What Would Have to Go Right for a Castro Miracle in Texas

[libertybele]

I shutter to think of TX turning blue.  I still say; do not under estimate Castro and his ties ... the DEMS desperately need TX.  Not only would defeating Cruz and capturing TX be a major victory, it would send shockwaves throughout the GOP.

What Would Have to Go Right for a Castro Miracle in Texas

As Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro mulls a challenge to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Democrats and Republicans both  say it would be a tall order in a deep-red state with little Democratic power.

“I think what Joaquin would have to do right is to begin with a premise that Texas Democrats have no idea how to run a statewide race,” said Colin Strother, who has worked on campaigns for Castro and his twin brother Julian, a former Housing and Urban Development secretary and San Antonio mayor.

“The trick is that Democrats can win if we get turnout. You are not going to do that with TV and radio,” Strother said. “The way you do it is through a state of the art, modern, professional field program.”

For years, Democrats have been preaching that Texas would soon be theirs for the taking as demographics shift toward Democratic-leaning Latinos: Nearly one in five Hispanics nationwide live in Texas, according to the Pew Research Center. A report from January 2016 put the state’s eligible Hispanic voters at 4.8 million, surpassed only by California.

Furthermore, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 39 percent of the Lone Star State’s population is Hispanic.

But recent Democratic efforts to win statewide races in Texas have fallen flat.

Texas Democrats have not won a statewide election since 1994, the same year George W. Bush unseated Democrat Ann Richards to become governor.

And banking on a lagging Cruz would not be a sound strategy, experts say. While the first-term GOP senator has developed a reputation of being disliked by some fellow Republicans — Arizona Sen. John McCain famously called Cruz and his allies “wacko birds” — he still has plenty of political support in Texas.

“Cruz is nothing if not calculating and he has a voracious appetite for politics,” Strother said, pointing to his 2012 upset win over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the Republican Senate primary when Dewhurst had the support of Rick Perry, the state’s governor at the time...

- See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/joaquin-castro-ted-cruz-senate-challenge#sthash.Zws94xK7.dpuf

[corbe]

What Would Have to Go Right for a Castro Miracle in Texas

   It's just not possible, Abbott beat abortion barbie by 17 points.
   Cruz will demolish anyone. They underestimate Cruz at their own peril and a Perry endorsement of Dewhurst was beneficial to Cruz's senatorial campaign.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

When was the last time any Dem won a statewide office in Texas?  20 years?

Why are the scaremongers always saying Texas is turning blue?

[geronl]

There are still a lot of people who believed Trumps lies about Cruz being a foreigner and "ineligible".

[corbe]

There are still a lot of people who believed Trumps lies about Cruz being a foreigner and "ineligible".

   In Texas they're called democrats, there is no birth rights to be a Texas Senator, only US Citizen, I could be wrong on the later point but I don't think so.

[geronl]

I would like to see a primary challenge from the right for Cruz. The surrender of his dignity to Trump was too much for me.

[Frank Cannon]

The surrender of his dignity to Trump was too much for me.

I can actually see you lose sleep over it.

[corbe]

I would like to see a primary challenge from the right for Cruz. The surrender of his dignity to Trump was too much for me.

    @geronl there is nobody in Texas to the Right of Cruz except possibly another Ted-NUGENT, who has stated he has no interest in politics.

    I disagree that Ted is surrendering anything, particularly his dignity in meeting with the President, in spite of the fact that Trump never publicly apologized for slandering his wife and father, He and a few other Senators are all we have left standing for anything that resembles Conservatism, reconsider throwing them under the bus.

[rodamala]

When was the last time any Dem won a statewide office in Texas?  20 years?

Why are the scaremongers always saying Texas is turning blue?

It needs to turn fully Red, White and Green before it turns Blue.

[TomSea]

I'm amazed the column says the numbers are already there for the Democrats if they just turned out.  I'm not sure about that.

A shift might not come until several years in the future. It was just 2010, that minority children became the majority in schools in Texas. Texas became a minority majority state only a few years ago, otherwise, all of the minority majority states are currently blue and Nevada still went blue and they are not there yet.  Many Hispanics will vote Republican but most will still go for the Democratic candidate.

I don't think it's scaremongering to just look at the facts.

[TomSea]

Trump broadens the party, as said before, if Republicans could just get 3 percentage points more of the African American vote; they can offset a lot of demographic challenges. Trump has also been smart on a national basis, to go into the Rust belt. Get the blue collar vote. If Bernie had been the candidate, that might not have happened. Bernie is out giving speeches like he is already campaigning for 2020.

Despite the haters, what Trump did is probably the best thing in the long run for conservatism, lower immigration into the country, secure the border, prosecute and deport illegals and so on.

[Victoria33]

ping

[Emjay]

What Would Have to Go Right for a Castro Miracle in Texas

   It's just not possible, Abbott beat abortion barbie by 17 points.
   Cruz will demolish anyone. They underestimate Cruz at their own peril and a Perry endorsement of Dewhurst was beneficial to Cruz's senatorial campaign.

I agree.  Underestimate Cruz's popularity at your own risk.

[txradioguy]

I would like to see a primary challenge from the right for Cruz. The surrender of his dignity to Trump was too much for me.

Ummm yeah sure... ok.  :huh?:

[txradioguy]

Trump broadens the party, as said before, if Republicans could just get 3 percentage points more of the African American vote; they can offset a lot of demographic challenges. Trump has also been smart on a national basis, to go into the Rust belt. Get the blue collar vote. If Bernie had been the candidate, that might not have happened. Bernie is out giving speeches like he is already campaigning for 2020.

Despite the haters, what Trump did is probably the best thing in the long run for conservatism, lower immigration into the country, secure the border, prosecute and deport illegals and so on.

Trumps broadening of the party moves it to the left leaving it vulnerable in the mid terms.

[cato potatoe]

The question remains as to whether Trump will support a primary challenger to Cruz.  It would surprise no one if he decided to sabotage conservative candidates who stood in the way of his deficit spending.