Texas will be a battleground state in next year's election, and Democrats intend to compete there at every level, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Wednesday, The Hill reported.
"This president is underwater in Texas," Perez said at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. "The poll I saw him in a month ago has the generic Democrat ahead . . . in the general election by something like 5 points.
"It's remarkable that this president has to spend time in states like Texas, and I think we can compete."
Trump carried the traditionally conservative state by nine points in 2016, which was the worst showing for a Republican presidential candidate in 20 years.
A Democrat has not won a statewide race there in 25 years. Jimmy Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in 1976.
Democrats are also eyeing Sen. John Cornyn's, R-Texas, seat after former Rep. Beto O'Rourke nearly beat Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, last year, even turning out more Texas Democrats than Hillary Clinton did in the 2016 presidential election.
The Democratic Senate field is led by Air Force veteran Mary Jennings Hegar, although Cornyn starts the race with a massive money advantage over whoever wins the Democratic primary.
The best shot for Democrats to compete in Texas might be in the six House districts the party sees with a potential to flip, especially after Democrats defeated long-time Republican House members in Houston and Dallas in the midterms, and six other GOP House members from the state won re-election by 5 points or fewer.
Democrats are also seeking a majority in the Texas state House, where they need to flip nine seats to do so.
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