Meet Todd Litton, the first declared Democratic candidate of which I am aware for CD02, which is entirely within Harris County and which is held by Rep. Ted Poe, who has been there since 2004. I don’t know much about Litton – you can see his biographical information, he’s clearly spent a lot of time with various committees, boards, and organizations. What I do know is that CD02, like several other urban/suburban Congressional districts held by Republicans, moved in a Democratic direction in 2016. It was still a nine-point win for Trump, though after having been a 27-point win for Mitt Romney in 2012. As with a lot of these districts, it’s going to be a matter of boosting Dem turnout, and hoping for a lackluster showing on their side.
Litton’s campaign Facebook page is here. I don’t see any campaign events yet, but I’m sure there will be something soon. I am aware of at least one other person who is supposed to be interested in CD02, but as yet Litton is the only one to take action. Now we need someone to come forward in CD22, where Pete Olson is making his claim to be the worst member of the delegation, and you know how fierce the competition is for that.
On a related note, June appears to be a busy month for judicial campaigns to get off the ground as well, at least here in Harris County. I’ve seen four such announcements so far, three from friends and the other from a “people you may know” person I clicked on. All four are women, and three of them have not been on a ballot before. I don’t know if 2018 is the non-Presidential year that Democrats break through in Harris County, but if you’re a Democratic attorney who wants to wear a robe, it is almost certainly your best chance. After the sweep of 2016, your only options in 2020 will be to primary someone, to hope for a retirement, to move to another county, or to run for an appellate or statewide bench. Maybe 2018 will be the year and maybe it won’t, but the path to a bench is the clearest it will be until 2022.
You can put down James Horwitz on your list for Probate Court No. 4.
Politics1.com lists these CD02 candidates (with links):
Pat Bryan (D) – Electrical Engineer, Computer Engineer & ’16 Nominee
Nikolus Gianukos (D)
James Graf (D) – Businessman, Ex-Investment Banker & ’14 Candidate in California
Ali Khorasani (D) – Chemical Engineer
Todd Litton (D) – Non-Profit Executive, Education Advocate & Attorney
J Darnell Jones, fresh from a Pearland City Council race, is popping up at Democratic events telling folks he’s running for CD02.
Democrats are wasting their time challenging Poe. The district is completely safe for him in 2018.
The first actual guy to sign up for the Democratic party in District 2 was Nikolus Gianukos. You can check his website for his background information http://www.nik4congresstx2.com . He was a Bernie Sanders delegate for the State of Texas.