Months after flipping Republican John Culberson's Houston congressional seat, Democrats have their sights set on Sugar Land's Pete Olson , Austin's Michael McCaul and a handful of other Texas districts in 2020.
Andy Hogue, spokesperson for the Travis County Republican Party , believes Democrats still have ground to make up, at least in Central Texas.
“John Carter won by a pretty respectable margin against a virtual unknown, M.J. Hegar who was also using it as a springboard for a movie she was making,” he says. “Congressman McCaul is a well-known chairman on Capitol Hill and has a lot of clout.”
Hogue says one big difference from 2018 is that Texas Democrats won't have a star like Beto O'Rourke to drive voters to the polls.
“Democrats put their whole heft behind Beto and used that for a lightening rod,” he says. “In this case they may have to pick one or two and go for it, but I don't think they're going to get all three, or any of the three.”
Last year, Democrats also were able to capitalize on several Republican retirements.
“I would think John Carter would certainly appoint a successor or be priming somebody for that, Williamson County in Central Texas is still quite conservative,” says Hogue. “McCaul certainly has the favor of people who support national security and our military. McCaul is a very popular figure, especially in Central Texas.