Democrats see changes in Texas, but will it be enough to sway 2020 election?
The partisan tide could be turning in Texas.
It wasn’t a tsunami, but Democrats made inroads in last year’s elections. Will they continue into the 2020 election?
“I think we are definitely moving in the right direction,” U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said Monday. “I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
Veasey briefly touched on Democrats’ presidential chances in Texas next year after speaking to students, along with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Fort Worth.
He said he believes the political atmosphere is changing in the Lone Star State, at a time where more than one Texan might end up on the Democratic primary ballot, hoping to challenge Republican President Donald Trump for the White House.
Already, Julian Castro, a former San Antonio mayor and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has announced his candidacy.
And former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso may join the race as well.
O’Rourke has said he won’t challenge incumbent Republican John Cornyn for his Senate seat. Many are waiting to see if he will join the race for the White House.
“Amy and I have made a decision about how we can best serve our country,” O’Rourke said last week. “We are excited to share it with everyone soon.”
Last year, in a race that drew national attention and more than 8.3 million Texas voters to the polls, Cruz claimed victory with just over 200,000 more votes than O’Rourke.
A key prize in that race was Tarrant County, which has remained red through the years as nearly every other major urban county has gone blue. O’Rourke won Tarrant County by 3,869 votes.
“The fact that Beto won this county, people thought that was not achievable last cycle,” Veasey said. “I certainly do think that things in Texas are different now.
“People are much more encouraged,” he said. “The entire landscape around the state is changing.”
Veasey said he’s friends with both Castro and O’Rourke.
“I think that they both have great messages, not just for Texas but the country,” he said. “I think people will like what they have to say.”
Overall, Veasey said the Democratic primary battle to determine who faces Republican President Donald Trump next November in the battle for the White House will be exciting to watch.
“And the people will decide,” Pelosi said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 2:31 PM.
