The Irony Here is that Texas is a Political ATM

Good ⁦@jmartNYT⁩ piece on how Dems in places like Texas and Ohio are urging Biden to try to make map expansions amid Trump’s historic unpopularity and a confluence of national events. https://t.co/8qd0Tr03vH

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 11, 2020

Recent Texas polls show a close race, with neither candidate leading by more than the margin of error.

Representative Joaquin Castro said Mr. Trump’s turn toward racial politics only made the state more alluring for Democrats.

“In Texas you have a very diverse group of voters who reject that kind of message and approach,” said Mr. Castro, predicting that Mr. Biden “could do better in Texas this time than some of the states that have been considered swing states for a generation.”

“Now is the best time we’ve had since Jimmy Carter to win Texas,” said Representative Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth-area Democrat, recalling the party’s 44-year drought.

This week Ms. O’Malley Dillon and other Biden aides spoke by telephone with Texas Democrats, including Mr. Vela, Mr. Veasey and the state party chairman, Gilberto Hinojosa.

The former vice president’s advisers were interested in Texas but “noncommittal,” Mr. Hinojosa said. “Their hesitation is that it’s so big and there is no history of this state ever being in play like it is now,” he said, conceding that the sheer girth and high costs of a state with 20 media markets makes it “a scary proposition” for a national campaign.

Mr. Vela said “the campaign is cautiously optimistic about Texas, but those of us on the ground are more optimistic than they are.”

Hillary Clinton came here four years ago to extract money which she promptly spent elsewhere.  Trump carried Texas by a margin Clinton could have overcome, had she tried.  Biden probably doesn't need Texas as badly as Clinton did, but winning it could realign Congress (redistricting begins in 2021, and Texas is set to add several seats in the House) for generations to come.  Beto changed things in this state; time to capitalize on that.

Biden needs to do more than take our money again.