Texas Republicans admit there's a problem
At the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin last week and in conversations this week, here's what Texas Republicans are telling us:
"Texodus" has entered their lexicon — a term Democrats coined to describe the subsequent retirements of the state's GOP House members.
Many "headwinds" are working against them, most notably shifting demographics and attitudes of suburban voters.
They talk openly about perceptions the party is run by a bunch of old white guys— and they're desperate to change that. "The base is shrinking. Period. End of story," said Rep. Will Hurd, the only black House Republican, who at 42 will leave office rather seek another term representing his heavily Hispanic district in southwest Texas.
Hurd said Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Dusty Johnson of South Dakota are two members trying to make the party more diverse and inclusive.
"We weren’t doing our homework," said GOP consultant Susan Lilly, during a festival panel called "The Republican do-over" in Austin. "Some members forgot about doing town hall meetings.” But she said her clients — including Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas' 10th district — "have woken up" now.
What to watch: Another Texas Republican strategist said to watch McCaul for another potential retirement. If he goes, he would be the 7th of the state's 23 House Republicans to retire at the end of this term.
The bottom line: It's truly a sign of the times that Democrats think Texas in 2020 could mimic California in 2018 — where the party picked up 7 GOP seats and helped Dems win back the House.
https://www.axios.com/texas-republicans-retirements-2020-837d4d98-ab51-4025-8784-761be418a6e0.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
