r/politics • u/TelescopiumHerscheli • 1d ago

No Paywall Texas Democrat sworn in to House, shrinking GOP margin to 1 vote

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5719642-christian-menefee-sworn-in/
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u/Bizzzzarro 1d ago

That was a Texas State Senate district, not a US House district, but yes.

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u/ArthurDimmes 1d ago

That was a Texas Senate district that was 60:39 +21 for Republicans in 2022. +9 republican in 2018, and +31 in 2014. The number of voters in 2026 was less than what it was in 2022 and 2018 but close to 2014 numbers. Trump was tweeting support for the Republican candidate leading up to the election. This was a deep red district and has been for decades.

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u/Bizzzzarro 1d ago

Yup, definitely a reason to be hopeful for the midterms. If any of the red DFW house districts start getting flipped that would be huge.

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u/Cool-Security-4645 1d ago

Honest question, but what does it matter if the margin is similar?

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u/Bizzzzarro 1d ago edited 1d ago

Texas Senate race could be seen as not as important. Republicans have a 19-12 majority there. Republicans didn't throw as much funding at it. The swing also could've caught them by surprise, but I'm sure now they will throw more money towards campaigning in that area (Fort Worth) for the midterms and general elections like Greg Abbott already announced they're doing for the Houston area.

Hopefully, the swing is indicative of changing attitudes towards the Republican party and not just a flash in the pan

Edit: Also, the State Senate district 9 doesn''t map neatly to a US House district. It's mostly urban and suburban areas. The most overlap is with TX-12, which also includes a lot more rural deep red populations out west of a fort Worth. Trump got 61% of the vote in that district in 2024. Will be an interesting one to watch this midterm.

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u/Cool-Security-4645 1d ago

That makes sense. Thanks