Congressional districts which have not been in play for decades are on the table this year. 2016 can be the year of victory or the year of “missed opportunity,” depending on the response of grassroots and deep pocketed donors. The reaction of many “conservative-leaning” voters to the GOP’s top two presidential candidates, and the confidence and popularity of Hillary Clinton, is causing a catacysmic shift in partisan leaning this election cycle.
Texas is a good example. Decades of right-wing gerrymandering has solidified the GOP’s entrenchment in 24 of the Lone Star state’s U.S. Congressional Districts. There is only one true swing district in the entire state. It shifts between Democratic and Republican on average every two years. In Presidential election years it usually goes Democratic. When the ticket is full of statewide candidates, it usually goes Republican. It is the only district where Democrats usually get funding by national progressive (Democratic) PAC such as DCCC, House Majority PAC, etc. Eleven of the state’s congressional districts are “safe” Democratic districts and are usually held by Democratic incumbent. This year one incumbent is retiring and the Democratic nominee will not face a Republican in the General Election.
That leaves 25 other US Congressional Districts -— all inhabited by members of the Tea Party /GOP “brain trust” such as Louie Gohmert (1), Joe Barton (6), John Culberson (7), Mike McCaul (10), Randy Weber (14), Bill Flores (17), Kenny Marchant (24). Roger Williams (25) and Blake Farenthold (27). All of these Republicans have Democratic nominees challenging them in the General Election. Five of them are challenged by strong, educated, articulate Texas Democratic women.
Think about this line up of GOP incumbents and what they have given (inflicted) upon the nation! 2016 the best opportunity we have had in decades to rid Congress of some of these integrity-deficient scroundrels.
Texas is not truly a Red state. Once Democrats stopped running in the Democratic primaries, much of the state became a “non-voting state.” Karl Rove and Tom DeLay left their legacy to these “paragons of Republican repulsion”. Elections where obnoxious unchallenged incumbents were re-elected without vigorous challenges in the General Election further disheartened others from running against them (and for other down-ticket seats in the district). Without challengers, they accumulated war chest and used them to help fund local and state candidates. Districts were gerrymandered to discourage other challengers and donors. When good Democrats did challenge these incumbents, pundits and donors discounted their viability before they had opportunity to compete, further entrenching obnoxious (and frequently unpopular) incumbents.
In 2014 on average non-incumbent Democratic nominees challenging GOP /Tea Party incumbents for Texas Congressional seats only had 2 ½ cents per voter to spend in the primary and general election combined! You can’t even communicate with people who are already ready to vote for you for less than 3 cents, let alone present a case on why you are the best choice against an incumbent! Effectively, even though there have been Democratic challengers in some of these districts, for decades most of these incumbent have not faced a Democratic Nominee who had an advertising budget greater than $30K! In state donors abandoned their candidates when they saw that districts were not targeted by the Democratic Party’s national PACs. There is enough money in the state to fund these races, Why then is 2016 a year of opportunity in these districts?
1. There are Democratic Nominees in 29 of the 36 US Congressional Districts in Texas. You must have a horse in the race to win. Texas Democrats have some incredible “horses” in the US Congressional races in 2016 running against less than splendid GOP incumbents.
2. Traditionally in Texas Democrats win in Presidential election years. 2016 is a Presidential election year and neither of the GOPs front-runners is especially popular in Texas. Even incumbent Senator Ted Cruz had high unfavorable ratings among many of the voters needed to win a Presidential election.
3. All of the Democratic Congressional incumbents except Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson were initially elected in Presidential election years.
4. Many of these GOP incumbents are highly unpopular among Republican voters. For example, in the 2014 Primary, more people voted against incumbent Joe Barton in Ellis county, his home county, than voted for him. When you add the votes his weak opponent got with those the Democratic nominee got in the Democratic Primary, more people voted against Barton than voted for him in all but three of the precincts in his home county in the 2014 Primaries. Without campaigning in Ellis County in the primary in 2014, the Democrat received more votes than the two Republican candidates combined in 2 of Ellis County’s precincts. Those numbers show that the 30+ year GOP incumbent is vulnerable on his home turf.
A large portion of the US Texas 6th turned blue in 2014. In the General Election the Democratic Nominee had more votes than Barton in every precinct in SE Tarrant County, in all of the precincts in Meadowbrook and Handley in East Fort Worth. There were several precincts North of I-30 in Arlington and one in Central Arlington which had previously been Red that turned Blue. The Democratic Nominee had only $13K to spend in the Primary and General Election combined and ran no advertising in Arlington, the heart of the US Texas 6th District. A substantial crack has emerged in the 6th Congressional District which can be widened if the 2016 Democratic Nominee has sufficient resources to advertise. Cook’s now ranks Texas’ US Congressional 6th District among Texas’ non-Democratic incumbent Congressional District which are most likely to go blue. It does not rank high enough nationally to be ranked “red to blue” by the DNC and garner their financial support. However, when evaluating the districts in Texas which are not Democratic (or have not been Democratic in the past 5 years), it is definitely among the most likely “non-incumbent” District in North Central Texas region of the state with a 2016 Democratic Nominee to go blue. Long-time community activist RUBY WOOLRIDGE is the Democratic Nominee who is challenging Joe Barton in the US Texas 6th. A retired educator/minister, Woolridge resonates with veterans and military families. Woolridge understands many of the complexities facing active duty military families and veterans from personal experience. Woolridge was the caretaker for her son, Troy, who was injured in Desert Storm. He survived with his disabling injuries for over a decade before his death last year. Barton is not a veteran and voted to cut funding to the VA. Many veterans live in the US 6th District. It includes Texas’ State Senate District 22 where the GOP/Tea Party incumbent (Brian Birdwell) sponsored legislation which would have stripped many veterans from their Hazlewood Act educational funding. Birdwells’ proposals would have eliminated many veterans’ children from educational assistance by shortening the time frame for eligibility after military service so much that the children born to veterans after they left active duty would not be old enough to go to college before their parent’s educations benefits expired. On the state and federal level, the incumbents are callous to the realities faced by veterans and active duty military and their families. Many veterans and military families in the Texas 6th District realize that they need a strong, sympathetic voice in Congress.
Shirley McKellar, PhD (Democratic Nominee in US-TX 1) and Bill Matta, PhD (Democatic Nominee in US-TX 17) are two of the strongest advocates for veterans and military families. McKellar (a retired US Army Nurse corps officer) and Matta (a retired USAF Colonel) are both educators, mentors and highly decorated military veterans. McKellar helped implement women’s health services for the European Theatre and is an international leader in breast cancer awareness. Injured while on active duty in Afghanistan, McKellar spent a year in Brooks Military Hospital in San Antonio. She had to fight for the services she needed. She continues to fight for other veterans. She drives from her home in Tyler to Dallas twice a week to volunteer at the VA Hospital in Dallas. Matta served with NATO in Bosnia, at the Pentagon and at the USAF Academy. He is currently the chair of the Speech, English and Foreign Language Departments at McLellan County Community College. He is challenging Bill Flores for the US -Texas 17th District Congressional seat.
The GOP wall of Shame includes Congressman Farenthold who is distracted fighting sexual harassment law suits, Louie Gohmert who is noted for consistently keeping his foot in his mouth. Then there is McCaul who has ridden into power by father in law's right wing media empire The family empire includes the production company which has given a steady stream of hatemongers in the programming of talk-show stars (Rush Limbaugh). Limbaugh's listening audience has dwindled in recent years and key sponsors and broadcast stations have exited his ranks. It is less likely that Rush will be as effective in “saving” Mike since Rush’s has lost his shine with a substantial portion of his former listening audience. Complacency led to a very underfunded challenger (Tawana Cadien) having the second highest percentage of votes of any non-incumbent despite facing the richest man in the US Congress (Mike McCaul). One of the least effective members of an exceptionally unproductive Congress is Hurd (of US TX 23rd).
There is hope. Donate to their Democratic Challengers
5. Many of these incumbents have ridden on the coat tails of up-ticket GOP candidates. This year there will be no tailwind to carry them to victory. It is very likely that many staunch GOP voters will sit 2016 out if Donald Trump is the nominee. In a match-up between Hillary Clinton and Trump, many swing voters will probably lean toward Clinton.
This year there are strong Democratic candidates running against these “gulf coast Right-wingers.”
6, Minorities are motivated this year to turn-out and vote Democratic. When minorities stay home, Republicans win in Texas. When they are insulted or threatened by the actions or rhetoric of Republican candidates, they show up and elect Democrats up and down the ticket.
7. Women failed to turn out in numbers great enough to elect Wendy Davis as governor. However, discrimination against women by the Texas Legislature has heightened awareness among progressive women inspiring some to do more for women candidates.
8. A coalition which stimulates greater turn-out and activism among minorities and women can make a significant difference in the outcome of some US Congressional House races. The US Congress is only about 20% minority, 20% women and 20% veterans (+/- 3%). Texas’ Federal delegation is even lighter on female representation. Less than 8% of Texas’ Congressional delegation is female despite over 51% of the state’s population being female. Out of 27 GOP members, Kay Granger is the only Republican woman serving in Congress from Texas. Two of the eleven Democratic members of Congress from Texas are women. Except for Cuban/American Ted Cruz, the state’s Republican Congressional delegation is all white. The Democratic delegation is multi-ethnic. This year there are five Democratic Women who are Congressional Nominees challenging Tea Party/GOP incumbents.
9, A match-up between Trump or Cruz and Hillary Clinton should stimulate Minorities and progressive women to vote Democratic in the Presidential election and carry over into Congressional races.
10. There are several seasoned campaigners who already have campaign organizations among this years Democratic Nominees. They have already experienced the learning curve (and weathered the disillusionment common to first time candidates. They know how to stretch campaign dollars. They have records that speak to their expertise. James Cargas, Assistant Attorney for the City of Houston, is one of the nation’s leading experts in energy development. Cargas served in the Clinton administration Energy Department. In a state (and city) which is home to some of the largest fossil fuel energy corporations in the world, Cargas balances the economic realities of an energy dependent culture with the advantages of converting to sustainable energy. Cargas has been instrumental in moving the City of Houston from dependency on fossil fuel to becoming the number one governmental purchasers of sustainable energy in the nation, surpassing even the EPA and DOD. Cargas challenges GOP incumbent John Culberson for the 7th Congressional seat. Culberson is one of the Congressmen who voted against renewal of the Import Export Bank’s charter, a move which prompted thousands of American jobs to move off shore. In 2014 all major Houston publications endorsed Cargas over Culberson. Cargas is a good example of a Texas progressive who is more adept at understanding and supporting business development than the hard-line GOP incumbent. Hopefully, with a strongerprogressive turn-out Cargas, and growing disillusionment with top-of-ticket GOP contenders, Cargas will be able to unseat Culberson this year in a district which has been Republican since George W. Bush was sworn into Congress in 1967.
Culberson’s Voting Record:
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June 12, 2015, against the trade adjustment assistance (TAA) measure in HR 1314 - Trade Act of 2015 a federal program providing American workers displaced by foreign trade agreements with job training and services.
- January 15, 2014, voted for cuts to EPA and IRS funding.
- January 29, 2014, voted for cuts to food stamps program which cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states.
- October 16, 2013, Culberson voted against ending the Governmental Shut-down.
- June 18, 2013, Culberson voted for a ban on abortion after 20 weeks.
- July 30, 2014, Culberson voted to sue President Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority
- Culberson voted against Pay Day Fairness.,favors school vouchers, opposes higher taxes on the wealthy, strongly opposes prioritizing green energy and strongly favors privatizing Social Security. James Cargas differs with Culberson on all of these issues.
11.In election cycles when the top of the ticket is a popular, strong progressive who draws out the voters and the opponent threatens and scares many of the electorate, less infrastructure is required for a competent congressional challenger to win a seat.
12. Texas has strong Democratic nominees this year who appeals to wide segments of the progressive electorate. Several utilize defeats in prior election cycles as “school” to enable them to develop stronger campaign organizations, enlarging their network of volunteers and supporters, communicating their strengths to the media, and minimizing the “incumbent advantage” of their opponents.
13. Democrats have the opportunity of claiming Congressional seats which have not been in play for decades. It rests upon challengers getting sufficient funding early enough to support grassroots organizations and to advertise effectively in their districts. They do not have to hire high dollar consultants to accomplish their objectives. They need donors, volunteers and voters. Grassroots supporters can prime the pump. In politics and in business, having money makes it easier to raise other money. Small donors can inspire larger donors to give. No donation is too small to matter in election years such as this one. Delete this story
14, New tools help channel funding directly into campaign accounts. The Texas Federal Blue Seed PAC, a federal multi-candidate PAC founded in 2015 focusing on supporting progressive candidates running for federal offices on the ballot in Texas, utilizes “Tandem Fundraising” through ACT BLUE to enable donors to give directly into the campaign accounts of progressive candidates. Instead of focusing most of their efforts on raising money from donors contributed through the pac, the Texas Federal Blue Seed PAC works to stimulate direct from donor to candidate giving. Most of their appeals feature several Federal Candidates on the ballot in Texas with a link that allows donors to give directly to those candidate’s campaign accounts. Only the portion that the donor specifies for the PAC goes into the PAC’s account. Candidates do not have to wait for a “vote” of the pac members or for the money to clear the PACs bank account. Instead, it goes directly to the candidate and the FEC does not require the PAC to report it as as income or a disbursement. Instead the candidate reports it as income from the donor to the candidate’s campaign. Only the money given by donors to the PAC is subject to the FECs cap for donations by the PAC to a candidate’s committee or as an independent expenditure in support of a candidate. This allows candidates to receive money earlier than would be possible if all the funds were channeled through the PAC.
15. Flexibility: Most of Texas Federal Blue Seed’s on-line appeals allow donors to be flexible, using one link, to either split their donation among several candidates and the pac evenly or to choose to give more or all to one candidate’s campaign and nothing or less to others. The link also allows donors to choose to set-up monthly donations to these campaign committees. Through ACT BLUE they can use PAY PAL or their choice of credit or debit cards and they can change or stop their automatic donations at any time.
Here is an appeal for Hillary Clinton and four of the women who are Texas Democratic Congressional Nominees. There are easy ways to channel money directly into the campaign coffers of worthy candidates fighting to defeat some of our nation’s most repulsive congressional incumbents. It is not necessary to channel it through “middle men.” Using these links lets you give directly to the candidates. They receive your donation directly. You can help break the cycle which has protected Republican Congressional incumbents in Texas by giving whatever you can afford.
If every Texans who voted for President Obama in 2014 gave just $20 a year to non-incumbent Congressional candidates who are challenging Republican incumbents in the Texas’ General Election, there will be over 20 times the resources available to communicate the advantages of voting progressive in 2016.
Please give some of these candidates something. if yo realize that our Veterans and Military Families need more support from Congress, support one or more of our Veterans advocates (McKellar, Matta or Woolridge). If you are tired of women being paid less than men for the same job and white Republican men determining the agenda for the women of this nation, support the women who are running for Federal Office. If you cherish the riches of the Texas coast and understand that there are no simply answers for the complex challenges facing the people who live and work and play and visit the Texas Gulf Coast and our nation’s southern border, help us elect men and women who will honor the people who depend upon the land and seas along Texas’ incredible southern border.