Texas Progressive Greg Casar Wins Contentious House Primary

The Squad is about to get a new member.
Greg Casar receives the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at a rally in San Antonio on Feb. 12.
Greg Casar receives the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at a rally in San Antonio on Feb. 12.
Eric Gay/Associated Press

In a major win for the activist left, progressive firebrand Greg Casar, an Austin city councilman, won the Democratic nomination for Texas’ 35th Congressional District on Tuesday.

By obtaining an outright majority, Casar defeated his more moderate primary opponents, Texas state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez and former San Antonio City Councilwoman Rebecca Viagrán, in one fell swoop. The result saves him the hassle of a May runoff against a second-place finisher, which would have been necessary if he came in first place but lacked a majority.

In Texas’ heavily Democratic 35th, which stretches from East Austin to downtown San Antonio, Casar’s primary victory all but assures him a seat in Congress next January.

Casar, a former advocate for immigrant day laborers, is expected to become the newest member of the ultraliberal “Squad,” which takes a more contentious approach to party leadership than the larger Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which it is a part.

“As a progressive organizer or supporter of Casar, one would be rightfully proud of the victor,” said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

Casar’s win is that much more notable because of the backlash he drew for pushing cuts to Austin police funding and supporting passage of a local law decriminalizing outdoor camping, which ended up sparking an explosion of homeless encampments. Austin voters reinstated the camping ban by referendum last May, and the city restored much of the police funding cuts in July after the state government passed a law that would have punished the city financially for reducing law-enforcement spending.

Casar’s ability to withstand attacks from Rodriguez on the homelessness issue in particular speaks to his skill as a politician and organizer. He leveraged endorsements from progressive stars like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to out-fundraise Rodriguez throughout the campaign, publicized an early polling lead that made his win seem inevitable and downplayed unpopular aspects of his record.

Voters in East Austin, which has historically been more working-class and multiracial, described Casar as a fighter for the less fortunate.

“He implemented a lot of things that need to be done, especially in the Hispanic and Black neighborhoods,” said Richard Wills, a retired educator.

Casar also neutralized a potentially deadly onslaught from deep-pocketed pro-Israel groups by, among other things, declaring his opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. The stance cost Casar the endorsement of his long-standing allies at the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, but he stuck to his guns.

Noting both Casar’s unusual talent and the liberal bent of Texas’ 35th District, Henson warned against “overinterpreting” Casar’s win as evidence of the political viability of left-wing policy stances in other parts of the state or country.

“While it’s not meaningless in terms of the rise of the progressive wing of the party in Texas, you still don’t want to underestimate the degree to which this reflects this district,” he said.

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