Texas Republicans Sound Alarm: Could Lose State in 2020
Top Texas Republicans are sounding the alarm that President Donald Trump could lose the Lone Star State in 2020 unless the necessary resources are devoted keeping it red.
The Washington Examiner reported Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey has communicated this message to the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, GOP donors and activists in the state.
“We are talking to everyone,” Dickey told the Examiner this month while attending the RNC’s annual winter business meeting in New Mexico. “The challenges we face in Texas are very real.”
Separately, GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who is up for re-election next year, has warned that Trump could lose the state.
Sen. Ted Cruz’s narrow 2.6 percent win over Democratic challenger Rep. Beto O’Rourke (50.9 to 48.3 percent) in November raised a red flag about the vulnerability of Texas moving into the “D” column.
O’Rourke raised a record $80 million in his effort to unseat the incumbent Cruz, who had taken in $37 million during the hotly contested race, the El Paso Times reported.
The last time Texas went for a Democrat for president was 1976, when outsider Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
Trump carried the state in 2016 by 10 points, 53 to 43 percent.
Texas is the second-most-populous state, with 38 Electoral College votes, making it pretty much a must-have if Trump is to reach the 270 votes needed to win re-election.
The Examiner’s David Drucker reported that Trump’s trouble in the state is being fueled by the steady climb of Hispanic voters as well as the move of white suburbia population centers from Republican toward Democrat, particularly among women.
“It’s the suburbs,” Robin Armstrong, who represents Texas on the Republican National Committee, told Drucker. “That’s basically the woman’s vote. We need to make sure that we’re engaging females and letting them know that we’re addressing their values and concerns.”
O’Rourke carried suburban women 55 to 44 percent, while Cruz won the male vote from those areas 59 to 41 percent.
Cornyn is being pro-active holding discussions at all levels, so Republicans will not be caught flatfooted going into 2020.
“A lot of what it’s going to take is a unified effort,” Cornyn told the Examiner. “If Texas turns back to a Democratic state, which it used to be, then we’ll never elect another Republican (president) in my lifetime.”
RNC spokeswoman Christiana Purves cautioned not to place too much weight on the midterm results as a predictor for 2020 and promised the GOP will be ready.
“Despite tens of millions of dollars pumped into Texas during the 2018 cycle, Democrats still came up short, and 2020 will be no different,” Purves said. “Most importantly, we will never take any state for granted.”
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