Democrat Beto O’Rourke turns his attention to flipping the Texas House - Houston Chronicle

A month after ending his presidential campaign, Democrat Beto O’Rourke has turned his attention to state politics — namely, an effort to help flip the Texas House of Representatives from Republican control to the Democrats.

With Texas Democrats nine seats away from retaking the majority of seats in the Texas House, O’Rourke is trying to convince his donor base to send money to an organization called Flip The Texas House, which has targeted 17 House Districts in which Republican candidates won by fewer than 10 percentage points last year. More than half are districts in which O’Rourke won the majority of votes as he ran for U.S. Senate.

“In 2018, I carried nine of the 17 districts now represented by Republicans. So we know that we can do this,” O’Rourke said in the email. “We just need your help to make sure that we make the most of this opportunity.”

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Ten of the targeted districts are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and five are in and around Houston. One is in San Antonio and one is in Killeen.

The push follows a 2018 cycle in which Democrats flipped 12 Texas House seats from Republican control. Texas Democrats have not had the majority of seats in the Texas House since 2001.

O’Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, said if Democrats retake the majority in the Texas House, it would mean an end to “racist gerrymandering, and a chance to address gun violence, reproductive rights, Medicaid expansion, criminal justice and climate change in Texas.”

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More Information

Targeted Districts

Nine State House Districts held by Republicans where Beto O’Rourke won in 2018.

Houston area:

HD 138 - Dwyane Bohac (not seeking re-election)

HD 134 - Sarah Davis

HD 26 - Rick Miller

San Antonio area

HD 121 - Steve Allison

Dallas-Fort Worth area

HD 64 - Lynn Stucky

HD 66 - Matt Shaheen

HD 67 - Jeff Leach

HD 112 - Angie Chen Button

HD 108 - Morgan Meyer

When the Legislature next meets in regular session 2021, it will take up redistricting, the process by which every congressional district and every state legislative district is redrawn to account for population shifts.

In his 2018 campaign, O’Rourke was a fundraising powerhouse, raising almost $79 million, more than any Congressional candidate in the nation. O’Rourke lost his race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz but came within 2.6 percent of winning — the closest a Democrat has come to winning a statewide office in Texas since the 1990s.

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Democrat Beto O’Rourke turns his attention to flipping the Texas House - Houston Chronicle
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