Texas is getting even more love from presidential and congressional campaigns

by | Nov 12, 2019 | 2020 Elections, Politics

Former Vice President Joe Biden has hired a Texas state director to handle his presidential ambitions in the Lone Star State, reports his campaign. 

The pickup of Dallas-based Democratic strategist Jane Hamilton as Biden’s Texas chief makes him the second non-Texan Democratic candidate to do so. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the first to hire a state director early last month.

The recent hires from the two out-of-state candidates are more evidence that the Lone Star State is officially in play for the 2020 elections– and not just a pitstop for money.

Also telling, advisers for former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, should he decide to run for President, told the New York Times Bloomberg planned to skip the Iowa and Hampshire primaries and focus on delegate-rich states like Texas.

Already, most of the major presidential candidates have visited Texas several times. According to a Dallas Morning News tracker last updated in October, of the non-Texan candidates, Biden leads with 10 visits to Texas, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders with eight visits and Warren with seven. 

“Change is coming to Texas — Texans are demanding it, and a new wave of activists and progressive candidates delivering,” Texas Democratic Party Executive Director Manny Garcia said in a statement last week. “They’re fired up about affordable healthcare, ending gun violence, reversing climate change, and protecting our diverse communities … We are one year out from the election, and the Texas Democratic Party is in a strong position to win up and down the ballot.”

Presidential candidates aren’t the only ones showering time, money, and moxie into Texas. As of last month, nearly $40 million have flowed into Congressional races in Texas, a 44 percent increase from 2018 according to the Dallas Morning News. According to the latest fundraising reports highlighted in a recent Democratic memo, Texas Democrats have outraised GOP congressional opponents in five out of six Democratic offensive targets.

fernando@texassignalarchive.com | + posts

Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com

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