Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, will play a key role in Republican election efforts in 2024. As "victory chair," she will help coordinate Republican campaigns across the state on fundraising, messaging, resources, and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Chair of the Republican Party of Texas, Collin County's Abraham George, made the announcement Monday morning. George said Van Duyne "has been a great conservative from city council all the way to D.C."
"It's about getting your voters out. It's about making sure they're excited about the race and understand what's at stake," said Van Duyne.
In an interview, Van Duyne told NBC 5 that besides the presidential race, a lot of attention will go to several key battleground congressional districts in the Rio Grande Valley. A handful of Texas House districts may also hold the keys to Gov. Greg Abbott's school choice voucher efforts next year.
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In North Texas, Republicans are trying to knock Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, out of office and defend Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson, and Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park.
Then there's the big Senate race between incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. Polls have shown the race in the mid-single digits, with Allred coming within Cruz's margin of error, an abnormally tight race for Texas.
Voters may see an unusually close race this cycle. In 2020, President Trump only won Texas by roughly 5.5%. The last time Sen. Cruz was on the ballot, he won by roughly 2.6%. There's been much talk about new energy behind Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket now that President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Van Duyne said the media was recreating Harris as the "second coming" and recognized it as a tough race.
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"I don't think you can take this for granted," said Van Duyne. "This is going to be an all-hands-on-deck fight."
Over the weekend, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, announced they are supporting Vice President Harris (Cheney even added Rep. Allred), claiming former President Trump was a threat to democracy. Several criminal court proceedings are ongoing over Trump's role in trying to prevent the transition to now-President Biden, including his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
George said defections like Cheney were not average Republicans, saying they were "less than one-hundredth of one percent" of GOP voters. He and Van Duyne also noted an overall realignment in politics with former Democrats Texas Rep. Shawn Thierry, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard coming over to the Republican side.
"You may have some people who personally don't like Trump, that's fine. I think he said it best, 'You don't have to like me to vote for me.' I am not voting for a T-ball captain here. I am voting for someone who will fight for us on a national stage," said Van Duyne.
She said people are "voting with their feet," moving to Texas away from California and New York because of the cheaper cost of living and a better business environment. She argued that Republican policies and the four years under Trump led to that situation.
Van Duyne is yet another North Texas member of Congress who will play a prominent role this election year. Dallas Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett was tapped as a co-chair of the Harris campaign.
