TX-SEN: True to Form

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

https://twitter.com/PatrickSvitek/status/850512353049419777

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FF!

Ew, but still better than Cruz.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Abbott and Cruz, if they win will likely be in a single digit margin.

There are no signs that Abbott is even remotely in danger of losing reelection. And the only reason the Senate race is getting so much attention is because Democrats hope that this is the third seat they will pick up (after NV and AZ) while holding all of their seats.

I don't think it's as strategic as all that. I think Cruz is well known and deeply hated, #blueTexas has been a meme for long enough, and Beto is a young (for a politician) good looking (for a politician) candidate, and so the educated/politically active portion of the Democratic base that makes small-medium donations is excited about the race, and so drives national Democratic attention.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

I don't think it's as strategic as all that. I think Cruz is well known and deeply hated, #blueTexas has been a meme for long enough, and Beto is a young (for a politician) good looking (for a politician) candidate, and so the educated/politically active portion of the Democratic base that makes small-medium donations is excited about the race, and so drives national Democratic attention.

Cruz is despised by Democrats and some Trump supporters, but that's not enough for him to lose in a state like Texas. Most Republicans will come home on election day and he was never going to get any crossover support from Democrats or left-leaning Independents anyway. #BlueTexas is not a thing yet either. Trump was easily the worst Republican for that state and still won it by 9. If this were a state like Missouri, I would agree with you, but TX is way too Republican and inelastic to vote out a sitting Republican Senator. Also, Cruz isn't an awful candidate just because he lost to Trump.

I'd rate it Likely R for now (if only because Trump is president), but Cruz probably wins relatively easily on election day. I agree that some polls (especially "pollsters" like Texas Lyceum) will show a close race, though.

I'm not talking about why it would work (I personally think blue Texas is a mirage without serious infrastructure improvements in the Texas Democratic Party), I'm talking about why O'Rourke is getting attention from media and the "netroots"

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Abbott and Cruz, if they win will likely be in a single digit margin.

There are no signs that Abbott is even remotely in danger of losing reelection. And the only reason the Senate race is getting so much attention is because Democrats hope that this is the third seat they will pick up (after NV and AZ) while holding all of their seats.

I don't think it's as strategic as all that. I think Cruz is well known and deeply hated, #blueTexas has been a meme for long enough, and Beto is a young (for a politician) good looking (for a politician) candidate, and so the educated/politically active portion of the Democratic base that makes small-medium donations is excited about the race, and so drives national Democratic attention.

Cruz isn't hated here though. He's the kind of Reaganite on steroids people vote for here. He beat Trump in the Republican primaries. He'll run ahead of Trump in a pretty significant fashion, much like the other far-right Republicans did down ballot.

Again, not talking about O'Rourke's actual prospects. I'm talking about why the race is getting national attention from the liberal grassroots and associated partisan media (HuffPo, Pod Save America, etc)

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Siren is basically right. O'Rourke isn't going to win...but winning isn't the point of this exercise this time. If he holds Cruz to a 6-8 point win, that's huge by itself and a sign that Texas statewide officials can no longer cruise comfortably to reelection but have to actually work for it. There's a big difference between a Texas where Romney wins by 17 and a Texas where Trump wins by 9.

Actually 8.99 that was the funniest part, I use it in my points to this day. When people say Trump dominated in Texas, I say he could not even win by 9 points XD.

Plus a big, statewide campaign will do a lot to train in-state operatives and build in-state infrastructure.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Must be pretty bad when they had to get Trump to give his kiss of death:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/968549117625602054

Does anyone else find the tweets that are clearly written by a soulless staffer trying to imitate Trump’s style, but still attempting to do meet and potatoes politics incredibly sad?

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Must be pretty bad when they had to get Trump to give his kiss of death:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/968549117625602054

Does anyone else find the tweets that are clearly written by a soulless staffer trying to imitate Trump’s style, but still attempting to do meet and potatoes politics incredibly sad?

These interns and/or staffers knew what they were signing up for.

Oh no I meant it in precisely the opposite sense - it’s sad to me because it’s this pale imitation of something weird and idiosyncratic and oddly vital. It’s sorta like seeing your neighbor - an old guy - stuffed into a retirement home by his crappy kids because he says loopy stuff and the kids want to get around to selling the house.

And like yes you hate his guts and yeah there was that time he tried to shoot you with his rifle that he somehow kept from Korea, and you can’t count the number of horribly racist things you’ve heard him shout at random passers by, but it’s still sad and wrong to see him go out in ~this way~

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Must be pretty bad when they had to get Trump to give his kiss of death:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/968549117625602054

Does anyone else find the tweets that are clearly written by a soulless staffer trying to imitate Trump’s style, but still attempting to do meet and potatoes politics incredibly sad?

Let me guess....you noticed the proper punctuation, capitalization, and grammar yet also noticed the Trumpian use of the word "many friends" rofl

That and like, I am willing to bet literally my life savings that Trump has no idea in heck who Greg Abbot is, much less Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and Atty Gen Ken Paxton.