During Troy Nehls’ recent bid for the Republican nomination in one of Texas’ battleground congressional districts, the Fort Bend County sheriff prominently displayed his support for President Trump across his campaign website.

“In Congress, I will stand with President Trump to defeat the socialist Democrats, build the wall, drain the swamp, and deliver on pro-economy and pro-America policies,” Nehls said under the top section of his issues page, titled “Standing with President Trump.”

Within two days of Nehls’ lopsided runoff victory, that section had been removed, along with a paragraph from Nehls’ bio page that stated he “supports President Trump” and wants to “deliver President Trump’s agenda.” Fresh language now focuses on his record as sheriff during Hurricane Harvey and managing the agency’s budget.

Nehls’ abrupt shift in tone captures the challenge facing Republican candidates in suburban battleground districts up and down the ballot, including Nehls’ district and two neighboring ones, where polling suggests Trump’s coronavirus response has alienated voters and, for now, created strong headwinds for his party’s congressional hopefuls.....

In a statement, Kulkarni accused Nehls of “trying to scrub his past” by removing the Trump references. A video ad on Nehls’ site continues to tout his support for Trump, along with his history of “lock(ing) up over 2,500 criminal illegal immigrants and protect(ing) our Second Amendment rights,” though similar statements also were removed from his issues page.

During Troy Nehls’ recent bid for the Republican nomination in one of Texas’ battleground congressional districts, the Fort Bend County sheriff prominently displayed his support for President Trump across his campaign website.

“In Congress, I will stand with President Trump to defeat the socialist Democrats, build the wall, drain the swamp, and deliver on pro-economy and pro-America policies,” Nehls said under the top section of his issues page, titled “Standing with President Trump.”

Within two days of Nehls’ lopsided runoff victory, that section had been removed, along with a paragraph from Nehls’ bio page that stated he “supports President Trump” and wants to “deliver President Trump’s agenda.” Fresh language now focuses on his record as sheriff during Hurricane Harvey and managing the agency’s budget.

Nehls’ abrupt shift in tone captures the challenge facing Republican candidates in suburban battleground districts up and down the ballot, including Nehls’ district and two neighboring ones, where polling suggests Trump’s coronavirus response has alienated voters and, for now, created strong headwinds for his party’s congressional hopefuls.....

In a statement, Kulkarni accused Nehls of “trying to scrub his past” by removing the Trump references. A video ad on Nehls’ site continues to tout his support for Trump, along with his history of “lock(ing) up over 2,500 criminal illegal immigrants and protect(ing) our Second Amendment rights,” though similar statements also were removed from his issues page.

"I think that if Democrats are successful, it won’t be because Texas suddenly got really liberal," Seay said. "It will be because normal Texans who don’t pay attention to this will be sick and tired of Republican mediocrity at best."

The month-to-month distractions started with the secret recording scandal that forced Bonnen into retirement — and sidelined a speaker who was set to play a leading role in defending the House GOP majority. Bookending the period was the convention, which the party struggled mightily to pull off virtually after its all-out push for an in-person gathering failed in the courts. But in between, public relations nightmares persisted — a state representative who complained his primary challengers were running against him because they were Asian, a spate of county party chairs who spread conspiracy theories about George Floyd’s death on Facebook, a podcast outtake in which staffers for the hard-right group Empower Texans joked about Abbott’s wheelchair use and disparaged him with profanity....

In three of the seats the DCCC is working to flip, Democrats already have vastly more cash on hand than their Republican opponents, two of whom had to get through runoffs. In one extreme case — the 22nd Congressional District — Democratic nominee Sri Preston Kulkarni has more than 40 times cash on hand than the GOP's candidate, Troy Nehls.

The most consequential down-ballot fight, however, is for the Texas House, where Democrats are nine seats away from the majority. Republicans are hoping to flip back some of the 12 seats they lost in 2018, but even then, Democrats are working with a wide offensive battlefield, targeting at least the 17 seats where Republicans won by single digits in 2018.

"I think that if Democrats are successful, it won’t be because Texas suddenly got really liberal," Seay said. "It will be because normal Texans who don’t pay attention to this will be sick and tired of Republican mediocrity at best."

The month-to-month distractions started with the secret recording scandal that forced Bonnen into retirement — and sidelined a speaker who was set to play a leading role in defending the House GOP majority. Bookending the period was the convention, which the party struggled mightily to pull off virtually after its all-out push for an in-person gathering failed in the courts. But in between, public relations nightmares persisted — a state representative who complained his primary challengers were running against him because they were Asian, a spate of county party chairs who spread conspiracy theories about George Floyd’s death on Facebook, a podcast outtake in which staffers for the hard-right group Empower Texans joked about Abbott’s wheelchair use and disparaged him with profanity....

In three of the seats the DCCC is working to flip, Democrats already have vastly more cash on hand than their Republican opponents, two of whom had to get through runoffs. In one extreme case — the 22nd Congressional District — Democratic nominee Sri Preston Kulkarni has more than 40 times cash on hand than the GOP's candidate, Troy Nehls.

The most consequential down-ballot fight, however, is for the Texas House, where Democrats are nine seats away from the majority. Republicans are hoping to flip back some of the 12 seats they lost in 2018, but even then, Democrats are working with a wide offensive battlefield, targeting at least the 17 seats where Republicans won by single digits in 2018.