It's Just A Matter Of Time Before TX-12 Flips Blue, But Right Wing Extremist Chris Putnam Could Hasten That

Texas is very much up for grabs this cycle. There are at least half a dozen Republican-held seats that are flippable. TX-12, though, isn't on anyone's radar, primarily because incumbent Republican Kay Granger, first elected in 1996, is so well-liked by her constituents. She usually wins reelection by between 65 and 70-something percent. The district is primarily in Tarrant County-- Forth Worth, where she was once a member of the City Council and non-partisan mayor. In 1996 both the Democrats and the Republican tried recruiting her as their congressional candidate. She's the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee and delivers big time for the district. She's generally considered a mainstream conservative but her Trump adhesion score is extremely high, 97%. Tarrant County is the last urban county in Texas that is still Republican. But Betio won it, albeit narrowly, and it's just a matter of time before it flips and TX-12 becomes first a swing district. and then a Democratic district, like it used to be. The other districts that encompass Tarrant County are TX-33 (Marc Veasey, D+23) TX-24 (Kenny Marchant, R+9), TX-06 (Ron Wright, R+9) and TX-25 (Roger Williams, R+11).

2020 is probably not the year TX-12 is going to flip; TX-24 is far moire likely. The PVI in Granger's district is still a daunting R+18, redder than any seat a Democrat holds. The DCCC has shown exactly zero interest in the district and so far this year the $1,030,594 Granger has raised is being met by $8,049 raised by Democrat Lisa Welch. There may be a fly in the ointment for Republicans though. Former Colleyville city councilman Chris Putnam is primarying Granger. Putnam, a far right fanatic and Trumpist asshole, called Granger a careerist who's "gone Washington." He's very wealthy but way too far right and extreme for the district. This is from his candidacy announcement a few weeks ago:

“If socialist Democrats are the biggest threat to our American way of life, co-opted Republican moderates are a close second. I’m running to be a fearless conservative reformer who will stand by President Trump no matter the cost, defend innocent life and secure our border once and for all. Kay Granger hasn’t-- I will” said Putnam.

...“I believe that career politicians do more harm than good for those they represent. Serving the people as an elected official is an honor and a privilege but also a huge responsibility. It shouldn’t be a full-time career and certainly not a lifetime appointment. Career politicians like Kay Granger have forgotten where they came from. Voters in this district support protecting innocent life, they support this President, and they support securing our border. Kay Granger has “gone Washington” and stopped fighting for our values a long time ago,” said Putnam.

..."I've shown what we can do when citizen reformers come together to stand up to career politicians. Just like President Trump, we need an outsider to bring proven business experience to drain the swamp that is Congress. I've done it in the private sector, I've done it in Texas, and now I'm going to do it in Washington, DC," said Putnam.

“North Texas is sick of Republican leadership by name but not by practice. Kay Granger is a RINO in every sense-- she has called herself a “pro-choice Republican” and refused to support funding to build the wall across our southern border. That is unacceptable for any conservative. We are desperate for real conservative leadership that represents our true Texas values and way of life, and that’s what I’m prepared to bring to Washington.” said Putnam.

Putnam told the media that he raised half a million dollars in the first week of his campaign. "I think that is clear evidence that there is a big appetite out there to do something different at this point... People again are hungry for somebody who has more of a business background like the president, who looks at the problem fundamentally differently and comes in with a reform platform, you know, to fundamentally change things and changes the way Washington does business, as opposed to the way that we have been doing things, which is clearly not working in Congress." But it looks to me like he actually raised $205,785 from his friends and relatives and loaned his campaign $250,000. Always lovely to see a right-wing hypocrite start the ball rolling by attempting to deceive the voters.