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Texas District 23: Play It Again: A Nationalized Election in Texas’s Swingin’est District

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The Roads to Congress 2016

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Abstract

The 2016 rematch between incumbent Will Hurd (R) and Pete Gallego (D) ended almost exactly as the 2014 had: with a razor thin victory for Hurd. Hurd’s re-election broke a pattern of alternating partisan representation in Texas District 23 that reached back nearly a decade, and surprised observers who thought Gallego would ride Democratic coattails to victory. The fact that Hillary Clinton won the district comfortably demonstrates that even in highly nationalized contests, congressional campaigns can matter in marginal districts. Gallego’s fixation on demoralizing the opposition by tying Hurd to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump proved an ineffective method for broadening his base or mobilizing his supporters, which allowed Hurd to overcome the partisan odds.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Walter Clark Wilson

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  1. Walter Clark Wilson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Political Science, Barry University, Miami, FL, USA

    Sean D. Foreman

  2. Public Administration, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA, USA

    Marcia L. Godwin

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Wilson, W.C. (2018). Texas District 23: Play It Again: A Nationalized Election in Texas’s Swingin’est District . In: Foreman, S., Godwin, M. (eds) The Roads to Congress 2016. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58094-4_12

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