How Democrats Are Working to Build Statewide Victory
Of the fifteen most populous counties in Texas, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won eight last year. She carried three congressional districts and ten state House districts over Republican President Donald Trump. Her big showing in Dallas provided the coattails needed for a Democrat to ride to a House seat held by a Republican, and the Democrats swept the Harris County elections. Topping it all, the Republicans have a president whose poll numbers with independents and moderate voters are tanking—more than half the moderates in one recent state poll disapproved of the job Trump is doing as president.
All that sounds like a formula to put the long-suffering Texas Democratic Party onto the comeback trail. And, yet, the party could not find a candidate with statewide name recognition to challenge Governor Greg Abbott. The leading candidate for lieutenant governor lost a 2014 race for a lower office. The likely nominee for a challenge to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz—Beto O’Rourke—at least has brought enthusiasm to the contest.
As candidate filing came to a close Monday, the two most interesting primary races look to be the Republican challenges to Land Commissioner George P. Bush and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
Part of the seemingly bleak Democratic landscape comes from the party’s changing game plan. Following Abbott’s wipeout of Wendy Davis in the 2014 gubernatorial election, the party reverted to an approach it had in place before Davis’ filibuster against abortion restrictions propelled her to national prominence—and created Democratic dreams of winning a statewide election for the first time since 1994. The party is now attempting to build from the county level up instead of depending on a superstar to carry it from the top.
Read more: https://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/democrats-working-build-statewide-victory-local-level/
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