Joe Biden to Democrats: Texas is Important

Using his back porch in Delaware as a makeshift TV studio, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke during the final day of the Texas Democratic Party state convention, which was held entirely online due to the pandemic. 

The former vice president said the plan for Democrats in November is to do more than beat President Donald Trump, including turning Texas blue.

“We have to keep the House of Representatives. We have to win over the United States Senate. We have to flip the Texas House,” he said.

He views Texas as having a big role to play in all of it.

“Texas is an important battleground state for our campaign in 2020. I think we have a real chance to turn the state blue because of the work all of you have done.”  

The weeklong state party convention also included speeches by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro and his brother U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.  

As those who came before him had done, Biden referenced the lives lost to COVID-19, the millions out of work and the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

“It’s time for us to take a hard look at the uncomfortable truth. It’s time for us to face the deep open wound of systemic racism in the nation.” he said. “Nothing about this is going to be easy or comfortable if we simply allow this wound to scab over once more without treating the underlying injury, we’ll never truly heal.” 

Biden’s appearance before the state convention came on the heels of two new polls showing him in a tight race with Trump in Texas.

One poll put Biden one percentage point behind Trump. The other had them in a virtual tie. 

“It’s important that we all turn out to vote, from Houston to El Paso and everywhere in between. We have to do everything we can to make sure Democrats on the ballot across Texas are successful in November. Not just the top of the ticket,” he said. 

The Republican Party of Texas state convention will be held next month in Houston.