The campaign arm of House Democrats will open a new satellite office in Austin, putting more focus on flipping Texas seats in their favor in 2020.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made a similar play in California in the 2018 midterm elections and won seven seats held by Republicans.
“When it comes to places where House Democrats can go on offense, it doesn’t get any bigger than Texas,” DCCC chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., said in a statement, according to the Texas Tribune. “In 2018, Texas Democrats proved that they can win in competitive districts. That’s why we are continuing our investments in the Lone Star State by opening a new DCCC Texas Headquarters.”
The DCCC previously planned to staff up in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio suburbs.
It’s all part of an effort Democrats contend can result in turning the Republican state into a competitive battleground. Democrats won two House seats in Texas in the 2018 elections, defeating a pair of longtime Republican incumbents in the Dallas and Houston suburbs.
Last year, then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, ran a closer-then-expected race against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. President Trump won the historically red state by a smaller margin than Mitt Romney in 2012.
