Biden unveils new TX endorsements & sells himself as the Democrat to beat Trump at San Antonio rally

[highplainsdem]

https://www.texastribune.org/2019/12/13/joe-biden-unveils-new-texas-endorsements-he-visits-san-antonio/

SAN ANTONIO — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to lavish the state with attention as Texas is increasingly considered a potential battleground in 2020.

“You’ll be seeing a lot of me before now and November, God willing,” he told a brimming crowd at a campaign rally here Friday evening. “Because if I’m honored to win this nomination, I’m gonna compete here in Texas to win Texas — to win Texas.”

Speaking in front of supporters waving “Texans for Biden” signs, Biden cast the 2020 election as a battle for the “soul of the nation.” During what his campaign billed as a “community event,” he emphasized his commitment to improving the lives of veterans and reforming the immigration system, both major issues in a city known as Military City USA and the gateway to South Texas. He also told the crowd his plans to “reverse the damage” he said has been done by President Donald Trump and protect returning veterans.

-snip-

While Biden had harsh words for Trump, he did not spare some of his primary rivals as well. He said “a couple candidates out there are attacking me and the very idea ... we can unite the country” — an apparent reference to Elizabeth Warren’s speech Thursday insinuating Biden was naive for thinking Democrats and Republicans can work together again.

“Last time I checked, this was called the United States of America,” Biden said. “Anyone who starts off saying we can't bring America together — you’re just throwing in the towel. You’re saying everything Donald Trump has been saying — the divider-in-chief.”

In an interview with The Texas Tribune prior to addressing a crowd of roughly 600, Biden said he believed the field would be winnowed down by the time of the Super Tuesday primaries in March. He wouldn’t speculate if he’d be the presumptive nominee by then, but exuded confidence in his chances in the state.

-snip-

His conviction comes as recent polls show Biden trouncing all of his Democratic rivals in Texas. According to a CNN poll released earlier this week, 35% of voters likely to vote in the state’s Democratic primary said they’re likely to support the former vice president. His closest competitor, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, netted 15% of the vote.

In the poll’s hypothetical head-to-head matchup against Trump, Biden only trailed the president by one percentage point.

-snip-

Prior to tonight’s event, Biden unveiled a new round of Texas endorsements. The latest backers, first shared with the Tribune early Friday, included state Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio, who introduced Biden at Friday evening’s event; state Rep. Rhetta Bowers of Garland; state Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston; Dallas County Clerk John Warren; and former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger. Bowers, who flipped a Dallas-area seat last year, previously endorsed Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman who dropped out of the presidential race last month.

Biden is slated to hold a fundraiser later Friday at the home of local trial lawyers Anna and Jamie Shaw. Mikal Watts, another trial attorney and a prominent Democratic donor, is also hosting the fundraiser, and U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela of Brownsville is being billed as a special guest.

-snip-

[Sloumeau]

1. highplainsdem, thanks for posting this. :)

It is nice to see Joe Biden doing a rally in the Great State of Texas.

[Thekaspervote]

2. Go Joe!! Taking TX would be such a blow to the repukes

[DownriverDem]

3. Pretty

clear to me that he can win enough states to beat trump.

[efhmc]

4. How did I miss this event? I would have gone if I knew about it.

[highplainsdem]

5. Sorry you missed it. I posted an OP about Biden's planned visit to San Antonio on Monday:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287375511

[TexasTowelie]

16. Warren is in San Antonio on Saturday.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287379994

I missed it too, between helping my brother out on his new job and not feeling well I haven't had as much time to surf and post threads.

[efhmc]

20. Thanks for the info. I would need to make plans well in advance.

It's about a 2.5-3 hour drive from me.

[Hortensis]

6. Biden IS the Democrat to beat, but first someone has to get within reach.

Biden's been the single top-tier candidate ever since at least a month before he decided to run.

Closest competitors, clustered in a second tier, have been scrabbling to beat each other all this time.

[emmaverybo]

8. Joe Biden is the one who can bring people of good will together to support our democracy. He has

vowed from day one to send Neo-Nazis scuttling back under their rocks. And he is aware that throughout Europe, fascism is on the rise. Biden is no appeaser. He will rout Trumpism as no other candidate can.

[Gothmog]

9. Biden will be spending a lot of time in the state competing to win it in the General Election

Link to tweet

[redqueen]

10. Is it not a concern that he only drew 600 people

even though it was free to attend?

There seems to be a huge disconnect between the support I see on the ground and what's reported in surveys / polls.

[emmaverybo]

12. Explained in this thread short notice, not publicized, and venue only fits 500. Supporters not

concerned as they know polls reflect durability of Biden’s support.

[redqueen]

13. Oops - didn't see that.

Seemed very odd, makes sense now. Thanks

[Gothmog]

11. Joe Biden- "I'm competing to win Texas,"

Link to tweet

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. K&R

[TexasTowelie]

15. For the record,

the Texas Tribune allows for their articles to be republised in full in accordance with the following conditions:

https://www.texastribune.org/republishing-guidelines/

The most important note I believe, is to give credit to the autbor(s) of the articles.

[UniteFightBack]

17. He is the Democrat that will win by the BIGGEST MARGIN, which is critical with all the CHEATING

going on.

[Gothmog]

19. There was an overfill room for this event

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

21. Trump is unpopular in Texas. The state won't sit quietly.

Texas will be a battleground state if Biden is the nominee https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/31/trump-is-unpopular-texas-state-wont-sit-quietly/?fbclid=IwAR2XxkVSIkS-dL70IGBQR3OqreeTk4kQfIAwzUafiaeFR5vIq3su5WM5YrM

In Texas, the nation’s biggest, most important red state, Trump’s disapproval rating has consistently lagged behind many of the 30 states he carried in 2016. This potentially puts the state — a must-win for the president if there ever was one — in play for 2020.

To think Trump’s unpopularity in Texas is because of Twitter, or Ukraine, or the media, or a smear job by the left is to underestimate the problem. The reality is that Trump’s signature policies are out of step with what most Texans want....

While the United States struggles to adjust to a changing demographic makeup, Texas has been “majority minority” for more than a decade, with Hispanics expected to outnumber non-Hispanic whites in the next few years. Hispanics and non-Hispanics live by, work with, are friends with and go to school with each other, and this familiarity increases fondness. Which is why Trump’s fear and disparagement of immigrants — and Mexicans, in particular — falls flat here.

According to a Texas Politics Project poll, more Texans strongly disapprove of Trump’s immigration approach than strongly approve. Only 39 percent of Texans support additional federal spending on border barriers along the Mexican border, according to a November 2019 report by the U.S. Immigration Policy Center....

Nonetheless, a state that should be a Republican shoo-in increasingly appears weary of the party’s standard-bearer. And if there’s anything I’ve learned living in Texas, it’s that Texans will not sit quietly and be taken for granted.