Texas primaries 2018: Democrats are making a big play

Democrats are suddenly competitive in deep-red Texas primary elections.

There are Democratic candidates running in all of the state’s 36 congressional districts for the first time in 25 years. Democrats know they won’t be competitive in every congressional district, but they have their sights set on the three they believe they have the best shot at winning — the Seventh Congressional District in Houston against incumbent Rep. John Culberson, the 23rd Congressional District outside San Antonio against incumbent Rep. Will Hurd, and the 32nd Congressional District in Dallas against incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions.

There were signs before 2018 that these three districts could be shifting blue — namely, the fact that Hillary Clinton carried all three by a couple of points in the 2016 election.

There’s a popular Democratic Congress member, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, challenging (and out-fundraising) Sen. Ted Cruz in the race for US Senate. And though Democrats are facing tremendously steep odds in the governor’s race against incumbent Greg Abbott, they are still trying, with two strong candidates leading a pack of nine.

Democrats are also fielding candidates in three more Texas congressional districts they see as more of a long shot but still in play: the Second, 21st, and 31st.

To be sure, competing seriously in Texas is still a long shot for Democrats. But the fact that there are fields of Democratic candidates lining up to challenge incumbents is notable in a state where those primary fields were empty just two years ago.

from Vox - All http://ift.tt/2HYeRX4