Down-ballot races are critical to turning Texas blue
One state to watch is Texas, where Democrats need to pick up nine seats in the state House to end a nearly 20-year Republican hold on the legislature.
If Texas Democrats continue to gain momentum, 2018 will be seen as a turning point. Former representative Beto O’Rourke nearly defeated Ted Cruz in Texas’s closest U.S. Senate race in 40 years. O’Rourke’s momentum and his campaign’s success in appealing to new voters helped Texas Democrats clinch victories in the U.S. House, the Texas State House and important local offices, including judgeships.
Texas has another competitive U.S. Senate race this November. Of the 35 U.S. Senate seats up for election this year, Democrats are defending 12 and Republicans 23. To win back control of the Senate, Democrats must gain at least four seats nationwide. Gallup polling suggests that Trump has lower approval ratings in Texas than any other state he won in 2016. And Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s approval rating has fallen even lower than Cruz’s, indicating that the right challenger might achieve what O’Rourke did not.
Several U.S. House races in Texas will be key as Democrats look to maintain their majority. Amid a rash of retirements, Democrats are hoping to win House seats in at least a half dozen districts.
For years there has been talk of turning Texas blue — or at least purple. Local organizations such as Battleground Texas, Move Texas and the Texas Organizing Project, alongside numerous Latino and African American community groups, have been working cycle after cycle to build a progressive majority. In 2018, they brought Texas closer to purple than the Lone Star State has appeared in decades. A growing youth and Hispanic population, and nearly 2 million more voters registered since 2016, suggests the opportunity to go at least a shade toward blue this year.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/18/down-ballot-races-are-critical-turning-texas-blue/
= new reply since forum marked as read
