All Super States / Texas
Texas
SUPER STATE STRATEGY
Texas is on the brink of becoming a blue state. There is momentum in Texas, and we could make huge gains there with your help!
Winning the state’s 38 electoral votes would be a game changer for Democrats. Jimmy Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Texas — all the way back in 1976.
Beto O’Rourke’s strong showing in his 2018 Senate race against Sen. Ted Cruz marked a big swing to the left in Texas. And, with U.S. Senator John Cornyn is running to keep his seat, there’s another chance for Democrats to make a dent in Texas.
There are also seats that are ours to win the Texas Legislature in 2020!
Our Targets:
4
STATE SENATE SEATS TO FLIP
9
STATE HOUSE SEATS TO FLIP
1
UNITED STATES SENATE SEAT
38
ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES
The 2020 Democratic nominee will benefit from changing demographics in Texas if urban and suburban voters continue swinging toward Democrats.
The 2018 Blue Wave is prompting six Republican members of Congress to retire once their term is over in 2020. Their seats are ours to win!
The U.S. Senate race this year is tougher than the one in 2018. But Cornyn is close with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (and the President), which could make him vulnerable.
After flipping 12 Texas House seats in the 2018 midterms, we have a strong chance of flipping the Texas House of Representatives blue.
Republicans still hold unified control of the Legislature, but we can make gains here in 2020.
Legislative targets are in three main areas—the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area, the Houston metro area, and Austin.
What's at stake
Gerrymandering
The Texas GOP has racially gerrymandered the state’s district maps, diluting the influence of African-American and Hispanic voters. Plus, they have passed aggressive restrictions on voting that make it one of the hardest states to cast a ballot in.Flipping the Texas Legislature is the most reliable way to fight back against partisan power-grabs like gerrymandering.
Health Care
Texas has the highest population of uninsured people, approximately five million. Across Texas, 1.4 million who would be eligible for coverage under Medicaid go without health insurance every day because the state legislature refused subsidies provided by the Affordable Care Act. Another 759,000 Texans can’t afford private insurance but also aren’t eligible for Medicaid.
If we flip the Texas Legislature, Medicaid expansion could be passed, providing access to affordable healthcare to hundreds of thousands of people who need it.
Reproductive Rights
There are just 22 abortion providers in Texas. This means some people end up travelling more than 250 miles to get the medical care they need.
The state requires in-person, anti-abortion counseling using the country’s most extreme standards. Texas requires women seeking care to undergo a 24-hour waiting period and a mandatory ultrasound.
As it stands, Texas is rated as ‘Hostile’ to abortion by the Guttmacher Institute. We need more Democrats in the Legislature to protect and expand access to reproductive healthcare.