AUSTIN — For the first time in modern Texas politics, Democrats will field candidates in every one of the state’s 150 House districts.
It’s a milestone party leaders hope will boost turnout, money and organization up and down the ballot, even as Gov. Greg Abbott enters the cycle with a well-tested ground game of his own.
Democratic leaders say the move is less about flipping deeply red districts and more about expanding the electorate and forcing Republicans to defend territory they have long taken for granted.
Houston Rep. Christina Morales, the new chief of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, said a full slate of candidates creates infrastructure that can benefit statewide races, regardless of the odds in individual districts.
Campaigns that once existed only on paper now bring door-knocking, phone banking and voter registration efforts, she said.
Morales also is coordinating with national Democrats, trying to harness energy from Texas’ high-profile Senate race, marked by a bitter GOP feud.
In that primary, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.
The Democratic Senate contest, featuring state Rep. James Talarico of Austin and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, has drawn wide voter interest and donor support.
But attention and money only go so far.
Abbott enters the cycle with a major advantage: a mature, statewide voter-mobilization network built over decades of Republican control.
“Abbott has made it his own,” said longtime GOP strategist Thomas Graham, citing sustained relationship-building at the precinct level and focus on local concerns. “Democrats are still rebuilding a statewide party. The ground game heavily favors the governor.”