Opinion Don't give up on Texas, Democrats - The Washington Post

[LetMyPeopleVote]

A good number of hard core democrats have been working to turn Texas blue for a long time. I have been active on voter protection efforts and I am part of a group organizing a Texas democratic lawyers association. The demographic trends indicate that Texas will turn blue either this cycle or next cycle. That is why the GOP is trying to suppress the vote. Greg is focused on fighting off a far right primary and setting himself up to be the 2024 nominee. Greg may have accelerated the process of turning texas blue.

Link to tweet

Democratic hopes that demography would deliver Texas have not been wrong, but perhaps just premature. The 2020 congressional races suggested that while the fight for Hispanic votes remains competitive, the sprawling suburbs around major Texas cities are increasingly moderate.

But Republicans now seem poised to accomplish what Democrats have not been able to do: The GOP has alienated sufficient numbers of voters outside their hardcore base to put the state in play in 2022 in gubernatorial and congressional contests and beyond.

A new Quinnipiac poll suggests Republicans’ radicalism has put them at odds with a majority of Texas voters. In the wake of the Texas law offering bounties to “turn in” those seeking an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest, the poll reports that 77 percent of state residents say abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest, including 66 percent of Republicans. Some 72 percent of Texans do not want the law enforced, and 60 percent want to keep Roe v. Wade in place.

Even on a quintessentially Texan issue such as guns, voters are not in sync with MAGA politicians. The pollsters found: “Roughly two-thirds (67 percent) of voters, including 58 percent of gun owners, say allowing anyone 21 years of age or older to carry handguns without a license or training makes Texas less safe, while 26 percent say it makes Texas safer. Half of voters (50 percent) say it’s too easy to carry a handgun in Texas, while 44 percent say it’s about right, and 4 percent say it’s too difficult.”

And when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, Texas voters are much closer to President Biden than to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott:

Adults in Texas think 47 - 38 percent that Governor Abbott is hurting rather than helping efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Texas, with 15 percent not offering an opinion.
More than 6 in 10 Texans (64 - 26 percent) think the recent rise in COVID-19 deaths in Texas was preventable. ... A majority of Texans (63 - 29 percent) think it’s a bad idea that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing school districts that are requiring masks for students.
A majority of Texans say 60 - 35 percent that they support requiring students, teachers, and staff to wear masks in schools. ...
About two-thirds of Texans (64 percent) think local officials should be able to require masks in indoor public spaces if they believe it's necessary, while 31 percent do not.
More than half of Texans (53 - 41 percent) support requiring everyone to wear masks while in indoor public spaces.
A majority of Texans (60 percent) say they consider the issue of wearing masks to be primarily about public health, while 33 percent say they consider the issue of wearing masks to be about personal freedom.

Texas will turn blue and Greg/Dan Patrick are helping.

BTW, I am hopeful that a ticked of Beto, Matt Dowd and Joe Jaworski may help. I have some friends who worked on recruiting Dowd and I am encouraged

t’s in this political environment that Matthew Dowd, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush who has backed a slew of notable Texas Democrats, has emerged as a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. His announcement video conveys his values-oriented approach to politics:

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Dowd is betting that Texans want something other than pandering to the MAGA base. “The Texas Republican politicians are completely out of step with Texas values like integrity and community and no longer govern with common sense, common decency or for the common good," he told me on Saturday. “They put their ‘me’ over our ‘we.’ ”

Time will tell but I am sure that Texas will turn blue

[drray23]

1. if Texas does turn blue there will never be a republican president again.

It's one of their big electoral votes getter. I don't think they have a path without Texas.

[brer cat]

2. I appreciate the work you are doing to turn TX blue.

It will be a glorious day, and I believe it will be soon.

[vercetti2021]

3. Sorry never gonna happen

While the demographics are changing. We are beginning to see Latinos might not be as blue we had hoped. They are trending to the right instead. Add the fact Texas Is a non voting state, gerrymandered and about to be worse in terms of that. Voter suppression laws. They will do everything humanly possible to prevent Texas from becoming Democratic. We need to stop believing we are one or two cycles away. We are not. Texas would need a massive amount of influx of Democrats who vote. And with these new anti abortion laws and soon anti contraception laws. People are not gonna wanna move here. We need to stop that pipe dream of a blue Texas and focus on states that actually have potential to be Democratic permanently like Arizona and Georgia.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. The key demographic is urban vs. rural

Urban voters of all races are trending toward Democrats and the share of rural vote is shrinking

[vercetti2021]

5. But is it really?

That's the issue. I'd love to find some statistics on it. But I think ultimately no one votes. That's the biggest issue for our side. MAGAts are always waiting and ready to vote. We suffer from complacency. I'm afraid it'll be the same come 2022. I'd love for Texas to go blue. But every year we see it's one cycle but it never does. Its discouraging.

[Crowman2009]

6. Sometimes I think: What would Molly Ivins do?

[question everything]

7. This oped was written by Jennifer Rubin