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RECORD NUMBER RUN FOR CONGRESS

The rise of Donald Trump, two long-serving congressmen calling it quits and a more aggressive Democratic Party have helped create an unprecedented surge of candidates running for Harris County's nine congressional seats.

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By
Jeremy Wallace
, Houston Chronicle

The rise of Donald Trump, two long-serving congressmen calling it quits and a more aggressive Democratic Party have helped create an unprecedented surge of candidates running for Harris County's nine congressional seats.

A record 61 candidates are on ballots in the congressional districts for the primary election March 6. Two years ago, the county had 29 candidates running for Congress. And on average since 1992, the area has had 25 candidates on the ballot.

The previous record for candidates was 2012 when 36 candidates from the two major parties qualified.

Trump's impact cannot be understated.

"It's been the climate in this post-presidential election," said 37-year-old elevator mechanic and Democrat Augustine Reyes, who is among 11 candidates running for the 29th District that includes much of eastern and southeastern parts of Houston.

Reyes said it wasn't just the frustration with Trump's policies that motivated him to file. He said Trump proved that newcomers who have never held office before could get elected.

"Anybody can do this," Reyes said. "Anybody can be the voice for the people."

Patent-attorney-turned-Republican-congressional-candidate Malcolm Whittaker has a similar take. He said there was a point where unless you had been in politics for years you may not have had a shot, but that all changed when Trump won.

"No matter what your view of Mr. Trump is, he had never run before," said Whittaker, one of 14 candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District that starts in west Houston and wraps around the northern edges of Harris County to take in Humble and Atascocita. "I think the door is open for that."

Increased opportunity

It's not just Trump, says Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor. He said Democrats saw it with Bernie Sanders, who went from also-ran to legitimate White House contender when he ignited a unique base of supporter. Both parties have seen nontraditional candidates shake up their bases, creating chaos heading into this year's elections where no one quite knows who could be next to tap into a winning formula.

"There is so much chaos and fluctuation on both sides," Rottinghaus said. "No one is quite sure exactly who is going to vote and what bases will be primed."

But the surge of candidates is also partly due to increased opportunities, Rottinghaus said. A record eight incumbents - six Republicans and two Democrats - who represent Texas in Congress are not seeking re-election. That is creating rare open seat races that are much more winnable for candidates.

Nationally, incumbents won re-election 97 percent of the time in 2016 and 95 percent of the time in 2014, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. That often persuades candidates with congressional ambitions to wait for an open seat - a wait that can be incredibly long in Houston for both Democrats and Republicans. Houston's nine-member delegation on average has been in Congress for eight two-year terms - or more than 16 years.

Pent-up demand

Two of those incumbents who are not seeking re-election are two of Houston's longest serving. U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, who was first elected to Congress in 1992 when the Houston Oilers were still playing in the Astrodome, announced he was quitting after 13 terms in Congress. And U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Atascocita, who was first elected in 2005, is quitting after seven two-year terms.

Rottinghaus said Houston hasn't seen many open seats in the last decade, which has created pent-up demand for seats when one does come open.

The races to replace Green and Poe have drawn the most candidates. Seven Democrats and four Republicans have filed to run for Green's 29th Congressional District. Meanwhile, Poe's 2nd District has drawn nine Republicans candidates and five Democrats.

But it is not just open seats drawing a bevy of candidates. U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, has drawn one Republican primary opponent and seven Democrats battling to face him in November. It's one of the national Democrats' most targeted seats in the 2018 midterm elections. While Culberson has been in office since 2001, in 2016 more voters in Culberson's district voted for Hillary Clinton for president than Donald Trump - one of just 23 seats in Congress held by Republicans that Clinton actually won.

Culberson's 7th Congressional District is mostly a west Houston district that runs west to the Fort Bend County line.

Energized opposition

Democrats say part of the surge of candidates in the region is due to their emphasis to beef up their candidate recruiting. Since 1992, the Democrats have had on average 42 candidates sign up to run for congressional offices statewide and on average 10 in Harris County. But this year, Democrats had 111 candidates file statewide to run for Congress. In Harris County, a record 37 Democrats candidates have filed to run.

The chairman of the Texas Democratic Party Gilberto Hinojosa said Democrats and progressives are more energized than ever to fight back against policies coming out of Austin and Washington, D.C.

"A blue wave is rising in the Lone Star State," Hinojosa said. "Texas Democrats are marching, organizing, and stepping up to serve."

But Republicans are also seeing a surge in congressional candidates in the region, thanks to the open seats in Congress. Twenty-four Republicans on are on GOP primary ballots in Harris County this spring - more total candidates than the GOP has seen in the past 26 years in the region.

While the primary election is officially on March 6, early voting in the race starts Feb. 20. The last day to register to vote for the elections is Feb. 5.

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