Sen. Ted Cruz and other Texas Republicans are sounding the alarm that Trump could lose the Lone Star State in 2020.
The Washington Post reported:
Republicans have long idealized Texas as a deep-red frontier state, home to rural conservatives who love President Trump. But political turbulence in the sprawling suburbs and fast-growing cities are turning the Lone Star State into a possible 2020 battleground.
“The president’s reelection campaign needs to take Texas seriously,†Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said in an interview. He added that while he remains optimistic about the GOP’s chances, it is “by no means a given†that Trump will carry Texas — and its 38 electoral votes — next year or that Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) will be reelected.
The state’s Republicans have been warning Trump that he is in danger of losing Texas since January.
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Trump has been a rarity. He an unpopular Republican president in Texas. Trump trailed Joe Biden by four points in a June poll of the state, and there are signs that Republicans are in real trouble in Texas. Three of the recent eight House incumbent Republican retirements have come in Texas. Texas’s changing demographics, along with Trump’s racist policies, could create a perfect storm for Democrats in Texas.
Even if Democrats keep it close, as Beto O’Rourke did in his Senate race, it will cause Republicans to spend precious resources defending Texas instead of trying to keep Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in Trump’s column.
Texas is slipping away from the GOP, and if Ted Cruz is right, it could be gone by 2020.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
