US
So Many Democrats Want To Turn Texas Blue That They Can’t Find Enough Campaign Staffers
No featured image available
Democratic candidates in Texas are having a difficult time finding experienced staffers to help run their campaigns.
Propelled in part by Democrats’ contempt for President Donald Trump, the party has more candidates vying for political offices across the state than ever before. For the first time in decades, every congressional district in Texas has a Democratic contender.
The influx of people running for political office has led to a scarcity of qualified staff, reported The Texas Tribune. The shortage in operatives in Texas has been an issue for Democrats since the 1990s when Republicans overtook virtually all of the statewide offices.
“It’s a problem that has been around for a while,” Colin Strother, a Texas-based Democratic strategist, told The Tribune. “It’s just more pronounced this cycle because we have more competitive Democratic races than we have had in a generation.”
As the Texas GOP continued to win elections over the past decades, it became harder for Democratic staffers to gain employment between campaigns, forcing many of them to switch careers or leave the state.
“Finding [Democratic staffers] a gig after a campaign is not always easy. Back in the day when we had a bunch of statewide offices, those folks could flow into jobs over there,” said Jeff Crosby, a Democratic consultant.
“One of the most shocking situations that I had not expected was how difficult it would be to find qualified campaign staff,” said Democratic congressional candidate Jana Lynne Sanchez to The Tribune. “If you have no one applying for the jobs, you’re begging people to apply. I had to stretch my imagination to believe that people could do the job that I was hiring them to do.”
Local Democratic campaigns also have difficulty attracting full-time staffers due to their modest budgets, prompting many to be employed on a volunteer basis, according to The Tribune.
Send tips to [email protected]
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].