She experienced homelessness at a young age. She worked several odd jobs throughout high school and college to make ends meet. A high school car accident left her with a chronic health condition.
Now she鈥檚 running for Congress hoping to flip a red seat blue, and Candace Valenzuela thinks her story as a political outsider who overcame hardships will win over voters.
鈥淢y story does resonate,鈥� Valenzuela said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. 鈥淎s soon as my constituents hear my story, it鈥檚 incredibly easy for them to relate.鈥�
Seemingly overnight, Valenzuela has become a new face of Democrats鈥� optimism for 2020. Six months ago, she was an underdog in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 24, a mostly suburban North Texas district that straddles parts of Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Now, she鈥檚 being touted as a potential future star 鈥� someone who could win a seat long held by U.S. Rep. , a retiring Tea Party Republican, and become the first Black Latina elected to Congress.
That Valenzuela is considered a viable candidate is another sign of the changes in Texas politics that have spurred a wave of Democratic optimism. Until recently, suburban areas like had been viewed as weak spots for the Texas Democratic Party. Now those sites are key to Democrats鈥� big plans for Texas in 2020. All 10 of the congressional districts Democrats hope to flip in the state are at least partially suburban 鈥� and the voters in suburban neighborhoods could decide whether the party can truly compete for the state鈥檚 Electoral College votes and win control of the Texas House.
鈥淲e need to make our Texas delegation look more like the Texans they鈥檙e designed to serve,鈥� Valenzuela said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing record participation and engagement, and folks looking at what they want to see out of their representatives. If we see a win here, it鈥檒l be the people stepping up and saying we want someone from our community who鈥檚 going to work for the community.鈥�
As recently as four years ago, Valenzuela鈥檚 bid would have seemed hopeless. But like many districts in Democrats鈥� sights, CD-24 has grown more racially and economically diverse. And Republicans under President Donald Trump have lost ground on college-educated women, a key demographic in the district.
To her fans in the Democratic Party, Valenzuela represents an exciting chance to take advantage of those trends and make Congress look more like the country as a whole. She would also bring to Congress a socioeconomic perspective not often reflected among the . And as a young woman of color, she represents three cornerstones of the party鈥檚 electoral coalition.
Her opponent, meanwhile, is a force in local politics: former Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne, a Republican who for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Van Duyne, who declined a phone interview for this story, is a firebrand conservative close to the Tea Party and known for her vehement calls to curb illegal immigration, reduce government spending and fight what she perceived as the threat of Shariah law in the region. Van Duyne is also one of four women across the nation who have the 鈥渃onservative squad鈥� to combat socialism 鈥� a response to the quartet of progressive women in the U.S. House known by a similar moniker.
鈥淣orth Texas needs Beth Van Duyne working for us in Washington,鈥� said Dallas County Commissioner J.J. Koch, who has endorsed Van Duyne. 鈥淪he鈥檚 already proven she can stop government corruption and 鈥榞ood ole boy鈥� politics that wastes millions of taxpayer dollars.鈥�
The daughter of a Mexican American mother and a Black father, Valenzuela hopes to run on relatability, casting herself as more in touch with low- and middle-income voters than her well-funded Republican opposition. In a campaign video featured on her website, she refrains from focusing on her political platform while emphasizing her education experience and how her upbringing and backstory shaped who she is today. She has also noted that Marchant, the outgoing incumbent in the district, 鈥渉as been a politician since before I was homeless.鈥�
鈥淐andace represents the future, which is where all people, regardless of color and economic background, have a seat at the table,鈥� said state Rep. , D-Carrollton, who backed Valenzuela in the primary. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why Republicans are so threatened because she doesn鈥檛 fit their mold; she fits the mold of the voters.鈥�
How she fares will say a lot about how quickly politics in Texas are changing.
A newly competitive district
Valenzuela says she鈥檚 no stranger to hardship. When she was around 3 years old and her mom was fleeing what her campaign has described as an abusive situation, they temporarily lived in a kiddie pool outside of an El Paso gas station. The back injury Valenzuela suffered after her high school car accident left her in medical debt.
She worked odd jobs, including working with kids in a group home, while majoring in government at California鈥檚 Claremont McKenna College, where she had a scholarship. After graduating, she worked as a college application counselor and an SAT/ACT instructor.
She returned to Texas with her husband in 2014 and first dabbled in politics when she was elected to the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board in 2017. Valenzuela said she always hoped to put her government degree to good use, but the idea of seeking higher office as a Democrat in suburban North Texas had seemed unattainable.
鈥淚n 2014, a lot of us were under the impression that everything outside of Dallas is red and there鈥檇 be no opportunity to change things,鈥� Valenzuela said. 鈥淚 think a lot of people were politically disengaged.鈥�
Marchant was first elected in 2004, and the district was considered safe for Republicans through 2016, when Marchant won by nearly 17 percentage points. But Valenzuela said she saw an uptick in Democratic interest in the district before 2016 that ramped up after Trump鈥檚 win.
鈥淵ou saw a lot of people starting to attend a lot more of the Democratic clubs in the suburbs, and people have started building out [the movement] since 2016,鈥� Valenzuela said.
In 2018, Marchant eked out a 3-point victory over a vastly underfunded Democratic opponent. This year, Democrats in Texas and nationally are eying the seat as a top-tier pickup opportunity.
The district 鈥� home to one of America鈥檚 most diverse ZIP codes 鈥� is less than 50% white and has burgeoning Hispanic, Black and Asian American populations that Valenzuela thinks can work in her favor.
鈥淲e need a diversity of representation not just in ethnicity and culture, but especially in American life,鈥� Valenzuela said.
Similar trends are playing out across the state and nation, and Republicans are taking notice.
Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are tied at 46% in Texas, according to the from Morning Consult. Democrats here now argue Texas is 鈥� and the 24th now , according to Sabato鈥檚 Crystal Ball, an elections handicapper. (Another prominent handicapper, the Cook Political Report, still rates the race as a toss-up.) If Valenzuela can turn out voters and flip the seat, it could be a sign of a statewide problem for Republicans. And if Texas flips, the White House would almost certainly follow suit.
鈥淭he 2018 midterms lit a fire under some people that had not been politically active,鈥� said Dallas County GOP Chair Rodney Anderson. 鈥淭his district is not far left by any stretch of the imagination 鈥� but from our standpoint, we鈥檙e taking nothing for granted.鈥�
Seeking representation
In November 2018, Valenzuela was having lunch with former staffers for Beto O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 2018 U.S. Senate campaign and people who helped elect her to the local school board when they floated the idea of a woman of color 鈥� Valenzuela specifically 鈥� running in the 24th District. She brought the idea back to her husband, who encouraged her, too.
Ever since, she has made her history as an underdog the central pillar of her campaign. She said she鈥檚 seeking office because she feels that the nation鈥檚 laws are written by people who don鈥檛 look like her or have her upbringing.
鈥淐andace Valenzuela has been reaching out to these diverse and robust communities across North Texas,鈥� said Geoff Simpson, Valenzuela鈥檚 campaign manager.
Van Duyne, meanwhile, has been eyed as a possible successor to Marchant for years. The first female mayor of Irving, she in 2015 after she raised alarm about a group of imams who had set up a conflict resolution center 鈥済rounded in a solid and unshakeable foundation of faith and belief.鈥� The group鈥檚 leaders made clear that their proceedings were conducted in accordance with local, state and federal laws. But Van Duyne to pass a law stating that the U.S. Constitution takes precedence over 鈥渇oreign laws鈥� in family law cases. The law didn鈥檛 pass.
鈥淏eth鈥檚 repeated stance was that foreign laws, especially under Shariah law, put women at a tremendous disadvantage to men, who were allowed to treat women abusively and profoundly unfairly 鈥� unlike what is allowed under American law,鈥� said Donald Rickard, a Van Duyne campaign spokesperson.
The stance brought her plaudits in conservative media and grassroots groups, drawing questions about whether she鈥檇 challenge Marchant in the 2016 primary. She didn鈥檛 run, but in 2017 Trump at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She left the federal agency to run for Congress, and her bid is supported by multiple local police unions, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and former Gov. .
Van Duyne has also emphasized relatability, highlighting that she鈥檚 a single mother and recounting in a campaign ad how she battled with her health insurance company after it denied coverage for surgery for her newborn daughter. But she has also kept some of her signature confrontational style, often blasting national 鈥渟ocialist鈥� Democrats on social media.
Valenzuela, meanwhile, has promoted certain policies, including calling for a public health insurance option and automatic government assistance for any household that makes under $50,000 annually. She has also vowed not to accept corporate political action committee money and promised to promote early childhood education. She has received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., in addition to former President Barack Obama.
She has also been unafraid to bring race, gender and class to the foreground. Her top primary opponent, retired Air Force officer Kim Olson, was considered the favorite for most of the race 鈥� and was the top vote-getter in the first round of voting by an 11-point margin. But when Olson, who is white, in the aftermath of George Floyd鈥檚 death, Valenzuela blasted her for 鈥淸missing] the mark by actively encouraging the destruction of our community rather than amplifying the voices of Black people who are fighting for change
In a statement immediately after Valenzuela鈥檚 win in July, Van Duyne 鈥渟mear[ed] her way to victory over a decorated female veteran.鈥�
鈥淔or the past four months, the Democrats have raced to the bottom in their primary to be the candidate most acceptable to the extremists who run their party,鈥� Van Duyne wrote. 鈥淐andace has actively sought and received support from many extremist elected officials and organizations who believe in dismantling American security, fundamental rights, and crushing North Texans under socialized medicine and higher taxes on middle-class families.鈥�
How those two distinct approaches will play among the changing District 24 electorate remains to be seen.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 a chance for the Democrats to snag the seat, it鈥檚 because 2020 so far is a referendum on Trump,鈥� said Stephanie Martin, an associate professor of political communications at Southern Methodist University. 鈥淭he question is whether she can develop enough name recognition and media attention in the middle of a huge national election that鈥檚 going to be all about whether Texas is going to flip. That鈥檚 a huge question mark.鈥�
Valenzuela鈥檚 supporters, meanwhile, think she鈥檚 become a threat to Republicans because she challenges the status quo; she seems more concerned with movements than elections; she doesn鈥檛 talk about flipping seats and votes, but rather of winning hearts and minds. Valenzuela herself says she鈥檚 not thinking about what her win could mean for her solely; she鈥檚 thinking about how to define the agenda and representation in Congress for the next several decades.
鈥淎 lot of folks see themselves in me,鈥� she told the Tribune. 鈥淚 am just a soccer mom. My kid doesn鈥檛 play soccer yet, but there are plans when we don鈥檛 have COVID.鈥�
Still, shock seemed to be the predominant emotion when Valenzuela found out she was ahead in the early vote and later won her primary runoff challenge in July. Throughout the night, and from her living room where she watched the results pour in virtually, Valenzuela remembers receiving a swarm of phone calls and texts from reporters, supporters and campaign staff clamoring for interviews or offering their praise.
鈥淲e鈥檝e only had two Latinas 鈥� two Tejanas 鈥� in the history of [the Texas congressional delegation], and they just came in in 2018,鈥� she later said, a nod to freshman U.S. Reps. of El Paso and of Houston. 鈥淗aving the ability to have other people see themselves in you and know this is an office that is there and should be acceptable to them, I think it鈥檚 resonating with folks in this district.
鈥淗aving that representation is going to make a big difference to a bunch of little girls who might have not pictured themselves in the halls of Congress.鈥�