Warren first non-Texan presidential candidate to hire Texas state director

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday hired a state director in Texas, becoming the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidate other than Beto O’Rourke to do so, the Texas Tribune reported.

The Massachusetts lawmaker’s campaign told the outlet that longtime Texas organizer Jenn Longoria will lead its efforts in the state.

{mosads}Texas is one of more than a dozen states holding primaries on Super Tuesday — March 3, 2020. 

Warren’s hiring of Longoria underscores her ambitions for Super Tuesday, and could be a nod toward competing for the state in the general election. Republicans will be heavy favorites to win Texas, but there has been some talk about the possibility that Democrats might be able to pull off an upset in the Lone Star State.

Warren has risen in Texas polls recently in step with her national stock. In a University of Texas-Texas Tribune poll released early last month, Warren overtook O’Rourke for second place in the state, behind former Vice President Joe Biden.

Texas will be one of the most delegate-rich states up for grabs on Super Tuesday, along with California. 

In an email to supporters last week, Warren promised that her campaign would be “growing our team in states that will have primaries and caucuses in March.”

O’Rourke, the former House member from El Paso, hired Delilah Agho-Otoghile as Texas state director in September.