AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The last time a Democrat won statewide office in Texas, Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson were newlyweds and “Friends” would soon make “The Rachel” haircut a thing.
If you didn’t understand the pop culture references, you couldn’t just Google up an explanation in 1994; it would be four more years before the technology giant’s founding.
After two decades of statewide election losses, Democrats seem unlikely to end Texas Republicans’ longest-in-the nation winning streak come November. The only real threat looks to be incumbent Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Lawrence Meyers, who switched parties to become a Democrat in 2013 and now faces a tough re-election race.
Even Meyers acknowledges he’s likely to lose: “When I first got into this, I wasn’t real hopeful as to my chances,” he said of switching parties. “But now, there is a possibility, at least.”
Meyers is the longest-serving judge on Texas’ highest criminal court – ironically becoming the first Republican elected to it in 1992. Meyers, who left the GOP because he was wary of the tea party’s growing influence, says becoming a Democrat “absolutely” jeopardized his re-election in Texas, where Republicans control the other 28 statewide offices.