Texas in Play? Barack Obama Starts Stumping for Leftist Candidates in Texas
Jose Nino
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Former President Barack Obama is flexing his muscles on Texas during the 2020 election cycle
According to Brandon Waltens of Texas Scorecard, Obama posted a list on Twitter of eight U.S. congressional candidates and 19 candidates for the Texas House that received his endorsement.
Obama’s endorsements come at a time when Democrats are targeting the Texas House, which appears to be in play this election cycle.
I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats. If you’re in one of their districts or states, make sure you vote for them this fall. And if you can, vote early—by mail or in person. https://t.co/PSm3Rf3wkF pic.twitter.com/7RXrJriBz8
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 3, 2020
Interestingly, MJ Hegar, who recently won the Democrat primary to go toe to toe with U.S. Senator John Cornyn was, missing from the list.
Hegar is an Air Force veteran who failed to unseat Republican congressman John Carter in 2018. He barely defeated State Senator Royce West in the Democrat primary runoff election in July. Instead, Obama endorsed Democrat Senate candidates in other states such as Colorado, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Waltens noted the political play behind Obama not endorsing Hegar:
Though Obama billed the endorsement rollout as a ‘first wave,’ leaving open the possibility of a future endorsement for Hegar, it could be viewed as part of a strategy to moderate the Democrat candidate in an effort to be more competitive among general election voters in November. During his presidential campaigns, Texans rejected Obama on the ballot twice, and both times by double-digit margins.
In addition, Waltens provided a list of all the candidates that Obama has endorsed so far.
Barack Obama’s U.S. Congressional Endorsements
| District | Endorsee | GOP Opponent |
| 2 | Sima Ladjevardian | Dan Crenshaw (i) |
| 7 | Lizzie Fletcher (i) | Wes Hunt |
| 14 | Adrienne Bell | Randy Weber (i) |
| 21 | Wendy Davis | Chip Roy (i) |
| 22 | Sri Preston Kulkarni | Troy Nehls |
| 23 | Gina Ortiz Jones | Tony Gonzales* |
| 24 | Candace Valenzuela | Beth Van Duyne |
| 32 | Colin Allred | Genevieve Collins |
*Tony Gonzalez is currently facing a recount against Raul Reyes after the primary runoff election.
Barack Obama’s Texas House Endorsements
| District | Endorsee | GOP Opponent |
| 45 | Erin Zwiener | Carrie Isaac |
| 52 | James Talarico (i) | Lucio Valdez |
| 54 | Keke Williams | Brad Buckley (i) |
| 64 | Angela Brewer | Lynn Stucky (i) |
| 66 | Sharon Hirsch | Matt Shaheen (i) |
| 92 | Jeff Whitfield | Jeff Cason |
| 96 | Joe Drago | David Cook |
| 97 | Elizabeth Beck | Craig Goldman (i) |
| 104 | Jessica González (i) | n/a |
| 105 | Terry Meza (i) | Gerson Hernandez |
| 108 | Joanna Cattanach | Morgan Meyer (i) |
| 112 | Brandy Chambers | Angie Chen Button (i) |
| 113 | Rhetta Bowers (i) | Will Douglas |
| 121 | Celina Montoya | Steve Allison (i) |
| 126 | Natalie Hurtado | Sam Harless (i) |
| 132 | Gina Calanni (i) | Mike Schofield |
| 134 | Ann Johnson | Sarah Davis (i) |
| 135 | Jon Rosenthal (i) | Justin Ray |
| 138 | Akilah Bacy | Lacey Hull |
Part of Democrats’ strategy is to slowly chip away at Texas and turn into a leftist bastion. Groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety have already dropped $8 million to prop up anti-gun candidates in the 2020 election cycle.
Certain demographic trends allow for the Left to gain ground in the Lone Star State. If the Left is successful in flipping Texas, its vaunted Second Amendment and tax freedoms could be in jeopardy.
Republicans will need to campaign on issues that are dear to the grassroots if they want to ensure that turnout is maximized and prevent the Left from taking over. This type of work has to start now.
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