Georgia and Texas are up for grabs in 2020, according to a new plan outlined by the Democratic National Committee.
The Democratic National Committee added a string of states won by President Trump in 2016 to its Battleground Build-Up 2020 program, including Georgia, Texas, and Ohio. Ohio has been a swing state in several recent elections, but Georgia and Texas have been reliably Republican for several years.
The goal of the Battleground Build-Up program is to pour millions of dollars into states with the goal of planting long-term stakes in local legislatures along with potential wins in federal races. Both Georgia and Texas had close statewide races in 2018, with Beto O’Rourke failing to beat Ted Cruz for his Senate seat in Texas and Stacey Abrams losing to Brian Kemp for governor of Georgia.
“The DNC is making historic, early investments to build strong, multiple pathways for our eventual nominee to win in November and support Democrats at every level of the ballot,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, according to NBC News.
“By investing in these states now, we’re putting the Trump campaign on defense, helping ensure our eventual nominee will be able to grow their general election operation as quickly as possible, and helping make sure that every Democrat running for office has the infrastructure they need to be successful,” Perez added, “Every week brings a new example of how Donald Trump has broken his promises and hurt working families — and this program will help build the infrastructure we need to beat him.”
In a statement to The Washington Examiner, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa celebrated the announcement.
“Once Texas turns blue, the White House will follow. We thank the DNC for their historic investments in our state and their commitment to flipping Texas up and down the ballot,” he said. “We also thank the Texas DNC delegation for their service to this state, work with the national party, and steadfast advocacy in ensuring a more equitable, just Texas where everybody has the freedom to succeed.”
Hinojosa added, “We will win the White House, take out John Cornyn, elect more Texas Democrats to Congress, break the supermajority in the Texas Senate, take back the Texas House, and win hundreds of local races across the state. Together, we will win up and down the ballot.”
Other states targeted by the DNC include the standard swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Arizona, all of which Trump won in 2016. They’re also focused on maintaining Democratic victories in two states Hillary Clinton won: New Hampshire and Virginia.
