Texas Republicans are worried about the rapid evolution of the state

AUSTIN – Texas Republicans are sounding the alarm bell as Democratic presidential candidates prepare for their debate in Houston next week, warning that the Lone Star State could become more purple if the party does not consider it like a battlefield of 2020.

Most GOPs are confident President TrumpJerry Moran continues: "I would not be surprised" if Pompeo appeared before the Senate in Kansas. The Hill's Report 12:30: Trump doubles Dorian's threat to Alabama MORE will win Texas and its 38 electoral votes next year, and they think that Texas GOP Sen. John CornynJohn CornynHurricane Strikes Bases Among Those Who Lose Money Due To The Trump Hillicon Valley Wall: Google Will Pay 0 Million Euros To Settle Confidentiality Charges Concerning Children Against YouTube | Technology Giants Join Forces with Election Security Information Officers | Leading Computer Leader Names China's Top Cyber ​​Threat Legislators Propose Legislation to Strengthen Cyber ​​Security at the Federal Level to turn away from his Democratic challenger.

But they fear losing more seats in the House of a cycle after the Democrats have recovered two districts as they regained their majority.

Five Republicans in the House have retired, three of whom occupy seats targeted by Democrats. Cook's non-partisan political report attributes them either to reversals or to a thin democratic regime.

More generally, Texas Republicans say the GOP can not rest on its laurels in a state that is becoming increasingly competitive.

"We need everyone on the bridge and all the Texans to make sure not to let the Democrats put an end to the longest success of Texas history," said James Dickey, president of the Republican Party of Texas.

The major Texas GOP fundraisers that have traditionally exported campaign funds to benefit more competitive competitions elsewhere are seeking to keep the donors' money in the current state of play. this cycle.

"There is a lot of apathy, sobriety and laziness here on the Republican side that needs to be reversed, otherwise the system will be upset at some point," said George Seay, a business man. of Dallas and the GOP's largest fundraiser in Texas.

Demographics slowly but surely change the state as an influx of voters from California and other left states move to Texas.

GOP support is eroding more and more in the suburbs around Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, four of the country's largest and most dynamic metropolitan areas. This is particularly worrying for Republicans wary of Trump's popularity with suburban voters.

A Democrat has not won in Texas since 1994, the longest of its kind in the country.

But Trump won Texas by just 9 points in 2016, the worst result for a Republican presidential candidate for 20 years, and it is feared that a new skid topping the list would cost the seats of the GOP House and potentially to a majority in the state. .

The Democrats defeated the long-standing GOP holders in Houston and Dallas in 2018 and six other members of the Republican House were re-elected by 5 points or less. Of these, the representatives. Will HurdWilliam Ballard Hurd: Legislators Celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday Speech "I Have a Dream" The Hill & # 39; s Morning Report – Trump Welcomes NRA On Firearms And Reduces Taxes The Democrat who is running for the Will Hurd headquarters raises more than one million in the first 100 days of campaign MORE, Kenny MarchantKenny Ewell MarchantHouse: Conservatives Call for an Investigation into the Ethics of Joaquin Castro Tweet Texas Faces a Turbulent Political Moment A Democratic Party Official: Texas is the "Largest State of the Nation's Battlefield" and Pete OlsonPeter (Pete) Graham OlsonTexas faces a tumultuous political moment Another Texas congressman who plans to retire from Hurd leaves Hurd's retirement, leaving GOP moody in 2020 withdraw, while the representatives. Michael McCaulThe panel of Michael Thomas McCaulHouse asks the Afghan envoy to testify about an agreement with Taliban Trump, which provides for the sale of a billion F-16 to Taiwan. Pelosi warns Mnuchin to end unlawful aid .3B cut to foreign aid MORE, Chip RoyCharles (Chip) Eugene Roy GOP lawmakers call for the adoption of provisions prohibiting the granting of DOD funds to the border wall Legislators celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King The speech "j & # "Have a dream": the GOP legislator blows on Omar and Tlaib: Netanyahu has the right to block the "enemies" of Israel and John CarterJohn Rice CarterDemocrats eager to confront Cornyn despite the enormous challenges ahead The Democratic Senate candidate from Texas said that she did not support the Green New Deal Demographic changes have set up a huge battleground for SUI House face tough reelection battles.

"Our concern is not so much whether Trump or Cornyn wins in Texas, it's their margins of victory that will help us retain the seats of the disputed House," said Corbin Casteel, long-time Republican strategist at Austin.

Texas' booming economy has attracted a young and diverse workforce from more liberal areas of the country, such as California, Illinois and New York.

The current joke in the GOP circles is that Trump should build a wall along the North Texas border to prevent liberals from entering.

Republicans argue that conservative policies have created the economic conditions that have attracted job seekers and employers, and they believe that many people who migrate to the state will be receptive to this message.

But they also recognize that national migration has accelerated the political realignment of the state, particularly in fast-growing metropolitan areas that account for more than two-thirds of the state's voting population.

"Suburban counties simply can not be taken for granted," said Bill Miller, a GOP lobbyist and consultant in Texas. "The Republicans took them for granted in the last election and paid a high price for it. The reason Texas is not more purple is that rural Texas is still Republican. But the suburbs have changed and many of these races are no longer a kid's game for Republicans. "

Republicans are eager to make their perception that they are primarily the party of older white men in an increasingly diverse state.

"Everyone has a say, whether it's elected officials, local county presidents or district office officials," said Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP strategist. based in Austin. "It's time to follow."

Texas Republicans believe the Hispanic community is more receptive to the Conservative message than many realize.

But the party has a new problem – polls indicate that white women who voted for Trump in 2016 leave it before the 2020 elections.

"We need to tackle it head-on," said Stacey Hock, chair of the Texas Republican Party's victory committee. "We need to talk to women about what matters to them: the economy, opportunities, justice, education, health care and security. We have arguments to defend, but we have really failed in recent cycles. "

Totals of GOP votes across the state were largely stagnant in the last election, although the share of votes for Democratic presidential and Senate candidates has steadily increased.

In the mid-term elections of 2018, former representative Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) almost defeated Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzTed Cruz congratulates Whoopi Goldberg for his "freedom of expression" The 10 counties that will decide the 2020 election Ted Cruz takes it to Lori Lightfoot: "Mayor, your anger is misplaced "CONTINUED (R-Texas) by transforming more Texas Democrats than Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonLewandowski says she is "very close" to making a decision on the Senate's candidacy for New Hampshire The Dem. Susan Davis announces that she will not seek re-election Barbra Streisand calls for the end of the work of the Electoral College "exceeded" PLUS did in the 2016 presidential election.

To defend themselves, Texas Republicans are undertaking new voter registration efforts.

Major GOP donors in the state are launching a super PAC called Engage Texas, which aims to spend $ 25 million to register two million new Republican voters.

Texas Republicans are particularly targeting evangelical voters, saying the Christian Conservatives are under-represented in the polls because they have never felt the urgency of voting in a traditionally red state.

The State Party is also deploying its own efforts by launching new voter registration campaigns, volunteer field training courses and workshops for candidates earlier than ever before.

The Texas GOP is also courting newcomers, "refugees fleeing oppressive legislatures," as Dickey calls them, who have made Texas the fastest-growing state in the country.

"The question we must answer in 2020 is whether the change in results that Republicans have seen in major metropolitan areas between 2014 and 2018 has been a temporary trough or the beginning of a new trend," he said. said Dickey. "It depends on us. If we do what we have to do, we can make the dive perfect. If we do not, this could be the beginning of a long-term trend. "