How Royce West Plans To Win The Texas Senate Seat Away From The GOP

Madison J. Gray

BET

Mar 25, 2020

While local politicians in the state of Texas are making their best efforts trying to figure out how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, there’s still the business of an impending state election to manage.

State senator Royce West is campaigning to unseat U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the upcoming November election, removing the Republican who has been in the seat since 2002. While West has already won out against a large group of other contenders in the Democratic primary race, he must still go up against former Air Force officer MJ Hegar, who has never held political office, in a runoff election.

But the 67-year old, Dallas lawmaker, who has been a part of the state legislature since 1993 and is now the state senate’s President Pro Tempore (the senator who presides over the US Senate in the absence of the vice president), says that he will win by building a multicultural grassroots coalition in spite of Hegar having deeper pockets. Hegar has raised more than $3.7 million, compared to West’s $1.1 million, according to OpenSecrets.org.

While Hegar has more cash, West has the backing of a large part of the Texas African American and Latino political establishment including Rep. Al Green, Eddie Bernice Johnson, his predecessor in his senate position, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, and even celebs like Steve Harvey, Tom Joyner and Dallas Cowboys legend, Emmitt Smith.

West spoke with BET.com about what it’s going to take for him to win, the level of satisfaction with his state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the potential effect it will have on his chances of being successful on election day.

Royce West montage