On visit to Houston, Pelosi avoids hot congressional races
Democrat says she’s used to Republicans making her an issue
The battle for Houston’s 7th Congressional District is unquestionably one of the hottest races in the nation. But when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent more than six hours in Houston on Wednesday, she had zero public appearances with Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, the Houston attorney Democrats are counting on to defeat Republican U.S. Rep. John Culberson.
Instead, Pelosi spent almost all of her time with two Democrats who are overwhelming favorites to win in November. Pelosi attended a Moms Summit with U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, then later appeared with Democrat Sylvia Garcia, who is seeking to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Gene Green in Congress. Jackson Lee faces Republican Ava Pate for re-election; Garcia faces Republican Phillip Aronoff. Both districts were drawn to favor Democrats.
Pelosi had no public events with Fletcher or Democrat Todd Litton, who is running in the 2nd Congressional District in northern and northeastern Harris County, but she cited them as two of the best chances Democrats have of picking up Republican-held seats around Houston in the November elections.
Republican congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw, who is running against Litton, said he has no worries about Pelosi coming in to help his opponent, to whom she contributed $7,000 this year. Litton previously picked up campaign donations from Pelosi, the California Democrat who hopes to become speaker again in 2019 if Democrats win back control of the U.S. House. Crenshaw said instead of being worried about Pelosi’s influence, he’s hoping it will fire up his supporters.
“Litton really can’t deny his close ties to Nancy Pelosi,” said Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who is hoping to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Atascocita. “That sort of far-left agenda isn’t what voters are looking for, and it will end up driving more Republicans to the polls.”
While in Houston, Pelosi said she is accustomed to Republicans trying to make her an issue in campaigns. She said time and again it’s proved to be an ineffective strategy.
“It’s because they have nothing to say,” Pelosi said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Fletcher acknowledge there were no public events with Pelosi. Fletcher spokeswoman Emily Druckman said in an email, “We’re focused on the local issues that we hear from voters here in Houston.”