Royce West, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, on coronavirus, systemic racism and winning the Republican vote

With just days left to campaign for Tuesday's U.S. Senate Democratic primary runoff, State Sen. Royce West said Friday during a Texas Tribune event that he is confident that he will win and become a unifying force during such a divisive time in the state and the country.West, of Dallas, who became Texas’ first Black chief felony prosecutor when he worked at the Dallas County District Attorney’s office, is competing against MJ Hegar, a retired Air Force pilot.Although Hegar's campaign has greatly outpaced West’s in terms of spending, West says he's leaning on other tools, like social media, and is getting support from Democratic elected officials in Texas. He has represented Senate District 23 since 1993. In the 2019 legislative session, he served as vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee and sat on the Education, Finance and Transportation committees. He announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in July 2019.The two are vying to take on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a three-term Republican, in November.In March, West narrowly grabbed the second-highest vote total in the 12-way primary election, sending him to a runoff election against Hegar. She has the backing of national Democrats, while West has been endorsed by the majority of his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature.Patrick Svitek, the Tribune’s senior political reporter, sat down Friday for a virtual conversation with West on his campaign, the way it has been affected by current national events, and how he plans to secure Republican voters.