Livingston writes in the Texas Tribune that there are “Four Reasons Why Texas Matters to Hillary Clinton.”
1. Money
“Money, money, money. Texas is a wealth of wealth. There are more millionaires and billionaires to go around and, on the Democratic side, you wouldn’t expect it because Texas is known for its Republican donors but there are definitely some people who are interested in the Democratic Party who have a lot of money and have a lot of connections and can convince the people who do have money to give it to the Clintons and the Democratic Party.”
2. Texas Democrats Stand to Gain from Her Run
“There is hope within the Democratic Party that (Bill Clinton’s) influence and hers as well will help build things from the bottom up and that down ballot candidates might have a chance at getting elected and that could kind of rise the ships in these red states.”
3. Hispanic Turnout
“The Clintons are extremely popular among Hispanics. She beat Barack Obama 2-1 in the 2008 primary among Hispanics. The two districts I’m watching in the State of Texas are the 23rd (former Democratic U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego in Southwest Texas) and the 27th which is (Republican U.S. Rep.) Blake Farenthold’s district. That is a very Republican seat. I don’t see Democrats taking it but he’s had some legal troubles and that has about 44 percent Hispanic and so anything can kind of help if only to cause problem for Republicans.”
4. The Castro Brothers
“I had Democrat after Democrat in Texas just put this forward and they really want this to happen. And one fundraiser in Dallas said he actually thought it could put the state in play – kind of evoking Kennedy picking Johnson in 1960.”