Updated at 3:10 p.m.: Revised to include comment from Rep. Ron Wright's campaign and the National Republican Campaign Committee.

WASHINGTON — A Waxahachie Democrat who is business partners with Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is running for Congress in 2020 against Rep. Ron Wright, an Arlington Republican who was first elected to office last year.

Stephen Daniel, an attorney, on Wednesday announced his House campaign, telling The Dallas Morning News that residents in the suburban-rural district "haven't been adequately represented" by the incumbent and that, politically, "it's a closer district than people think."

“A lot of people are disenchanted,” said the 42-year-old, who grew up just outside of the district in Itasca, a tiny town in Hill County and moved to Ellis County after law school.

The campaign launch could signal that Democrats are serious about expanding the battleground map in Texas, which was already expected to host eight competitive House races next year.

While Daniel is a political novice running in a traditional GOP stronghold — one that President Donald Trump won by 12 points in 2016 — the attorney's ties to a prominent North Texas Democrat like Jenkins could give him a step up in fundraising, name ID and party support.

Consider that Daniel is vowing to raise $4 million, which would be a stunning amount for a congressional seat that hasn't been the subject of a full-on campaign bout in decades.

Stephen Daniel, a Waxahachie attorney, on Wednesday announced his campaign against Arlington Rep. Ron Wright. He said the suburban-rural district is, politically, "a closer district than people think." (Courtesy of Stephen Daniel campaign.)

A National Republican Campaign Committee spokesman said on Wednesday that "all Democrats running in Texas will have to answer for their party's socialist agenda of open borders, banning private health insurance and decimating the oil and gas industry with the Green New Deal."

"Rep. Wright is fighting for Texas in Congress and will continue to do so after he handily defeats whichever socialist the Democrats nominate in 2020," said the spokesman, Bob Salera.

Wright, 66, won office last year by defeating Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez — now Daniel’s campaign manager — with a closer-than-expected margin of eight points in the district that stretches from southeast Tarrant County to Navarro County.

The Republican enjoys deep ties to the area, thanks to previous turns in elected office at the county and city level. He will also benefit from the perks that come with incumbency, including broader GOP support that could bolster his underwhelming fundraising efforts from last year.

Wright campaign manager Micah Cavanaugh said that "no matter who is named the Democratic nominee, Congressman Wright is confident his conservative record will speak for itself."

"Congressman Wright was elected to help President Trump keep our nation strong, secure and prosperous -- and he has delivered each and every day since he took office," he said, saying the election of a Democrat would lead to "open borders, socialized healthcare and massive tax hikes."

Texas is poised next year to come under an election season spotlight unlike anything it's seen in recent history. And the battle in the House will be front and center.

Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington, has drawn a Democratic challenge from Stephen Daniel, a Waxahachie attorney who is Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins' business partner. (Shaban Athuman/Staff Photographer) (Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer)

Democrats have already circled pick-up opportunities in six Lone Star State districts where the incumbent Republican House member last year won by 5 points or less. The only North Texan among that group is Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell.

Republicans, meanwhile, are eager to win back two longtime GOP seats that they lost last year in Texas. One of those districts is now represented by Rep. Colin Allred, a Dallas Democrat who ousted Pete Sessions.

The contest for Wright’s seat could join that crowded docket.

Daniel is pitching himself as a native son with humble roots. He “grew up very country,” he said, helping his dad work at a local landfill. He was also the first in his family to graduate from college, he said, ultimately earning a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law.

He’s worked as a personal injury attorney for the last 15 years alongside Jenkins, who hailed Daniel’s “compassion, grit and tenacious spirit.”

“He cares about people and has earned the nickname 'Bulldog' for his zealous representation of his clients,” texted Jenkins, a longtime Democratic power player who was elected in 2010 as Dallas County judge.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has worked with Stephen Daniel for 15 years. He hailed his business partners' "compassion, grit and tenacious spirit." (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Daniel is rejecting contributions from corporate political action committees and plans to focus his message on economic issues like health care, education and “fair taxation.” He thinks he can win by turning out the vote in more densely populated areas like Arlington and Mansfield.

“A lot folks just ... want to see some reason and some common sense come back into politics,” he said, citing the need to protect health care coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

But Republicans, more broadly, have already started to ramp up broad-brush critiques of Democrats along the lines of the one offered by the NRCC and the Wright campaign. Daniel dismissed those sort of attacks as “gibberish,” in turn accusing Wright of focusing on "divisive issues."

The Democrat's campaign pointed to a video released last month that shows Wright saying that women commit murder if they have an abortion and should "absolutely" be punished.

Wright later reiterated his view that "abortion is the taking of an innocent life." But he insisted, in spite of his words on tape, that his comments were not directed at women who receive abortions and were instead "directed to those who perform abortions."