Texas Senate race isn’t a high precedence, nationwide Dem group says

Join the We the Texans publication to obtain twice-monthly updates on our year-long initiative devoted to boosting civic engagement and chronicling how democracy is skilled in Texas.

WASHINGTON — Texas’ senate race isn’t a high precedence for nationwide Democrats, however they nonetheless see promising indicators of a flip within the state this 12 months, Democratic Senate Marketing campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters mentioned Tuesday.

“To be candid, my number one priority is to bring back all of the incumbents,” Peters mentioned when requested how essential Texas is for the Democratic fundraising and organizing group. “But we also want to go on the offense, and the offense is going to be very important. And right now our focus is Texas and Florida. Both of them are very real.”

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is difficult Sen. Ted Cruz this November. It’s Cruz’s first problem since his shut 2018 reelection the place former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke got here inside 3 share factors of beating him.

The DSCC confirmed early curiosity within the race when it included Texas in its $79 million advert reservation final spring and funded staffers to work in Texas monitoring Cruz. The DSCC named Texas and Florida as its high flip alternatives this cycle.

A DSCC aide declined to say what different investments the group would make or how a lot of the spring advert reservation was going to Texas, although Politico reported a seven-figure quantity would go to the state. The Senate Majority PAC, an impartial tremendous PAC linked to Senate Democratic Management, has not but introduced any investments within the state.

“We’re committed. We have investments we’re making on the ground,” Peters mentioned. “It’s very real. Ted Cruz did not win his last race by very much. It showed that he was vulnerable.”

However flipping any seats has all the time been second place to Democrats’ uphill battle to maintain its present majority. Democrats have a one-seat majority, with a number of incumbents up for reelection in in any other case purple or purple states.

Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania are all up for reelection. Democrats in Michigan, Arizona and West Virginia are operating to interchange retiring Democrats or impartial Senators who caucus with Democrats.

In the meantime, each Republican up for reelection this cycle is in a comfortably purple state, aside from Cruz and Florida’s Sen. Rick Scott.

Peters mentioned there are indicators to remain optimistic about Texas. Cruz’s nationwide fame as a right-wing superstar could possibly be a vulnerability for Republicans, he mentioned.

“Ted Cruz has very high name recognition. He also has very high negatives,” Peters mentioned. “High name recognition with high negatives is not a strength, and it’s a weakness that Colin Allred is going to be able to exploit.”

Peters mentioned Allred might want to work for better identify recognition within the state. He defended Allred’s understated marketing campaign technique prioritizing advert buys throughout the state, which has garnered pushback from some Democrats who hoped he would recreate O’Rourke’s 2018 barnstorming marketing campaign the place he held rallies and city halls in each county.

Allred has positioned advertisements within the state’s largest markets — North Texas, Houston, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. Houston and North Texas are among the many most costly media markets within the nation. Allred’s marketing campaign declined to say how a lot it has spent on advertisements, however ad-tracking agency AdImpact reported the marketing campaign spent $21.7 million on aired advertisements as of late August.

“He has to get his name out. He’s not as well known as Ted Cruz. The most efficient way to do that is going to be through media, whether electronic, digital, however, you’re going to get that out. He has to do that in a very, very large state,” Peters mentioned. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t do ground as well. You still do both, because every single vote is going to matter, particularly in Texas.”

Peters additionally mentioned he was proud of Allred’s fundraising numbers, which he mentioned illustrated Allred’s energy. Allred raised $38.1 million by way of the top of the second quarter of this 12 months to Cruz’s $23.4 million. That doesn’t embody the candidates’ affiliated political motion committees, which might deliver the whole as much as $40 million for Cruz and $41.2 million for Allred.

Allred’s marketing campaign is operating largely independently of his nationwide counterparts. Texas Democrats don’t anticipate funding from the presidential marketing campaign, contemplating its quick runway and laser deal with essentially the most obtainable battleground states. Texas Democrats launched a coordinated marketing campaign with Allred on the high of the ticket to bundle sources down poll.

Cruz has warned his fellow Republicans that he’s public enemy No. 1 on the left behind former President Donald Trump and that the Texas Senate race is more likely to entice hundreds of thousands in donations from liberal donors outdoors of the state.

Cruz and O’Rourke spent over $93 million in 2018, essentially the most ever spent in a U.S. Senate race on the time. Cruz predicts this 12 months’s race to be upwards of $100 million.

“If you are a left-wing partisan Democrat … after Donald Trump, there is nobody in the country you want to beat more than me,” Cruz informed Texans on the Republican Nationwide Conference. “And so every crazy wild eyed leftist in New York City or Chicago or San Francisco, they go online and they give to whoever’s running against me. By the way, I’m kind of proud of that.”

Disclosure: Politico has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full checklist of them right here.

The Texas Tribune’s signature occasion of the 12 months, The Texas Tribune Competition, brings Texans nearer to politics, coverage and the day’s information from Texas and past. On Sept. 7, we wrapped our 2024 Competition — three unforgettable days full of 100+ periods and occasions.

Browse on-demand recordings and make amends for the largest headlines from Competition occasions on the Tribune’s Competition information web page.