Shared from the 3/31/2019 San Antonio Express eEdition

Van de Putte is weighing a run for seat that Castro might vacate

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Associated Press file photo

Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, shown in 2016 at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, spent 24 years as a state legislator.

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Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is seriously considering a run for the congressional seat likely to be vacated by Joaquin Castro.

Van de Putte, 64, a San Antonio Democrat who served for 24 years in the Legislature, is discussing the ramifications of a possible congressional campaign with her family, according to multiple sources.

Castro is expected to announce his intention to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, which would open up the U.S. House District 20 seat that Castro has held for four terms. District 20 is a Democratic stronghold and the only congressional seat entirely contained within Bexar County.

Van de Putte did not respond to an interview request for this column.

A Van de Putte candidacy could produce a seismic shift in a race that looks to be up for grabs.

It also would be a major surprise, given Van de Putte’s 2015 decision to move into the world of consulting and lobbying with her old friend Hope Andrade, the former Texas secretary of state. Their firm, Andrade-Van de Putte & Associates, concentrates on connecting business clients with government officials.

As she prepared to launch the firm, Van de Putte said her decision to do lobbying work came with an acceptance that her days as a politician were over.

“The toughest decision for me, and our family, was the realization that I’m never going to put my name on a ballot again,” Van de Putte said in November 2015. “This is it, once you’ve turned the corner here. And I’m really pleased with it.”

Van de Putte’s re-evaluation of her career prospects speaks to what a coveted seat Castro holds. It also reflects Van de Putte’s undeniable passion for politics, which led the West Side pharmacist from a precinct chair post in the Democratic Party to co-chairing the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and running as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014.

She ran a dogged statewide campaign in 2014 but lost to Dan Patrick by more than 19 percentage points.

On the rebound from that exhausting campaign, Van de Putte acquiesced to calls from local supporters that she run for mayor. Entering the race as an overwhelming front-runner, she ran an uncharacteristically lackluster campaign, struggling to acclimate herself — after more than two decades dealing with state issues — to the language of municipal government.

In June 2015, she narrowly lost a mayoral runoff to Ivy Taylor.

That disappointing performance, and Van de Putte’s subsequent absence from electoral politics, raises the question of exactly what Democratic primary voters would make of her in a 2020 congressional primary.

Almost certainly, however, she would enter the race with the highest name recognition and the most campaign experience. She probably would also command the strongest fundraising base.

During her bid for lieutenant governor, Van de Putte raised more than $8.2 million.

Insiders suggest that a successful District 20 primary campaign will require more than $1 million in funds.

While most prospective District 20 candidates are still in a watching-and-waiting phase, some prominent names are in the mix, including state lawmakers Ina Minjarez, Diego Bernal and Trey Martinez Fischer and City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

There also are two highly accomplished Latinas working in the private sector, contemplating their first campaigns as candidates:

Dr. Erika Gonzalez, a physician who served as the chief of allergy, immunology and rheumatology at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, spent 10 years in the Air Force and is the 2020 chair-elect of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Melanie Aranda Tawil, a tech business owner, Democratic activist (New Mexico youth vote field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign) and community leader whose credits include serving on the city’s 2017-22 Parks & Recreation bond committee.

The District 20 seat has been held by only three people over the past 57 years, and two of them were named Gonzalez. The legendary liberal lion Henry B. Gonzalez held the office for 38 years and was succeeded by his son, Charlie, who served for 14 years.

When Charlie Gonzalez announced in November 2011 that he wouldn’t seek another term, Castro immediately jumped into the race and effectively shut down all other local Democrats before they got a notion.

It’s too early to know exactly what the upcoming District 20 primary race will look like, but we can be sure that no one is going unopposed this time. ggarcia@express-news.net @gilgamesh470

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