WASHINGTON — Democrats are adding another tally to their Texodus count — this one at the state level — after the Texas House GOP Caucus Chairman Dustin Barrows announced he was resigning his leadership position in disgrace amid allegations he and the Republican speaker were targeting 10 incumbent members of their own party.
“Texas Republicans are bailing on their congressional districts, running away from the state House, and now leaving their leadership positions in scandal,” DLCC press secretary Matt Harringer said. “The Texodus knows no bounds.”
“Following one of their worst election defeats and ahead of another challenging year, the Texas House Republican Caucus is spiraling,” Harringer said. “The Democratic Legislative Campaign is capitalizing off their chaos and pledging early state support to invest in party infrastructure, hire staff and recruit candidates.”
In 2018, despite being outspent by Republicans, Texas Democrats gained 12 House seats — leaving them just nine seats away from taking control of the chamber. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced earlier this month it would provide an unprecedented $100,000 early investment in the Lone Star State to support the Texas Democratic House Caucus in hiring staff, recruiting candidates and gearing up for 2020.
“There are nine Republican-controlled state House districts that Beto O’Rourke won in 2018, giving us a clear path to victory,” Harringer said. “Texas Democrats are going to paint the state House blue next November.”
Winning the House would give Democrats a seat at the redistricting table and leverage to end Republican gerrymandering in the state. In 2018, Republican congressional candidates took 51 percent of the vote statewide to Democrats’ 49 percent — but Republicans still won 23 of the state’s 36 congressional seats. Ending gerrymandering and implementing fair maps in Texas could prevent Republicans from taking back control of the United States Congress for years.
“A competitive Texas is the Achilles’ heel for national Republican groups,” Harringer said. “Every Republican committee from Trump’s re-elect down to the Republican State Leadership Committee will have to divert money from traditional swing states like Florida and North Carolina to spend in the country’s newest and largest battleground.”
