State Sen. Royce West launches U.S. Senate campaign against John Cornyn

The list of Democratic candidates lining up to challenge three-term U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, grew even longer Monday, as state Sen. Royce West of Dallas jumped into the fray.

"I'm battle-tested. You've seen me in battle," said West at a campaign launch event in Dallas. "What we're about to do is reclaim Lyndon Baines Johnson's senate seat for a Democrat."

The Dallas attorney, who has served in the Texas Senate since 1992, leaned on the Lyndon B. Johnson motif throughout his launch speech, emphasizing a commitment to "sit down with people across the aisle," a nod to the former president who was known for his ability to persuade politicians of both parties. West covered a wide array of topics, defending the Affordable Care Act and telling Republicans not to "throw the baby out with the bath water just because of its father," and calling for a $15 minimum wage and 14 years of free public school education.

"It's going to be a long road," West said. He said he's been "encouraged ... to move forward" by 10 out of 12 Democratic colleagues in the Texas Senate and 47 out of 67 Democratic colleagues in the Texas House. But first he must fight against an ever-growing pool of Democrats hoping to unseat Cornyn.

Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards jumped into the race on Thursday to great fanfare. Her launch video has been seen almost 300,000 times, and her campaign reported hauling in about $200,000 before the close of the first full day of her campaign.

She could prove to be a significant challenge to retired Air Force helicopter pilot MJ Hegar who came within 3 percentage points of unseating U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, in 2018, and raised more than $1 million in April, May and June. Chris Bell, an ex-Houston congressman, and at least three other Democrats who have not yet gained much traction, have also tossed their hats into the ring.

Cornyn, a political force to be reckoned with in Texas who has never lost an election in his more than 30 years of public service, will not be easy to beat in 2020, though Democrats face perhaps their best odds at unseating him in years.

The Washington publication Roll Call earlier this month downgraded its rating of Cornyn's seat from "solid Republican" to "likely Republican," and flashbacks to Democrat Beto O'Rourke's narrow loss to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2018 linger.

Cornyn was quick to blast West, launching a website Monday morning, two hours before West's news conference, that asked "Who is Royce West?" and answered "A politician with an ultra-liberal record."

The website depicted West next to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who launched her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a freshman from Hays County, Monday, and said, "West stood with Wendy Davis to support extreme late-term abortion."

At the campaign launch, West emphasized his support of the former state senator from Fort Worth who garnered national attention in 2013 after her filibuster of an anti-abortion bill: "I was right there with her, trying to protect women's rights in this state."

On his website, Cornyn also labeled West as a "liberal politician who votes against our Second Amendment rights" and said West "fought against Gov. Abbott's property tax relief."

West, who was joined onstage by former Mayor Ron Kirk of Dallas and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, struck back against Cornyn, criticizing him for not doing more to ensure equal access to voting in Texas.

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