2018 offered a spark of hope for Democrats in Texas: Beto O’Rourke ran a competitive Senate campaign, and Dems flipped several reliably Republican congressional and legislative seats. Hoping to build that momentum in 2020, national groups have swooped in and put considerable resources into campaigns up and down the ballot. Now, a series of competitive Democratic primaries between insurgent progressives and the party establishment could shape the future of the party and determine who wields power in Texas.
The Democratic Party’s top goals are to take control of the state House and win more congressional seats. Both of those efforts are centered in Texas’ shifting suburbs, which establishment Democrats caution will require moderation. But progressives are eagerly pushing an aggressive vision—policies like Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and sweeping criminal justice reform—statewide and down the ballot.
The biggest test of the movement’s power, of course, will be in the presidential primary. While Joe Biden was long seen as the favorite, in recent weeks, Bernie Sanders has become the Democratic frontrunner in delegate-rich Texas. After a commanding victory in the Nevada caucus, Sanders barnstormed across Texas, holding huge rallies last week in El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, and Austin.
