next up Paul Ryan having to actually campaign for his seat, and LOSING.

us liberal folk remember to go to the polls!

Castro has no shot in Texas.

Texas will flip from red to purple enroute to blue. Demographics are shifting and not favorably for the GOP. If not 2018, soon thereafter.

Definitely not in 2018.

And, in my opinion, I don't think Castro is the answer.

Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are already pretty blue. We just need to flip the rural and suburban areas.

in particular, younger people, newcomers from out of state, and naturalized immigrants. On the other hand, many rural whites in Texas are downright racists - I don't foresee them voting for a Hispanic anytime soon.

Castro could get the usual Dems and many of the conservative Hispanics with his personal story. A bright, forward thinking Castro is infinitely better than Grandpa Munster.

I never thought of it but u're absolutely right, Cruz' mouth does resemble Grandpa Munster but i'd say Gramp is a better looking fella. Cruz just reminds of the devil

Yup totally agree re: Joaquin Castro's appeal, & his brother as well. They are definitely salt-of-the-earth people raised by a strong & amazing mother.

I believe Dems need to focus much harder on deeply red states such as Tx. Around the metropolitan areas/big cities there are many of us left leaning folks. Up until the mid-60s Tx was a Democratic state. If you google it, there were more Dem. governors than Republican. As Tx' economy and jobs availability enticed midwesterners & elsewhere to move to Tx, those imports brought with them their conservative values. Moreover, the GOP & their southern strategy as well as their focus on sweping the bible belt turned it Red.
The neglect of Dems to counter this wave of conservatism has really hurt us.

BUT... i believe we can win it back, starting at the grass roots level. The young people are more left leaning as a whole, and encouraging young Dems, Hispanics and minorities to run for office at the local level, especially in rural cities & counties, will start to turn the red areas. That combined with getting out the Hispanic vote will be a winning formula.

"I don't think Castro is the answer..."

Specifically and objectively, why?

If anyone has a chance it's the Castro brothers. They're wildly popular here among Dems and are moderately accepted by Hispanic Republicans. With the cloud over Agent Orange's admin now and general dissatisfaction with GOP i'd be willing to bet Joaquin has a fighting chance.

I'd love to be wrong on this one.

Cruz is the snewt gingrich of Texas. Comes from a not so big district, finagled his way into office and has been a boil on the bridge of the nose of America ever since. I hope he loses his sorry patootie really, really bigly.

Demographics have been changing with that state getting more diverse and the cities growing liberally. We can make it happen if we get our people to turn out. Dems in Texas should be energized and excited to vote for Castro while Republicans probably don't like Cruz as much.

My family immigrated to America when a Texan Democrat was in the white house. Dolt 45 has said on the campaign trail that America was great before the 1965 immigration reform caused rapid diversification.

possible for your family to come here?

America needed doctors for the new Medicare program. Both my grandparents were doctors.

The civil rights leaders wanted immigration reform and got prominent liberals like the Kennedys to champion it.

White nationalists of course have different ideas

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-schmeltzer/trump-makes-white-nationa_b_11814808.html

Texas has been changing, but as with all elections the key is getting people registered and getting them out to vote. It helps that we have early voting here, but rural Texans are so wedded to the Republican Party that it's hard to overcome that voting block. I would alaso love to see someone tackle Greg Abbott since he is up for reelection next year. Maybe Castro for governor and O'Rourke for Senate?

I used to spend a lot of time in Texas, was there twice this year in fact. I think the chances of ANY Democrat for Senate are pretty slim. Yeah, I don't care what the poll's say NOW but from what I saw there when the general election roll's around it will be an entirely different story. I can hope, but Texas and Texan's really don't give me much to go on. (sorry to all the GOOD people there, I know there's some) You can talk about Austin or San Antonio all you want but for every one of those places there's two or three Amarillo's, Lubbock's, Odessa's and Wichita Falls.

But Cruz is in no serious trouble in a statewide race. Most Texans would vote for Bin Laden if he got reincarnated as long as he had an R after his name

He's made a lot of enemies. Also, the comi-tragic tag-team of Abbot & Patrick are turning people off. I live in a 99% Republican area and the bloom is off the rose. Texas is in financial trouble due to Conservative Principles. Women, yes even Republican women, aren't all pro-lifer CONservatives. People continue to move here from all over the country, and with each year that passes, the Texas color is less pink, and more purple.

All major population areas are solid Democratic (except Fort Worth). Once those West Texas people get their bellies full of Trump, the withering will be at warp speed.

And can't personally wait for the day when people like Cruz and Abbot can't even win an uncontested race for dog catcher but 2018 is too soon. 2024 is my guess

and hope the other runs for gov.

Sad.

Don't say that! I'll need to ask my dr. to up my meds!

Castro twins, Momma Rosa done good

I am sick of these red assholes in Texas. They are so stupid. I do get the impression that many are pretty sick of them too.