WASHINGTON — In their mission to flip the Texas House of Representatives, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is announcing its first round of Spotlight candidates in the Lone Star State.
“Texas is again a top target for Democrats at all levels of the ballot and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is ready to flip the House from red to blue,” said DLCC President Jessica Post. “While Republicans scramble to put out fires, we’re fired up to support our first round of Spotlight candidates.”
As of Thursday, Democrats are contesting 124 out of 150 House seats, while Republicans have candidates filed in just 118, a stunning setback as the GOP scrambles to defend its majority.
Democrats are prioritizing a wide battleground of 20 House seats that were decided by less than 10 points in 2018, including nine Republican-held districts that Beto O’Rourke carried in his Senate bid. After flipping 12 seats last year, Democrats need to win just nine more to reclaim control of the Texas House for the first time since 2002.
The initial spotlight candidates include three incumbents who were first elected in 2018:
- Representative John Bucy (HD-136), a small business owner who fought for Medicaid expansion and protecting voting rights during his first term.
- Representative Gina Calanni (HD-132), a marathon runner and master SCUBA diver who passed the most legislation of any freshman representative and is passionate about criminal justice reform.
- Representative Julie Johnson (HD-115), a lawyer who co-founded the Texas Legislature’s first-ever LGBTQ caucus and is committed to ensuring all Texas students have access to a high-quality education.
Earlier this year, the DLCC announced an unprecedented initial $100,000 investment in the Texas House Democratic Caucus, which will help state Democrats build the campaign infrastructure they need to win next year. Overall, the DLCC plans to spend $50 million on state legislative elections this cycle, and Texas is one of the committee’s top targets.
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