with the Washington Republican establishment.
In 2018, Carter barely kept his seat in Congress after facing the first competitive race of his career – only holding his seat by 3 points. But Congressman Carter still hasn’t learned his lesson, voting with his party in Washington to keep prescription drug costs high and turning in fundraising quarters so terrible that rumors of Carter’s possible retirement raced across Williamson and Bell counties throughout 2019.
2018 showed Texans in the 31st Congressional District are fed up with having no one fighting on their behalf in Washington D.C. After Congressman Carter sleepwalked through 2019, he’s vulnerable again in 2020.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Carter remains unconcerned with losing his seat in the district and said his approach to preventing a flip is to continue with the strategy he’s had for nearly two decades.” [Texas Tribune, 2/20/20]
“Carter himself did not raise anything to boast about: $152,000, a drop from the second quarter that is unlikely to quell retirement speculation.” [Texas Tribune, 10/16/19]
HEADLINE: “Where’s Carter?” [Hill Country News, 9/7/17]
“This fast-growing district, not far from the state capital of Austin, is the type of white-collar district where Trump has lost ground. The president won just 53 percent here, 7 points worse than Mitt Romney did four years earlier.” [National Journal, 3/20/18]
Congressman John Carter: Missing in Action
ONLY SHOWING UP TO KEEP TEXANS’ HEALTH CARE COSTS HIGH
Health care continues to be the number one concern for voters, but it’s the last thing Congressman Carter wants to talk about with Texans.
After voting for House Republicans’ disastrous effort to strip away health care and nearly losing his seat in 2018, Congressman Carter has doubled down.
Carter voted to keep Texans’ prescription drug costs high and supported the reckless Texas lawsuit that threatens to throw hundreds of thousands of Texans with pre-existing conditions off their private health insurance.
Carter also supported the disastrous GOP tax bill that gave away billions of taxpayer dollars to the nation’s wealthiest drugmakers.
AVOIDING TEXANS AT EVERY TURN
Congressman Carter has built up something of a reputation for unresponsiveness and outright avoidance of everyday Texans in the 31st Congressional District. When almost 300 constituents put together a town hall, John Carter was MIA. When a local paper tried to contact Rep. Carter over 15 times in 2 months, he was MIA. When dozens of local high school students marched to Rep. Carter’s office demanding changes to our gun laws to make their schools safer, he was once again MIA. Not only is that disrespectful, it’s a reflection that Carter has not learned a single lesson from his close call in 2018.
LIVING WELL ON TAXPAYER’S DIME
Congressman Carter’s 17 years in Congress and more than $2.8 million in taxpayer-funded salaries have turned him into just another member of the Washington Republican establishment. He is enjoying all the perks that come with the job, taking more than $135,000 in taxpayer-funded travel to dozens of countries including France, Italy, and Jamaica. While living well on the taxpayer dime, Congressman Carter has lost touch with the Texans he is supposed to be representing.
PATH TO VICTORY
It is clear that John Carter’s 17 years as part of the Washington Republican establishment have made him complacent. Between his refusals to meet with people he represents, his low fundraising numbers, and support of a toxic Republican agenda, there is significant opportunity for a strong Democratic challenger to win this district.
Texas’s 31st Congressional District is comprised of many of the fastest-growing and demographically changing suburbs north of Austin, which in recent years have been moving away from Republicans.
This suburban district has strong and growing minority communities of color, with African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos making up more than 30% of the district’s eligible voters.
In 2018, Beto O’Rourke narrowly lost the district, earning 49.0% of the major party vote, while congressional candidate MJ Hegar earned 48.5%.
A strong Democratic candidate, with deep local ties will be able to draw on presidential level turnout in this rapidly changing district and put themselves on a path to victory in November.
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