Texas Republicans have endured a rocky start to the year, raising hopes among Lone Star State Democrats that they can regain momentum after a disappointing 2020 cycle.
The power grid failure during a rare polar vortex that led to a humanitarian crisis last month drew attention to the GOP’s leadership in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in nearly a quarter century.
Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) brief trip to Cancun during the crisis ignited anger and severe blowback, potentially doing further damage to a political career that had been hobbled by his involvement in challenging the Electoral College vote count on the day of the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
Texas Democrats are still licking their wounds after a dismal 2020 showing.
But the choppy two months in the national spotlight for Texas Republicans has Democrats fired up about 2022 as they seek to win the swing districts they lost in the last cycle and potentially even the governor’s mansion in a state that is slowly becoming more purple.