“U.S. House Democrats are planning an offensive in Texas — six seats in all — that has not been seen for at least a generation in the state”
Bustos: “It’s one of our top opportunities in the whole country”
Last cycle, Democrats racked up two big wins in Texas. Now, looking toward 2020, the DCCC has put six vulnerable GOP seats on the battlefield in 2020, leaving Republicans in the state “concerned,” “worried,” and “fearful.”
And it’s not just Republicans, scared of the tough campaigns ahead of them who are, taking notice. Today, the Texas Tribune reported that the DCCC’s aggressive posture in the Lone Star State “has not been seen for at least a generation.”
According to the Texas Tribune:
Democratic gains from the 2018 midterms have translated in this cycle to higher-quality candidates showing a willingness to consider running for office, and national Democratic groups are signaling they are serious about committing money toward a continuation of their offensive strikes in Texas into the 2020 election.
“It’s one of our top opportunities in the whole country,” U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat who chairs the House Democratic campaign arm, recently told The Texas Tribune.
…U.S. House Democrats are planning an offensive in Texas — six seats in all — that has not been seen for at least a generation in the state…
“In 2018, the DCCC shattered assumptions about what was possible in Texas and in 2020 we’re gearing up to do that again, but on a bigger scale. And while out-of-touch Republicans scramble and beg Washington to rescue them, Democrats on the ground are gearing up to elect leaders who truly represent their values and flip even more seats in Texas this cycle,” said DCCC Spokesperson Brooke Goren.
By Abby Livingston
WASHINGTON — The decision former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke is about to make — whether to run for president, the U.S. Senate or nothing at all in 2020 — will surely reverberate across Texas. But regardless of what O’Rourke does, Democrats are planning a major Texas offensive to target lower-tier races that could reset the table of Texas politics into the next decade.
Democratic gains from the 2018 midterms have translated in this cycle to higher-quality candidates showing a willingness to consider running for office, and national Democratic groups are signaling they are serious about committing money toward a continuation of their offensive strikes in Texas into the 2020 election.
“It’s one of our top opportunities in the whole country,” U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat who chairs the House Democratic campaign arm, recently told The Texas Tribune.
…U.S. House Democrats are planning an offensive in Texas — six seats in all — that has not been seen for at least a generation in the state, and a national Democratic group is looking to strengthen the party’s hand in the state Legislature ahead of 2021 redistricting and reapportionment.
…What is happening here is a Democratic belief that their successes in Texas were not merely tied to O’Rourke outperforming expectations as a Senate candidate last year. Instead, Democrats suggest the numbers moved strongly enough in their favor that there is reason to spend in Texas, a traditionally cost-prohibitive state.
…The real game in town is increasing the Democratic numbers in the state’s U.S. House delegation and laying the groundwork for an offensive over the next decade. Bustos, the chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a former college basketball and volleyball player, has an oft-repeated mantra on her task to protect Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gavel: The best defense is a strong offense.
The DCCC recently released its list of its Texas targets: U.S. Reps. John Carter of Round Rock, Will Hurd of Helotes, Kenny Marchant of Coppell, Michael McCaul of Austin, Pete Olson of Sugar Land and Chip Roy of Austin. Until the 2018 election, the parties only seriously competed for Hurd’s 23rd Congressional District over this past decade. But that all changed in November when each of these incumbents won his seat by a five-point margin or less.
“If you just want to stick to the numbers, not emotions, the numbers are all moving in our direction,” Bustos said. “There are changing demographics. It’s becoming more suburban, and my guess is over the next two, four, six years, we are going to have a lot of successes as Democrats in Texas.”
…Winning congressional seats also presents an opportunity for party building. For instance, it has not escaped notice that the two wealthiest neighborhoods with the most influential donors in Texas — Highland Park in Dallas and River Oaks in Houston — now have Democratic representatives, U.S. Reps. Colin Allred of Dallas and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher of Houston.
…As for the Republican worldview, many members, staffers and strategists within the delegation are still feeling the sting from the losses last year of former U.S. Reps. John Culberson of Houston and Pete Sessions of Dallas. Multiple GOP sources in the Texas delegation say they are increasingly worried that some of the targeted incumbents are not taking these re-election races seriously or may end up retiring.
…Scott Yeldell, a former Texas Republican consultant, puts the onus on individual candidates — even the ones in safe seats — to get out the vote during a general election campaign.
“The [Republican] vote is there; Texas is still a Republican state with a Republican majority of voters … but if there’s any member of the delegation sitting back on their heels, they’re making a mistake even as early as February of the off-year in 2019,” Yeldell said. Democrats, he added, are not sitting on their heels.
###