WASHINGTON — Incumbent Republican Representative Dwayne Bohac announced Wednesday morning he would not be seeking re-election to the Texas House of Representatives — making him the latest casualty in the Lone Star State’s Texodus.
Representative Bohac, a nine-term incumbent, won reelection by just 47 votes last year — while Beto O’Rourke carried his Houston-based district with nearly 53 percent of the vote at the same time. Hillary Clinton narrowly won HD-138 in 2016 and Trump’s toxicity has continued to push the seat to the left.
“The Texodus is growing bigger’n Dallas — taking out Republicans at every level of the ballot,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee press secretary Matt Harringer. “Stuck between their own bad policies and Donald Trump’s unpopularity, Republicans have nowhere to run — except for the exits.”
After flipping twelve seats in the Texas House in 2018, Democrats are just nine away from reclaiming the majority and have a clear path to victory in 2020. Beto O’Rourke carried nine seats currently held by Republicans, including HD-138.
Democrats are also fighting tooth and nail in a November special election to replace Republican Representative John Zerwas, another casualty of the Texodus. His resignation left open a seat Ted Cruz barely won in 2018. Earlier this week, the DLCC endorsed Dr. Eliz Markowitz for the seat, while Republicans are caught in a six-way primary.
The DLCC also recently announced an unprecedented $100,000 early investment to the Texas House Democratic Caucus, funds that will help them recruit candidates and build up campaign infrastructure a full year ahead of the 2020 elections.
“Flipping eight chambers last cycle and ready to win two more this November, Democrats are on a roll in state legislatures,” Harringer said. “We’re going to win Bohac’s seat, win the special election this November, and win the whole Texas House next year.”
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