Progressive favorite Casar wins primary for redrawn Texas district

Greg Casar, progressive groups’ favored candidate in a Democratic Texas House primary, emerged victorious Tuesday, handing the party’s left flank a high-profile win. 

Casar, an Austin City Council member, beat state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez in the primary for the 35th Congressional District, a newly created, deep-blue House seat that includes parts of Austin and stretches to San Antonio.

He is expected to coast to victory in November. 

Both candidates cast themselves as progressives, but Rodriguez ran with the support of the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, a group that backs moderate candidates.

While on the city council, Casar advocated for allowing tent encampments for the homeless population and cutting funding to Austin police.

Casar’s win is a badly needed victory for the progressive flank of the Democratic Party. Liberals were downtrodden after recent high-profile losses, including failing to get a more progressive candidate nominated for president in 2020 and for the House in a Cleveland-area House race last year.