HOUSTON — On Friday, 10 Democratic presidential candidates were in Houston to take part in a political forum hosted by an educational union.
Their appearance followed another organized talk with several Democratic candidates in the Bayou City in April, with campaign stops scattered in between.
One political expert says so many candidates from that party showing up in Texas so early in the race is unusual.
“It tells you what’s happened to Texas,” said Bob Stein, a Rice University political science professor and KHOU 11 political analyst. “Normally I would say this is the beginning of Texas becoming a battleground state, and that probably is a little premature, but not as much as some people have been saying.”
Stein says 2018’s elections show Texas is the largest state that’s trending toward being competitive. He says that means there’s a lot of money for candidates to chase.
He also predicts Harris County, the state’s largest, could give Democrats more than a third of their primary votes in 2020.
“This is a great place to try out new issue positions,” said Stein. “In many ways, Texas is really where America has become: multiracial, multiethnic, young, an emerging electorate. Issues like immigration are, of course, extremely important here.”
Stein believes Texas will be competitive in 2020 for down-ballot races, especially for the Texas House.
“Why is that important?” asked Stein. “It will be the lower House along with the Senate that will redraw the district boundaries in 2020, and that will determine in large parts whether or not Democrats have a chance of taking new Congressional seats in 2022.”
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