A Conversation with Akilah Bacy, Celina Montoya, and Joanna Cattanach

Voters from almost every state are pitching in financially to help flip the Texas House this year, Democratic candidate Joanna Cattanach said Friday.Cattanach sat down (virtually) with Texas Tribune political reporter Alex Samuels to discuss her run for Texas House District 108 in Dallas. She was joined by Akilah Bacy and Celina Montoya, who are also running to unseat Republicans in November.All three Democratic challengers highlighted an increase in national support for their campaigns compared to the 2018 election cycle. Cattanach and Montoya, both running for a second time after losing in 2018, are hoping the outside resources will give them an edge this time around.“Oprah was not calling for our campaigns in 2018,” said Cattanach, a former journalist turned educator and advocate based in East Dallas. In 2018, she was narrowly defeated in the race for HD 108 by Republican Rep. Morgan Meyer, who won by roughly 200 votes.Montoya, running again for House District 121 in San Antonio, said the difference in outside support between 2018 and 2020 is like “night and day.”“Resources are coming from everywhere,” said Montoya, a business owner, political activist and lifelong San Antonio resident who is running for a second time against Republican Rep. Steve Allison. “The reality is it's not these giant $1,200 checks like my opponent is getting from corporate PACs and special interests. These are $5 coming from a teacher in Illinois. These are $7 coming from a firefighter in California. These are people who are dealing with real issues every single day.”