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Topline
The Texas Democratic Party announced on Tuesday plans to train dozens of new candidates for office in response to what it described as “failed Republican leadership” during last month’s deadly winter storm.
Gilberto Hinojosa, the chair of Texas’ Democratic Party.
Key Facts
First reported by The Hill, Texas Democrats said they have formed a partnership with the National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC), an organization whose training sessions have been attended by a number of winning Texas candidates in the past, including Austin City Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes and Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra.
“In the wake of the deadliest winter storm in decades due solely to failed Republican leadership in the state of Texas, the Texas Democratic Party and the National Democratic Training Committee know that winning elections has never been more crucial than it is right now,” said Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa in a statement.
The party said it has already signed up more than 60 candidates to run for statewide or municipal office, and will be offering training sessions through the NDTC to help prepare candidates for the process.
Crucial Quote
“We created an innovative candidate training program to ensure that our candidates have the skills and resources necessary to win up and down the ballot in November,” said Hinojosa.
Key Background
The state’s leadership has faced widespread criticism over its handling of the storm. Millions of Texas residents were forced to go without power for multiple days after extreme weather damaged and overwhelmed the state’s electric grid, leading to horrifying stories of desperate residents freezing to death or dying from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Though officials are still figuring out the full death toll, the Texas storm has been linked to over 50 deaths so far. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) drew backlash for falsely attempting to blame the widespread outages on failures of renewable energy sources. Meanwhile Sen. Ted Cruz (R) was criticized for attempting to go on a family vacation to Cancun, Mexico while millions remained without power in his state.
Further Reading
“Texas Gov. Abbott Faces Criticism As Millions Of Texans Go Without Power” (Forbes)
“Ted Cruz Mocks AOC’s Jan. 6 Experience, Laughs Off Cancún Trip In CPAC Speech” (Forbes)
“Ted Cruz Faces Heat From Texas Voters After Cancún Getaway” (Morning Consult)
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