In an email to supporters on Thursday, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) told Texas Democrats not to write off any area of Texas, while making specific mention of the Texas Panhandle and other Republican-dominated areas of the state.
After Democrats failed to gain much traction in Texas races this year, following O’Rourke’s closer-than-expected bid for U.S. Senate in 2018, the former senatorial and presidential hopeful provided Democrats with a list of things to be learned from this election cycle. In part, O’Rourke said Democrats must show up for voters in all parts of the state in each election cycle.
“We’ve got to show up everywhere, be there for everyone — especially the places that are hard to get to. Especially for those whose votes have been taken for granted in the past,” O’Rourke wrote. “El Paso, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, Roma, Edinburg, McAllen, Brownsville”
Following up those comments, O’Rourke made mention of a number of strong Republican areas in Texas which he believes Democrats must include as a part of their campaigns.
“And we can’t write anyone off,” O’Rourke wrote. “Those courageous candidates who ran in East Texas. Those organizers who are still at it in the Panhandle. Those voters who want someone whose going to fight for them in the Permian Basin, we’ve got to show up for them too. We aren’t going to win many of those districts next cycle, but we’ll NEVER win them if we don’t start showing up and investing now.”
O’Rourke’s comments come following an election cycle that saw record spending across the board in a number of key races. In races for the Texas House, the Republican majority held steady, while Democrats also failed to win any new congressional seats in Texas.