Greg Abbott are a long shot at best, in a state where Democrats have not won a statewide race in two decades - and where conservatives still rail against gay men like Payne.īut in a year when the Republican party if engaged in a civil war between the tea-party conservatives in control and moderates who think they have gone way too far right for most Texans, Payne and his supporters insist a November surprise is possible. And he sees a lot of disenchanted, disenfranchised Texans who might be attracted to an outsider promising big change.Įven so, Payne's chances of an upset against popular Republican incumbent Gov. He also sees the potential to rally the sizable LGBT community in Texas to mobilize like never before in the wake of continued efforts to pass a bathroom bill. He sees a lot of anti-Donald Trump backlash. He sees a lot of anti-incumbent sentiment among Texans fed up with what they see as dysfunction in Austin. He's the first Democrat to officially announce for a spring primary expected to include at least three candidates. And what Payne sees before him is the potential for a Democratic outsider to finally begin turning the tide against Republicans in Texas politics.
