Texas' 3rd Congressional district has been in Republican hands since 1968, but with changing demographics, Democrats see opportunity.
This fall, U.S. Rep. Van Taylor (R-Plano) is looking for a second term against Democratic challenger Lulu Seikaly, a labor and employment attorney
Taylor cited his office’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the accomplishments from his first term.
“My shop, my group, my team has been working round the clock helping individuals, helping businesses, helping people, with unemployment checks, helping families who got trapped in other countries, with the lockdown get back home,” Taylor said.
Taylor said he has a 100% meeting policy with constituents, so if a constituent requests a meeting, they get it.
Taylor is a Marine veteran, who served as a state senator before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He said one of his priorities for his second term would be to make Congress more functional.
"It stands in stark contrast to the Texas legislature," he said. "So, the Texas legislature, they have passed every budget on time, since 1963. I have never voted on a budget in Congress."
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The last Democrat to hold the seat was Joe Pool in 1967-68.
James Collins, the great-uncle of Genevieve Collins who is running as a Republican in Texas' 32nd Congressional district, was elected to the district in 1968. The GOP has held the seat ever since.
But Democrats see opportunity with changing demographics and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted the 3rd district. Seikaly, a labor attorney, hopes to be the one to flip it.
“My parents are immigrants. They fled civil war in Lebanon. They have been in North Texas for over 30 years. My dad is a pediatric specialist here. My mom was a nurse for a long period of time, and my story resonates with a lot of people in Collin County," Seikaly said. "There’s a lot of families that have stories that are similar to my story."
Seikaly said, if elected, she would focus on issues that affect people in the immediate future.
“I am going to advocate for things that people are talking about, like access to affordable health care. Like getting COVID relief on time, not playing politics with any issue, actually listening to the facts and science,” she said.
Christopher Claytor is running on the Libertarian ticket. According to his Facebook page, he supports getting government out of the way.
