Rep. Castro: Dems Will Win Because ‘Trump Is Not Popular in Texas’

Rep. Joaquin Castro told MS NOW’s “State of Play” that Democratic candidates can win in Texas this fall because President Trump “is not popular in Texas.”

Host Peter Alexander put the record on the table. “No Democrat has won a Senate seat in Texas since 1988. The Dems have certainly tried, but turning that state blue has been a lot like Charlie Brown and the football. Why should Democrats believe that this year will be different?”

Castro answered with grievance, not history. “Well, I think Texans have had enough. They’ve had enough of the corruption.” He called Sen. Ken Paxton “probably the most corrupt politician, not only in Texas, but in America.”

He listed prices next. “They’ve had enough of the gas prices going through the roof, grocery prices going through the roof, and this administration both at a federal level and at the state level, doing nothing about it, literally doing nothing about it.”

Then the line the headline is built on. “People are not happy with Donald Trump. Donald Trump is not popular in Texas right now. In fact, if you look at the polls, he’s under water in Texas because he betrayed farmers, because he betrayed cattle ranchers, because he betrayed all Texans by bulldozing Big Bend.”

Castro tied that claim to two races. He said it is “part of the reason Gina Hinojos has a fighting chance to beat Greg Abbott” and “why James Talarico is in a toss up race with Ken Paxton.”

“All Texans have had enough,” he said. “They’re ready to move past this era of corruption.”

Texas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly four decades. Castro is asking voters to treat that streak as expired.