Dems fear "vicious" primary
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House Democrats are looking on in agony as Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) appear destined to duke it out for a single congressional district.
- "They are going to be vicious," one senior House Democrat told Axios, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts on a sensitive internal battle.
Why it matters: It would pit a 36-year-old rising progressive star against a well-liked, 78-year-old stalwart of the left at a time when age is already one of Democrats' biggest headaches.
- "Most of us are TRYING to stay out," a senior House progressive wrote in a text to Axios.
Zoom in: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is unlikely to pick sides in this member vs. member race, sources told Axios.
- A Democratic leadership aide said there's a zero percent chance Jeffries weighs in.
State of play: Casar and Doggett would share a single Austin-based district under the new congressional map that Republican state legislators are proposing.
- Doggett, who has been repeatedly targeted by Republicans in redistricting during his more than 30 years in Congress, currently represents much of Austin and its suburbs.
- Casar, a former Austin city councilman first elected to Congress in 2022, represents parts of southern and eastern Austin in a district that snakes down to San Antonio.
- Under the new map, the Austin portions of Casar's district would be merged with Doggett's.
Both lawmakers are angling to run in the new 37th district, which would be heavily Democratic and centered in Austin.
- Doggett wrote Sunday that "over 2/3 of my current constituents will remain in the Trump configured CD37" and that his "seniority is an asset, not a liability."
- He urged Casar to "not abandon his reconfigured CD35, in which he is the only incumbent," noting it would be majority Hispanic and arguing that Casar could "use his organizing skills and populist message to win over the disaffected, particularly disaffected Hispanic voters."
- Casar's chief of staff Stephanie Trinh wrote yesterday that Doggett sent out his email "without discussing it with Greg or his team" and said it contained "incorrect information."
The bottom line: Casar is ruling out a run in the new 35th district, a San Antonio-area seat that voted for Trump by 10 percentage points and contains just a tenth of his current constituency.
ā Andrew Solender
