Two Congressional races hang in the balance: Texans to the rescue!

Austin has become an extension of the last major battleground of the 2016 election year.

Three federal runoff races remain -- all to be decided by our neighbors over in Louisiana this Saturday, Dec. 10.

Here's what happened:
On election night, Nov. 8, the number of Republicans in the U.S. House decreased to 239 seats (versus 192 Democrats and two "independents" who usually caucus with the Dems). Far from a two-thirds supermajority (that would be 290 votes) the Republicans are ahead by a fairly comfortable margin (it takes 218 for a simple majority), but every vote counts on anticipated tightrope issues such as repealing Obamacare and Supreme Court confirmations.

One of the remaining Louisiana Congressional races, LA-3, features two Republicans in a runoff (read more about Louisiana's "jungle primary" here). The other is the 4th Congressional District race that has been narrowed from eight candidates to two. Republican Mike Johnson faces Democrat Marshall Jones. The district spans 15 parishes (that's Cajun for "counties"). A win in LA-4 means two additional Republicans in the House.

But things are much more tense concerning the fate of the upper chamber. The U.S. Senate currently hangs by one Republican vote in the 100-seat chamber, which makes the matchup between Republican State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell, a member of the state's Public Service Commission, a major prize-fight. A win here means the Republicans would have a simple majority plus 2, which would make it all the more difficult for Democrats to find a single, tractable Republican to peel off.

How Texans could play a key role: Austin is seat to a group known as the Mighty Texas Strike Force (a wing of the Mighty American Strike Force). And as it happens, National Chairman Rick Potter lives here, and is personally overseeing a phone bank at the Travis County GOP Headquarters in the last two days of the election to help win those two remaining seats. See below if you're interested in helping.

Texas volunteers are known for making a difference in battles as well as elections. The Mighty Texas Strike Force was formed when George W. Bush was running for President as a means to spread the strength of heavy Republican states to key battleground states and counties. Considering how close the 2000 presidential race was, it stands to reason that the Texans made all the difference.

Will the Texans again stem the tide this Saturday?  (Also: Don't forget the Travis County runoff races! We'll have more on that in a future blog post.)

CALLING FROM HOME:

• Download the "i360 Call" app on your smart phone via Google Play or iTunes. Contact Rick Scott for the login and password (512-694-5039 or info@mightyamericanstrikeforce.org).
• There is a script available. Just follow the prompts and hit "Take Call." It's that easy!
• If you have earplugs for your phone or computer, it may be a good idea to use them.
• If you prefer to use a conventional telephone, you may pull up the i360 website on any computer with access to the Internet via www.callingfromhome.com

CALLING FROM THE PHONE BANK:

• Simply show up! 
• Quick training on how to use the i360 app will be provided. 
• The phone bank will be near Travis GOP HQ in the Echelon Office Building, 9420 Research Blvd., Austin, Texas, 78759, in Suite 212 across from the elevators. If the building is locked after hours, look for a sign on the door with a cell phone number on it to call for entry.
• Snacks will be provided!

HOURS: 

THURSDAY NIGHT (Dec. 8) -- 6-9 p.m.
FRIDAY NIGHT (Dec. 9) -- 6-9 p.m.
SATURDAY (Dec. 10) -- 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.


Graphics available for social media sharing:

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Image credit: Map provided by Twitter account @270ToWin. Gray states are those where the party balance did not shift. Red and blue are obvious, and yellow means still in runoff mode.