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Texas Senate 2020


bad_teammate

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There is a lot of excitement and energy for the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary, and rightfully so, but those of us who want to see a blue shift in America can do a LOT more good by focusing on local politics. "Think global, act local" is legit and it's where I, in my activism, have actually been able to make little things happen. I love the big race, but the little race near you matters far more to your day-to-day and can even impact the nation.

So take some mental energy away from the presidential candidates and look at the 2020 race for Texas in the US Senate.

Republican - John Cornyn

He won't be primaried. He's the current majority whip (kind of a big deal). (correction from DD)

Democratic (declared)

Sema Hernandez - Hernandez picked up 24% of the primary vote against superstar Beto O'Rourke ("Hernandez vs. O'Rourke" has a strong impact on Latino voters). 32-year-old, mother of 4, extremely progressive. (I voted for her over O'Rourke)

Democratic (considering)

Kim Olson - Lost to Sid Miller in the 2018 Ag Commissioner race. Retired colonel. She's cool.

Joaquin Castro - The better-looking half of the Castro twin. Texas 20 House rep.

Wendy Davis - Failed gubernatorial candidate.

MJ Hegar - Retired AF major.

 

 

 

 

Edited by bad_teammate
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I'm good with Castro and Hegar.

Wendy, go away.  Never come around again.

The one thing I do not want to see is Beto fail to gain enough traction in the Dem. POTUS primary and then try to get into the Senate race and nudge out Castro and Hegar.  You've made your choice, Golden Boy. 

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First, I completely appreciate your approach with local politics, especially in Texas. There are so many national benefits to Texas being at least purple. I’m 36 and love that in my lifetime I will be part of a huge shift.

IMO the cornyn seat is going to be really tough for the dems. He is pretty vanilla and people won’t line up to vote against him like Cruz. One possible advantage is people showing up to vote against trump and just going down the line for Dems. A dem candidate that is palatable to Texans could really help this race (hi Beto).

I personally love MJ and live in the district she was shooting for. She is one of two candidates I have ever give money to. I do worry that she is a bit green for a statewide election against a long term incumbent. She would absolutely get my support though. Castro or Hernandez would be solid picks as well. Hernandez took it to Beto in many parts of the state, including the RGV and should not be underestimated.

Wendy should raise money behind the scenes but that’s it.

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3 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

First, I completely appreciate your approach with local politics, especially in Texas. There are so many national benefits to Texas being at least purple. I’m 36 and love that in my lifetime I will be part of a huge shift.

IMO the cornyn seat is going to be really tough for the dems. He is pretty vanilla and people won’t line up to vote against him like Cruz. One possible advantage is people showing up to vote against trump and just going down the line for Dems. A dem candidate that is palatable to Texans could really help this race (hi Beto).

I personally love MJ and live in the district she was shooting for. She is one of two candidates I have ever give money to. I do worry that she is a bit green for a statewide election against a long term incumbent. She would absolutely get my support though. Castro or Hernandez would be solid picks as well. Hernandez took it to Beto in many parts of the state, including the RGV and should not be underestimated.

Wendy should raise money behind the scenes but that’s it.

I live in Tx 31 also, and I think Hegar should run against Carter again. I think she can beat him this time as fast as the Demos in WillCo are changing. I think Willco is growing larger and more blue faster than Bell is growing and staying red. 

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11 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

IMO the cornyn seat is going to be really tough for the dems. He is pretty vanilla and people won’t line up to vote against him like Cruz.

I think Cruz being a polarizing figure wasn't all bad for Ted. Cornyn doesn't stir up anyone's emotions, which is good in some ways (for him) and bad in others. If Texans loved him that would be terrible for Dems, but Texans are, overall, pretty "meh" about Cornyn.

Basically, I reject the narrative that we can't be Cornyn without Beto. You're 100% correct that it's tough, but it's doable.

I'm Team Sema right now, but I'll throw my (increasingly less dense with age) weight behind whoever picks up the nomination. I think a very public and open debate between Dem candidates would be great for local politics.

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I think people understand what I meant but just want to clarify that I was talking about Beto on the presidential ticket. A more polarizing figure could be bad for down ballot Texas races. Beto somewhere on the presidential ticket against trump and sema against Cornyn would be really interesting.

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I wonder if this scares Cowardly Castro out of the race. First day money bomb of a cool million would probably have him shitting his pants. 

He's still being very cagey and non-committal.  Such a trademark of the Castro Brothers. 

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18 months is a lifetime in politics.  Who knows what will happen between now and then with Trump to drive up D turnout or depress R turnout. 

I fully expect the Democrats to fight in Texas yet again after 2018.  The cake is baked, so to speak. Cornyn is just a more establishment version of Cruz - he's bent over backwards so hard for Trump/Mitch. 

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Man -

MJ Hegar - Air Force vet

Amy McGrath (probably KY candidate) - Marine fighter pilot

Mark Kelly (AZ) - Navy captain

Jeff Jackson (probable NC candidate) - Army captain

Fuck the GOP's so-called monopoly on servicemembers. 

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On 3/15/2019 at 6:11 PM, horncyclist said:

Joaquin likely in against Cornyn. Good move. Beto on the pres ticket and a strong challenger to Cornyn and Texas just might...might .... finally turn blue. 

 

you done just got upstaged, bro. mj hegar is running this shit, because you couldn't man up and make a decision. 

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20 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

you done just got upstaged, bro. mj hegar is running this shit, because you couldn't man up and make a decision. 

I'm so super shocked a Castro couldn't pull the trigger on a major decision.  Fucking idiot. 

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Man, I was hoping she would run against Carter again. As fast as WilCo is turning purple, I think she would have beaten him this time. She only lost by a few thousand votes in Bell County last time, and WilCo is growing faster and with  younger and more educated demographics. 

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6 minutes ago, horncyclist said:

They're still tweeting this shit:

 

 

Some of those Patton Oswalt tweets are pretty hilarious. And "Hollywood Hegar" Trump-style nickname. Jesus fucking christ. The Trumpification of the GOP is complete. 

i really used to think more highly of john cornyn. don't agree with him a lot, but i thought that he was better than this.

but he's so obviously not. he stands there for photo ops for trump's fucking wall, when he knows damn well it's not a good thing for texas or texans. he toes the trump company line on virtually 100% of things. 

the republican party is broken. all the integrity that i used to think i saw in them is gone. they are 100% cynical vote-counters, and will employ any rhetoric to stir the base.

it's almost like they feel their control leaving their grasp. texas will be in play soon, if it isn't already.

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1 minute ago, bad_teammate said:

My god, that ratio.

i learned something today.

Quote

A week later, another Twitter user clarified: If the Replies:RT ratio is greater than 2:1, you done messed up. The Ratio was born. Generally speaking, the more replies a tweet gets over likes or retweets, the worse it is.

 

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2 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

i really used to think more highly of john cornyn. don't agree with him a lot, but i thought that he was better than this.

but he's so obviously not. he stands there for photo ops for trump's fucking wall, when he knows damn well it's not a good thing for texas or texans. he toes the trump company line on virtually 100% of things. 

the republican party is broken. all the integrity that i used to think i saw in them is gone. they are 100% cynical vote-counters, and will employ any rhetoric to stir the base.

it's almost like they feel their control leaving their grasp. texas will be in play soon, if it isn't already.

This.

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8 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

the republican party is broken. all the integrity that i used to think i saw in them is gone. they are 100% cynical vote-counters, and will employ any rhetoric to stir the base.

it's almost like they feel their control leaving their grasp. texas will be in play soon, if it isn't already.

When you look at the legislation they pass, or try to, in order to please certain industries/corporations, and when you look at the voter suppression efforts and fear-mongering, they clearly know their time is almost done, and they are trying to just hang on for another few election cycles while they finish looting the place.

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2 hours ago, Mojo Hand said:

Patton Oswalt? What a weird thing for Cornyn to fixate on. 

What else can he attack her on?  Cornyn's dad was retired Air Force, and Cornyn himself managed to avoid the draft.  Attack her hobbies like motorcycle riding - plenty of Trumpkins are bikers.

There's not a whole lot he can attack her on, without offending various large groups that include Trumpkins, and/or that would get those groups out to vote.

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Ted Cruz is not well-liked, but he's a skilled politician.  This response from Cornyn's team makes me wonder what is in store over the next 18 months, because the Oswalt thing was, uh, suboptimal.  I saw numerous people say that they had no idea Hegar had even entered the race until Cornyn's attacks, but now they were donating to her.  

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He may as well, but I feel like he might have scared off some who voted for him in 2018 with his strong anti-gun messaging during his presidential run.  This is still Texas.  I'm also not sure Cornyn evokes the same level of disgust for many Texans as Cruz does. 

I'm not saying he can't win, but I wouldn't feel as confident for him as I did in 2018. 

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3 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

He's been running for office non-stop for two plus years. I'd rather him sit this one out and run for Governor or Lt Governor next time around. If he wants to help, he can use his platform and Rolodex to help other democrats in Texas. 

Yes but what helps him in 2018 is that Trump is on the ballot.

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He’s not running.

He just announced yesterday he’s focused on helping flip the Texas state house.

And if he did jump in at the last minute he’d get savaged for being the white guy who snatched the race from female and POC candidates by the same people who spent the last year begging him to run for Senate.

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