TX-25: Julie Oliver seeks narrow path to victory in polarized district
On a recent Zoom fundraiser with Beto ORourke, Democratic congressional candidate Julie Oliver was asked what the campaign was doing in the vast rural stretches of a district that extends 220 miles from Hays to Tarrant counties.
Were doing everything we did before the pandemic except knocking on doors and having rallies, so were connecting with people throughout the district, said Oliver, an Austin lawyer and former health care executive. Yall that live in Austin might not be able to see what is happening in rural Texas. But thats whats exciting. The Democrats that have been scared to be Democrats for years and years and dont tell their neighbors are now loud and proud. And even more than that, Republicans who have lost their party are loud and proud.
Two years ago, Oliver came within 9 points of defeating U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin.
Williams won reelection in 2016 by nearly 21 points. In 2018, Oliver won 20,000 more votes than Kathi Thomas, the 2016 Democratic nominee, while Williams drew 18,000 fewer votes than he had two years previous.
Most of Olivers gains came from winning 15,500 more votes in Travis County, even as Williams total declined by 6,500 votes.
But, beyond Travis County, there are all or part of 12 other counties in the 25th Congressional District, and, of those, Oliver only prevailed in the small slice of Bell County by Fort Hood, and only has any chance of adding to the win column this November the western portion of Hays County that lies in the district.
The other counties are mostly rural and extraordinarily hard country for Democrats.
https://www.statesman.com/news/20200927/julie-oliver-seeks-narrow-path-to-victory-in-polarized-district