No One Was Watching TX-10-- Except Mike Siegel's Grassroots Campaign-- And Now Cook Says It's Flippable

Mike Siegel's campaign got some good news and some... well, mixed news, today. The tweet below is the mixed news. Cook Report staffer Dave Wasserman, who gets incredibly more credit as a pundit than he comes close to deserving, mentioned that the very gerrymandered 10th district in Texas-- stretching from north Austin into the far suburbs west of Houston-- is an example of a district that could flip but is also an example of DCCC recruitment failure. The DCCC should be recruiting more top notch candidates like Siegel, not fewer. A keen legal mind and strong progressive, he was never contacted by Wasserman and after he won his primary with over 70% of the vote, the DCCC ignored his campaign entirely so they could concentrate on the kinds of Blue Dog, New Dems, multimillionaires and ex-Republicans they think make better candidates-- the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. When the DCCC doesn't target tough districts, that when good candidates can get in and put together strong campaigns without DCCC interference, the way Randy Bryce did in Wisconsin, J.D. Scholten did in Iowa, Nate McMurray did in western New York and the way Ammar Campa-Najjar did in the sprawling district west of San Diego. DCCC interference has been the death blow for dozens and dozens of campaigns... It's why the contemporary Democratic Party only wins in anti-red wave cycles. Dave Wasserman has never understood that. Perfect for Cook.

The good news was an endorsement from Ted Lieu who is hoping to work with Siegel on the Judiciary Committee, holding Trump accountable. ""Mike Siegel," he wrote, "is committed to protecting our social safety net programs and restoring common decency to our government. With the support of unions, environmental groups, progressive organizations and grassroots advocates, he is running hard across the nine counties of the Texas 10th, letting folks know they will have a strong representative in Congress. I'm happy to endorse Mike Siegel in TX-10 and look forward to serving with him in the next session."



The 3 videos in this post are all being used in Mike's social media campaign between now and election day, along with 9 others. After raising $177K in the previous 3 quarters-- no corporate PAC money of course-- Mike raised $162K in the one quarter that just ended last week. But, he's running against the 4th or 5th richest man in Congress, Trump enabler Michael McCaul, and he's not going to be ouspend him... so he has to out-work him. He told me that the campaign plans "to reach as many as 160,000 persuadable Texans by promoting these ads on digital platforms, sending each message to a specific voter profile. I had a strong 3rd Quarter in fundraising, almost doubling the previous three quarters." To get each of these messages to its intended audience-- including seniors who are starting to vote by mail in Texas-- he needs to raise an additional $25,000 by October 10. Blue America is committed to helping him do just that. The thermometer on the right leads to a page for progressive Democrats, like Mike, who have won their primaries and were then abandoned by the DCCC. Let Dave Wasserman "watch" TX-10 "closely on Election Night," while we help Mike bring this one home for TX-10.

After I posted Ted Lieu's endorsement on Twitter and my Facebook page, people have been asking me why Ted, the DCCC regional vice chair for the West Coast, endorsed a candidate in Texas. That's an easy one to answer. Immediately after being elected as regional vice chair for Texas and the Rocky Mountain states, Jared Polis decided to run for governor of Colorado so he resigned as vice chair. Pelosi and Lujan said they would replace him "soon." It's been just about two years. They abandon parts of the country, the same way they abandon candidates. Texas candidates have never experienced a DCCC vice chair working on their behalf. Ted Lieu and his staff try to lend a hand for exceptional candidates like Mike when he can. And, no, Pelosi's House Majority PAC has not spent a nickel trying to help Mike beat McCaul. That's just the way DC works.