National Democrats are betting big on Texas this November, with yet another left-wing organization pledging to put millions of dollars toward disrupting the state’s Republican reign.
The latest player is the Forward Majority political action committee, which recently announced plans to spend $15 million to flip Republican seats in state legislative races across the country. In Texas alone, the group is projected to spend $6.2 million.
First started in 2017, Forward Majority PAC describes its mission as “fighting to take back GOP-held state legislative chambers and safeguard the future of our democracy.”
Currently, 30 state legislative seats are under Republican control, 18 are under Democrat control, and two are under split control.
With redistricting on the horizon, Democrats see a potential opportunity to redraw legislative maps in an effort to control state legislatures and U.S. Congress for the next decade.
In the Texas House of Representatives, Republicans hold 83 of the chamber’s 150 seats, with Democrats holding the remaining 67. Only nine districts need to flip in the November election in order for Democrats to take control. In 2018, for comparison, Democrats successfully flipped 12 Texas House seats from Republicans.
According to a report by Transparency USA, an organization that tracks and provides transparency to political spending in several states, the following are targets in Texas for the Democrat PAC:
- House District 26 (open seat): retiring State Rep. Rick Miller, Sugar Land
- House District 28: State Rep. Gary Gates, Richmond
- House District 29: State Rep. Ed Thompson, Pearland
- House District 54: State Rep. Brad Buckley, Killeen
- House District 64: State Rep. Lynn Stucky, Denton
- House District 66: State Rep. Matt Shaheen, Plano
- House District 67: State Rep. Jeff Leach, Plano
- House District 92 (open seat): retiring State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, Bedford
- House District 93: State Rep. Matt Krause, Fort Worth
- House District 94: State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, Arlington
- House District 96 (open seat): retiring State Rep. Bill Zedler, Arlington
- House District 97: State Rep. Craig Goldman, Fort Worth
- House District 108: State Rep. Morgan Meyer, Dallas
- House District 112: State Rep. Angie Chen Button, Richardson
- House District 121: State Rep. Steve Allison, San Antonio
- House District 126: State Rep. Sam Harless, Spring
- House District 134: State Rep. Sarah Davis, West University Place
- House District 138 (open seat): retiring State Rep. Dwayne Bohac, Houston
Early voting in the general election begins on October 13, with Election Day on November 3.
