Slowly….But Surely
Democrats ARE capturing more and MORE of the states political landscape…..
Joe Biden is polling close to Trump…
Democrats are doing a bus tour in the state now and Kamala Harris will touch down there tomorrow….
This election effort is more about down ballot gains than a long shot Biden/Harris win….
But ya gotta start from the bottom and build up…..
“I think the Republican Party in Texas over the last 10 years … got complacent,” [Former Gov and current Energy Sec] Perry continued, taking some responsibility for the situation, as he was governor from 2000 to 2014. “You didn’t build the structure that you need. You didn’t go recruit the bench that you need to continue to be a strong team.”
In 2018, Democrats were buoyed by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke‘s (D-Texas) bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), which ultimately fell 2.5 percentage points short. And they scored victories by unseating influential Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and John Culberson (R-Texas), who had served for 40 years combined, in their suburban Dallas and Houston seats, respectively.
This time around, Democrats have made the state ground zero in their bid to expand their majority. According to the Cook Political Report, four seats are rated as either “lean Democratic” or “toss-up” — including three open seats — with two additional rated “lean Republican” that the party has its eyes on. On Wednesday, Cook also shifted Texas from “lean Republican” to “toss-up” in the presidential race.
Further down the ballot, Democrats are also looking to win the requisite nine seats to flip the Texas state House, which has been in GOP control since 2002. According to multiple GOP sources in the state, Republicans are hoping to minimize their losses to four seats. Democrats are more bullish though. Ed Espinoza, the executive director of Progress Texas, believes they will win control, noting that the two sides are fighting over 22 seats.
Republicans believe the situation requires GOP leaders across the state to message directly to voters rather than rely on the old tropes lawmakers occupying safe seats have in the past….
Texas’ early and mail-in voting totals for the 2020 election have surpassed the state’s total voter turnout in 2016, with 9,009,850 ballots already cast compared to 8,969,226 in the last presidential cycle.
Why it matters: The state’s 38 Electoral College votes are in play — and could deliver a knockout blow for Joe Biden over President Trump — despite the fact that it hasn’t backed a Democrat for president since 1976.
Polling suggests that Texas — in part because of its changing demographics — has become increasingly favorable for Democrats….
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