Are Progressives Gaining Ground in Texas? – Opinion

The progressives may have been encouraged by the Texas primaries results, which might give them hope for their chances in November. At least, this is what several left-leaning news outlets have suggested after Tuesday’s elections. But if you look closely at the situation, it is clear that the hard left might not be ready to celebrate just yet.

Some critical victories were achieved by the Progressives during the primaries. This is because these are people who have been backed by far-left wings of the Democratic Party. Politico reported:

The chance for progressives to set the tone for this year’s primaries led many of the biggest figures on the left — such as Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — to throw their weight behind liberal candidates in Texas. The primaries were also attended by progressive organizations such as Indivisible, Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party.

After neither party secured 50 percent of Tuesday’s vote, Jessica Cisneros (progressive Democrat) will face him in a May runoff election. Although her chances of defeating Cuellar look good, there is still uncertainty about whether she can defeat a Republican in November.

Cuellar is among a handful of conservative Democrats in Congress. Cuellar has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for failing to deal with the southern border migrant crisis. He has also voted in favor of abortion rights legislation. His nine-term tenure makes it clear that his district is conservative. This could pose a problem for Cisneros if she wins the nomination.

Reuters reported:

Cassy Garcia will face the winner of Cuellar/Cisneros. Cassy Garcia won the Republican primary. She is likely to portray her opponent as too liberal in the district, which shares a long border with Mexico and has seen record numbers of illegal crossings of immigrants.

Greg Casar (ex-Austin City Councilmember) also won his Democratic Primary Election for the 35^ThThis congressional district includes parts of Austin, San Antonio. He beat three Democratic challengers to the seat and will now face a Republican candidate in November.

Progressives are hoping that Texas’ primary elections are a sign that the far-left will be competitive in the upcoming midterm elections. Reuters

Progressives hope that Cisneros’ performance in Texas, which is the first state to hold a primary contest this election cycle, will reverberate nationally.

“Coming out of the gate, Texas is going to set the tone for progressive wins across the nation,” Adrienne Bell, executive director of progressive political action committee Brand New Congress, said in a telephone interview before Tuesday’s primary.

There is also the fact that Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, who pretends to be a Latino, managed to avoid a runoff election, defeating his closest Democratic challenger by 85 points. He plans to run for governor. Greg Abbott in November.

But progressive may be too optimistic in thinking these victories reflect a larger trend that is occurring in the United States. Cuellar’s failure to win a runoff may not have been the victory progressives believe it is. Other issues could have contributed to this result for the lawmaker.

In January, the FBI raided the lawmaker’s home, making off with computers and other electronic devices.

The Texas Tribune reported that:

Cuellar was not charged with any crime. Cuellar, however, was not charged with a crime despite the glaring optics of the raid by the Federal Government.

While the Bureau has not publicly given a reason for raiding Cuellar’s home, there can be no doubt that this development hurt him politically. Many have also questioned why Cuellar was raided less than two years before the primary elections. His forced participation in a second round may be due to the FBI raid more than any indication that his district has begun to embrace progressivism.

Then, there is O’Rourke, who easily secured his party’s nomination for Texas governor. There is another possible explanation. What the Irishman-pretending-to-be-Latino has that his opponents did not is name recognition. Love him or hate him, people know who Beto O’Rourke is.

Since he lost his Senate race to Ted Cruz, O’Rourke has been a popular figure in the nation. O’Rourke received a huge amount of donations from outside of the state and will likely do so again. O’Rourke was nominated more for being a respected quantity than he is because he considers himself a progressive. After it was clear that his anti-gun views would not be popular in Texas, he retracted his comments regarding seizing AR-15s and other guns.

Greg Casar’s win is none too surprising given the fact that he comes from a deep blue district. It will only be November’s election that will decide if voters will want to elect a far-leftist.

This does not necessarily mean that progressives in Texas and other states should be ignored. They aren’t giving up, even though they’ve suffered many setbacks. But they won’t stop trying until they get the results they desire. Far-left groups are ready to accept losses and win as long as there is some success. This is why the GOP needs to have an answer. Otherwise, they might not be able to see the light at the end of their tunnel.