Democrat Candace Valenzuela, a 34-year-old Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board member, is launching a campaign Monday against Texas GOP Rep. Kenny Marchant, one of the party’s top targets in 2020.
She will face an uphill battle for her party’s nomination in Texas’ 24th district, where several high-profile Democrats are eyeing the race. The suburban north Texas seat has long been a conservative stronghold, but the region’s rapidly changing demographics have recently made it more competitive.
Valenzuela, whose mother is Mexican-American and father is African-American, hopes to capitalize on that in her bid against Marchant, a seven-term congressman who narrowly beat a poorly funded opponent in 2018.
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Valenzuela brings a unique background to the campaign. She grew up in El Paso, where she was homeless at age three.
After her mother left the military, the family lost their home and bounced between staying with grandparents, a Mormon family that took them in and a homeless shelter. Valenzuela recalls sleeping in a bed made out of a kiddy pool outside of a convenience store for several days while they had no place to stay.
“Growing up I dealt with homelessness, with food insecurity, with trouble paying for bills,” said Valenzuela. She credited public school education, food stamps and housing assistance for helping her achieve a full-ride scholarship to Claremont McKenna College in California.
“I’m running for Congress because the opportunities there were there for me to succeed don’t seem like they’re there any more, or they’re under threat,” she added.
Operatives at the Democrats’ House campaign arm and EMILY’s List, a group that backs women who support abortion rights, say they’re still talking to a number of other more well-known candidates who are also considering the race.The general election race would not be quixotic: Marchant won by just three points in 2018.
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