TX-Sen, TX-Gov, TX-32: Donald Trump decisively carried Texas last fall, but his 52-43 win was the GOP’s weakest performance in a presidential race in 20 years. The last time a Democrat was elected statewide was 1994, but local leaders are hoping that a 2018 backlash against Trump will at least give them a shot at several offices.
According to the Texas Tribune, Team Blue’s major focus is the Senate race. Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Joaquin Castro have both talked about challenging GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, and the consensus seems to be that O'Rourke is more likely to run. Cruz has the advantage of running for re-election in a red state, but the disadvantage of… well, being Ted Cruz. It’s tough to see Cruz losing to a Democrat, but it’s worth taking him on in case there’s a blue wave next year; at the very least, a credible Democrat could inspire voters to turnout for other contests.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will be extremely hard to beat, and there don’t seem to be any well-known Democrats looking to face him. Ex-San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who is Joaquin Castro’s identical twin brother, is frequently talked about as a possible future statewide candidate, but he says he’s “unlikely” to run for anything next year. That “unlikely” gives him a little room to change his mind, but the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development does seem to be waiting for another year. The Tribune says that Texas Democratic Party Finance Chairman Mike Collier is the “most frequently floated gubernatorial candidate.” Collier lost the comptroller race 58-38 but impressed Democrats in defeat; the Tribune also says he’s been touted as an opponent against the powerful and notorious Dan Patrick.
Democrats are also hoping that they can beat Attorney General Ken Paxton or state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Paxton is currently awaiting trial for securities fraud, and prosecutors are arguing that he and his supporters are on a “crusade” to influence possible jurors. Miller meanwhile, is a grade-A asshole and conspiracy theorist. The Tribune says no Democrats have stepped up to challenge either man, and both Republicans still have a lot of room for error in a state this red. But if Team Blue could pull off a longshot win, it would go a long way to restocking the statewide Democratic bench.
Last cycle, Hillary Clinton carried three GOP-held House seats, and Democrats will want to try and target them. The Dallas-based 32nd District surprisingly swung from 57-42 Romney to 48.5-46.6 Clinton. However, the area remains very red downballot, and ex-NRCC chair Pete Sessions will have all the money he could possibly need to win. Dallas school board member Miguel Solis is the first Democrat we’ve heard mentioned for this post, and he tells the Tribune he’s considering.
There’s no word on who Team Blue is looking at against GOP Rep. John Culberson in the Houston-area 7th District. Like Sessions’ seat, the 7th is very red downballot and Culberson is entrenched, but the district swung from 60-39 Romney to 48.5-47.1 Clinton. The 23rd, which stretches from El Paso to San Antonio, backed Clinton 50-46; however, Republican Rep. Will Hurd won a competitive race 48-47, and we also haven’t heard of anyone looking to challenge him next year yet.