HOUSTON – Several Democratic presidential candidates are opening new campaign offices in Houston this week ahead of the March 3 primary in Texas and other states on Super Tuesday.
Senator Bernie Sanders, former Mayor of South Bend Pete Buttigieg, Senator Elizabeth Warren, California businessman Tom Steyer and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, all are expanding their footprint in the Lone Star State, as part of the Democratic goal to turn Texas turn blue in 2020.
Texas will be among 14 states that will participate in Super Tuesday, and voters will decide who will represent their party in the November 2020 presidential election.
Bernie Sanders
Sanders is opening of a new field office at 608 South Sgt. Garcia Drive Thursday, according to the campaign. The campaign is also opening new offices in Austin, San Antonio and McAllen, Texas.
Sanders won the New Hampshire Democratic primary last week and the popular vote in the Iowa caucus.
Pete Buttigieg
After strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Buttigieg is sending two dozen staffers to the Lone Star State, according to the Texas Tribune.
The staffers will start helping volunteers already on the ground on Monday, the campaign said. The campaign will target groups like Students for Pete and Veterans & Military Community for Pete.
Buttigieg will hold events throughout the state in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston this weekend.
Elizabeth Warren
With a third-place finish in Iowa and fourth place in New Hampshire, Warren is looking to appeal to Latino voters, according to NBC.
The senator launched a five-city tour last week starting in San Antonio, the hometown of former presidential candidate Julián Castro. Castro joined as a surrogate for the Warren campaign and his mother, Rosie Castro, a Civil Rights activist, was a headliner at the San Antonio event.
The Warren campaign is slated to end the tour in Houston Friday.
Warren is a graduate of the University of Houston.
Mike Bloomberg
Bloomberg is pushing to have at least 30 statewide offices, pressing forward on the plan to expand the campaign footprint into the largest operation of any Democratic presidential candidate in Texas, according to the Texas Tribune.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner endorsed the billionaire politician Bloomberg Thursday.
According to the Texas Tribune, Turner said Bloomberg’s apology for the controversial “stop and frisk” policy was key to the endorsement.
Bloomberg and Turner held an event Thursday in Houston to officially launch “Mike for Black America.” The 2020 initiative seeks to engage Black Americans on key issues important to the Black community and organize voters to defeat President Donald Trump and elect Bloomberg in November, the campaign said in a release.
Tom Steyer
Steyer is launching his first campaign office in Houston. The city becomes the home base of Steyer’s Texas operation.
Steyer’s Texas political director Omar El-Halwagi said the campaign is opening more offices and will make a statewide push ahead of the March 3 primary.