House Democrats reserve airtime for voters of color in Texas

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is making reservations on TV advertising slots in two districts near Houston, targeting Latino voters in the region.

The DCCC is also making reservations targeting Black voters in Omaha, Cincinnati and Charleston, S.C., and targeting Vietnamese-American voters near Los Angeles.

The reservations are part of a DCCC strategy to maintain maximum flexibility in the final stretch of the campaign, targeting voters depending on conditions on the ground.

The purchases, part of a $9.9 million ad buy across 12 districts, will reserve slots on Black News Channel, VietFace TV, Univision and Telemundo, among others.

The ad reservations are part of the DCCC’s independent expenditure program, meaning the ads cannot be coordinated with local campaigns.

The two Texas districts are potential swing districts. One is now held by Republicans, the other by Democrats.

The seventh district, represented by Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, is rated by the Cook Political Report as R+7, but is “lean Democratic” for the 2020 election.

Fletcher’s challenger is Wesley Hunt (R), an Army veteran and real estate businessman.

The 22nd, an open seat currently represented by retiring Republican Rep. Pete Olson, is an R+10 rated as a toss-up.

Former foreign service officer Sri Preston Kulkarni (D) is matching up against Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nells (R) in the 22nd.

Both are majority-minority districts, with substantial Hispanic, Black and Asian populations.