IRVING — Moments before a Democratic congressional primary debate began, James Edwards, a voter in the audience, rattled off a list of policy issues important to him: Medicare for All, canceling student debt, the Green New Deal.

And yet, the 34-year-old sporting a Bernie Sanders shirt said: “I understand we’re in Texas. I’m not delusional. I’m thinking about who can win. It’s going to be a strategic vote.”

For the first time in more than a decade, Texas’ 24th Congressional District — which stretches from Hurst to Hebron and includes parts of Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties — is within striking distance for Democrats. The seat is open after eight-term GOP Congressman Kenny Marchant announced his retirement last year.

Similar to how Democrats nationally are looking for the candidate who has the best chance to beat President Donald Trump, voters in this suburban district are wrestling with which aspirant is most likely to build the largest coalition to tip the district in their favor.

Among the front-runners is Jan McDowell, a retired accountant who describes herself as the “most progressive” candidate. She has run unsuccessfully for the seat twice.

Kim Olson, a retired no-nonsense Air Force colonel, has emerged as a powerhouse fundraiser who says she can not only win but lead the charge down the ticket to flip several statehouse seats in Tarrant County from red to blue.

And Candace Valenzuela, the undaunted Farmers Branch school board member, has confidently promised to turn out the district’s youngest voters and Latinos in record numbers to deliver a decisive blow to Republicans.

Other candidates include John Biggan, a trained neuroscientist; Richard Fleming, a small-business owner; and Samuel Vega, a former art director.

It’s likely that the large field of candidates means there’ll be a runoff in May if no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the March 3 primary.

[Read more about the candidates in The Dallas Morning News’ voter guide here.]

Jan McDowell, a Democratic candidate for the 24th Congressional District, poses for a portrait at her campaign office. (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

The oracle

McDowell hopes the third time’s the charm.

McDowell first ran in 2016 when the district was still “ruby red.” She lost to Marchant by 17 percentage points. But McDowell returned in 2018 and closed the gap to just 3 points.

“Now people believe” a Democrat can win the district, she says.

McDowell has raised significantly less money than her top-tier opponents. She’s banking on her name recognition within the district.

“There are people counting on me,” she said. “I’m the candidate people in this district see all the time; they don’t see the other candidates.”

McDowell’s signature proposal is her “income is income” bill that would tax capital gains, or income from the sale of stocks and other assets, as a paycheck. Capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than traditional income from a job and are not taxed for Social Security or Medicare.

“I’m thinking if there are rules that are fair and good and work for income, put all the income in one bucket and go for it,” she said, suggesting her proposal would generate more revenue for the government than a wealth tax.

Ultimately, McDowell said it comes down to the little guy.

“We keep throwing money at the top of the pyramid, trickle-down economics, which has been proven over and over again does not work,” she said. “I’m thinking if we’re going to throw money somewhere, let’s throw it at the middle or below.”

Kim Olson, a Democratic candidate for the 24th Congressional District of Texas, at her campaign office in Euless. (Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)

The colonel

Olson is running her campaign like a military operation, commanding a legion of volunteers and strategizing how she can help down-ballot races, especially five crucial statehouse contests in Tarrant County.

For Olson, it’s about maximum impact: Little of what she wants to accomplish in Washington will matter if there aren’t willing partners back in Texas.

“You have to understand your impact all across the spectrum,” she said. “I think we're naive to think that the president doesn't impact local politics, that the senator doesn't, the congressperson doesn’t.”

Olson has positioned herself as a more moderate candidate: She’s for gun control but doesn’t want to take them. She wants to clean up the environment but with the fossil fuel industry’s help.

“I sat nuclear alert on a one-way mission for 10 years when Strategic Air Command was still around to battle socialism,” she said. “So I find it chuckling when people say, ‘Well, you're just a socialist.’”

The latter part of Olson’s military career has yet to become a full-blown campaign issue, but her opponents’ allies have begun a whisper campaign, raising questions whether it could prove lethal during a scorched-earth general election.

In 2006, Olson was accused by the Pentagon of awarding government contracts to a private security firm that investigators said she helped run. Olson denied the charges and ultimately pleaded guilty to two lesser charges. She retired with an honorable discharge, received a formal reprimand and a $3,500 fine.

Olson, who was one of the Air Force’s first female pilots, has not shied away from the issue, including writing about the ordeal in her own memoir.

“You own it,” she said. “Which I always have. Once the Republicans go negative on you, you absorb it and you pivot. I did what I did to save American lives, and I would do it again. Don't you want someone from this district to fight just as hard for your families as I did for those men and women overseas, no matter what the consequence was?”

Democrat Candace Valenzuela, who is running for office in the 24th Congressional District, poses for a photograph in Carrollton. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

The upstart

Valenzuela isn’t afraid of showing who she really is: a young black Latina, mother of two, devout Christian and proud Democrat.

It’s a mix of identities she believes is potent to turn out droves of fresh voters excited to see someone like them represent the district in Washington.

“My experience is in line with this district,” she said, pointing to an unstable childhood, the first to graduate from college in her family and navigating the post-recession economy as a young adult.

“A lot of the folks who are in this race haven't experienced the economy as it exists now,” she said. “They don't know how urgent it is that we have the kinds of things that they might have grown accustomed to.”

Valenzuela highlights her time on the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board as proof that she can work with Republicans to benefit her constituents. Among her proudest accomplishments is passing a resolution that spelled out the rights of students regardless of their citizenship status after state lawmakers passed legislation that forced local governments and law enforcement agencies to work with federal immigration officers.

“When you center your governance in love and compassion, particularly for the people that you're trying to serve, I was able to get a lot done,” she said. “And I think that when you work with people who are honestly trying to act on behalf of their districts, you can get a lot of stuff done.”

Valenzuela has pledged to make campaign finance reform one of her top priorities if elected. She believes meaningful reform on other issues such as gun control, health care and climate change can’t be enacted until money is out of politics.

The scientist

Biggan wants Congress to pass laws backed by evidence.

John Biggan (courtesy)

“So much of it is driven by ideology: This is a Republican thing. Or this is a Democrat thing,” he said. “I don’t really care. I mean, I’m running as a Democrat, but at the end of the day, if you can show me that your thing works better than mine, I’ll do that.”

Biggan, a data scientist for a nonprofit that works in the foster system, said more scientists in Congress would help accelerate crucial policy conversations such as climate change.

Biggan has promised to establish universal child care at community colleges, a bill based on a program he helped oversee at the University of Texas at Arlington.

``When I talk to independents and Republicans who might normally balk at universal child care in general, something like this generally plays pretty well,” he said. “It's a pretty reasonable solution and they can see the return.”

The businessman

Fleming understands the struggles of low-income Texans. He can navigate the 1% just as well.

Richard Fleming (Courtesy)

“I can go in all circles,” he said. “When you look at my friends, I mean Asian, Korean, Filipinos, black, white. The deal is — what breaks it down is — is being relatable.”

Fleming believes it’s his experience of growing up poor, only to own his own tax firm that helps millionaires manage their wealth, that makes him the best person to break through the gridlock in Washington.

“I think we're all getting tired of division and aggressions,” he said. “I know that I am personally. I like to think that as North Texas, we all have a shared vision.”

Among Fleming’s top priorities if elected: health care access and affordability and gun control, including limiting the size of firearm magazines.

“Weapons that are made for war should not be on our streets,” he said. “Period.”

A sixth candidate, Samuel Vega, declined to be interviewed. On the trail, he has aligned himself with the most liberal factions and policies of the Democratic Party and has run a campaign against greed.