More on the competitiveness of the parties in Texas.
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The story of Texas politics in 2020 is about the cities becoming bluer, the suburbs becoming more competitive and the Latino vote rising — but it is also about a rural firewall that has kept Republicans in power for so long. Rural areas of the state have historically been Republicans’ strongest line of defense in Texas as polls show suburbs — even in traditionally red areas — shifting toward Democrats. But with the state’s changing demographics and a noticeable surge of Democratic energy in deep Trump country, there’s an open question of whether Republicans can hold onto these districts with the same large margins they did in 2016.
“The margins will depend on all of our great friends and our patriots in West Central and East Texas who say, ‘I don’t want the president just to win, I want him to stomp the Democrats here 75-25,’” Patrick told host Chad Hasty. “And the bigger rural Texas [votes] will determine the final margin he wins by — is it 4? Is it 6? Is it 8? Is it 3?”
In 2018, Cruz needed the state’s rural counties to fend off a blockbuster challenge by Democrat Beto O’Rourke. The former El Paso congressman defeated Cruz 51% to 48% in the non-rural counties, which Trump carried by 3 points in 2016. But Cruz held strong in the rural counties and carried them 75% to 24%, nearly identical to Trump’s margin in them two years earlier.
