TX-02: Former O'Rourke adviser announces for Congress, picks up his endorsement

Sima Ladjevardian, a Houston attorney and former adviser to Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, filed Monday to run as a Democrat for the 2nd Congressional District, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston.

Ladjevardian announced her filing in a tweet and was endorsed soon after by O’Rourke, who called Ladjevardian’s candidacy “[g]reat news for Texas and the country.”

“Sima is one of the smartest, hardest working people I’ve met,” O’Rourke said. “She helped produce record turnout in 2018 in Texas for my campaign and will beat Crenshaw in 2020 in hers!”

Crenshaw is serving his first term in Congress and has become one of the most prominent freshman House Republicans. His seat is not among the ones national Democrats are explicitly targeting in 2020, though it has drawn attention in part because O’Rourke narrowly lost the district to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

In an interview Tuesday, Ladjevardian said she expects O'Rourke to "come on the trail with me," adding that they share the political approach of "taking no one for granted."

"I've learned on Beto's Senate and presidential race that what matters a lot is to show up everywhere, hear what the concerns are, Republicans or Democrats," she said. "I just want to represent everyone, and I hope to get their trust."



https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Former-O-Rourke-adviser-announces-for-Congress-14894376.php