Casar far outpaced his three Democratic opponents, the next closest being state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) who pulled in 15.6 percent and was only 22 votes ahead of San Antonio City Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran.
The former Austin official spent half a million dollars, with Rodriguez next closest at nearly $400,000 spent.
The district which stretches from Travis County down to Bexar County was vacated by current Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35) who decided to run in the new 37th Congressional District.
Casar had the backing of multiple national-profile progressives, supported by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in addition to Ocasio-Cortez.
The New York congresswoman stumped in Texas for Casar, during which she made a bold declaration at a campaign rally that made waves across the state.
“Texas turning blue is inevitable and when it does, we’re going to make sure we unionize the hell out of this state!” she said.
Casar will instantly be among the most progressive representatives in the nation’s capital. His rise through Austin politics began with a stint at the Workers Defense Project, a progressive workers center and activist organization.
During his time on the Austin City Council, Casar led the efforts to rescind the public camping restrictions, leading to homeless encampments sprouting up on the city’s boulevards and creek beds, and the $150 million budget cut and redirection of the Austin Police Department.
Casar took a gamble running for the office, risking a loss and finding himself out of political office for the first time in years. But it paid off in an overwhelming victory for a solidly blue congressional seat.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
