Monday's announcement that yet another
Republican congressman is retiring highlights the GOP's growing struggle to win the House majority next year and the shifting political leanings of
Texas, the nation's second-largest state.
Democrats' burgeoning prospects in Texas, which has a deep-red pedigree, are widely attributed to two factors.
One is the state's growing populations of Hispanics and of moderate voters in communities ringing cities like Dallas, Houston and Austin, the other is the polarizing rhetoric of President Donald Trump.