Rep. Lizzie Fletcher
Republican Army veteran Wesley Hunt announced his candidacy Tuesday for Texas’ 7th Congressional District, the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston.
Hunt’s candidacy, first reported by ABC 13, comes just three months into Fletcher’s tenure. She was one of two Democrats to flip a GOP-held Texas congressional seat in 2018, beating Republican John Culberson.
In an announcement video, Hunt emphasized his military background, without mentioning Fletcher by name.
“When I flew Apaches over Iraq, I was guided by three words: duty, honor, country,” Hunt says in the video. “The men and women that I served with didn’t focus on things that divided us. We were bonded together by a shared mission that was larger than ourselves. We need more of this spirit in Washington, and that is why I am running for Congress.”
I figured it was just a matter of time before someone announced. There are only so many viable targets for Republicans in Harris County next year, and this is the biggest one. As I’ve said before, I think Fletcher starts out as the favorite, though of course things can change this far out from an election. Like every other Republican on the ballot next year, Hunt will have a running mate, Donald Trump. Hunt can say whatever he likes about duty and honor and country – I have no doubt that he means them sincerely – but good luck squaring that with Trump and his record.
My Republican(and some Democratic) friends have worked hard to convince me that Lizzie Fletcher is vulnerable next year but its hard to imagine this race starts as anything but lean D. I might argue it’s closer to a likely D race. Lizzie won pretty comfortably against a long time incumbent in a district that rapidly turned purple and is ripe with anti-Trump demographics. There are a few Republicans that could conceivably make this race truly competitive- Ed Emmett, Sarah Davis, Anne Clutterbuck are the ones off the top of my head. However like you note any fresh face, no matter how appealing or moderate, will have to compete with Trump branding above their own. Unless one of the aforementioned names jumps in I’d say a double digit margin of victory is more likely than a flip back to Republican.
Ed Emmett would be a good candidate for that district, but I wonder if he could draw enough support from pro Trump folks, given his totally unnecessary anti Trump vitriol. He pandered to liberals who weren’t going to vote for him no matter what.
That, and his fixation with the Astrodome are two big negatives for me.
She won in 2018, the probability of a Republican beating her in 2020 are very slim. 2020 Texas will vote for a Democrat for President.
The Astrodome debacle hangs low over Ed Emmett’s head. I’m hard pressed to forgive him for that mess.
Now former Bellaire mayor Cindy Siegel has thrown her name in the hat.