Wendy Davis thinking of running for Texas congressional seat

Former Texas state Senator and gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis (D) said she is looking “very seriously” at challenging freshman Rep. Chip Roy (R) next year instead of running for Senate.

“I’m looking very seriously at Congressional District 21,” she said on an episode the podcast, “The Rabble: TX Politics for the Unruly Mob” that aired Friday.

{mosads}Texas’s 21st District, which includes parts of Austin and the San Antonio suburbs and has historically favored Republicans, is a top target for Democrats after Democrat Joseph Kopser came within 3 points of flipping the seat last year.

Kopser recently announced he will not be running for office in 2020.

“Joseph Kopser gave a valiant effort [in 2018] — worked so, so hard and came very, very close,” Davis said. “Can we do it for 2020? I want to make sure that we have the ability to win it, and I believe we do. And, I want to believe I’m the right person to help us do that.”

Davis had been seen as a potential challenger to Sen. John Cornyn (R) next year. But Davis, during the podcast, repeated her calls for Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, to run for the Senate.

Castro is reportedly close to making a final decision on whether he will run against Cornyn next year.

“I’ve been very candid about the fact that my dear friend Joaquin Castro is someone that I’d like to see run,” Davis said.

Democrats are currently seeking to recruit a top-notch candidate to take on Cornyn, a three-term senator and former Senate majority whip who closed out 2018 with nearly $5.8 million in the bank.

The party has high hopes of flipping the Senate seat after former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) was less than 2 points short last year of unseating Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had made entreaties to O’Rourke to run for the Senate again next year, but he instead opted for a presidential bid.