All Super States / Texas

Texas

SUPER STATE STRATEGY

Our primary objectives in Texas are to: 1) flip the U.S. Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn, 2) compete for the state’s 38 Electoral College votes, and 3) break unified GOP control of the state government by flipping the Texas State House.

In the state senate, we are currently targeting one GOP-held seat. With only half of the chamber up for reelection in 2020, nearly all of the competitive seats are off the map until 2022. Our target district is located in southwest Texas, stretching from San Antonio to the Mexican border.

In the state house, we are currently targeting 15 districts—13 GOP-held seats and two Democratic holds. Ten of these districts voted for Beto O’Rourke in 2018, making them competitive in 2020. Geographically, our targets span the entire state, but are primarily concentrated around the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area (eight targets) and the greater Houston metro area (five targets).

By the numbers 4 Seats needed to flip the state senate 9 Seats needed to flip the state house 1 United States Senate seat to flip 38 Electoral College votes

State Senate Candidate SD-19: Roland Gutierrez

TX State Senate targets

TX State House targets

What's at stake

124,300 DACA recipients in Texas: In 2017, the GOP-led Texas state legislature passed Senate Bill 4, a “show me your papers” law that targets sanctuary cities and requires local officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Texans deserve lawmakers who will champion policies to protect—not endanger—immigrant families.

5 million Texans without health insurance: For years, Texas has held the highest uninsured rate in the country—about double the national average—and it’s still climbing, especially in the wake of COVID-19, the unemployment crunch, and economic downturn. Of the total uninsured population, about 1.5 million Texans would gain health coverage if the state expanded Medicaid. About 33% of all Americans in the “coverage gap” live in Texas, which is one of just 14 states that still has not opted for Medicaid expansion.

22 Abortion clinics in the state of Texas: In Texas, the state legislature’s anti-choice majority has made it nearly impossible to access an abortion. Over half the state’s abortion clinics have been forced to close since 2012, meaning many Texans have to travel long distances to obtain an abortion. Some 250,000 residents in the city of Lubbock live more than 300 miles away from their nearest abortion clinic.

What's at stake facts updated June 2020

Live in TX? Set up a 1:1 call with a member of the Swing Left team to find out how you can make the biggest impact.

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