Incumbent Kay Granger and Chris Putnam are running in the Republican Party primary for Texas’ 12th Congressional District on March 3, 2020. Both candidates have campaigned on supporting President Donald Trump and launched campaign ads attacking each other.

Granger highlighted the president’s endorsement of her campaign and said she would support him in “rebuilding our military, securing the border, and restoring America’s rightful place in the world.” She also said she was “honored to be endorsed by leading right to life groups like the Texas Alliance for Life and the Susan B. Anthony List.” Granger said she has returned to the district every weekend to listen to constituents, and called Putnam “a millionaire who just moved here four months ago.” The Congressional Leadership Fund launched a $640,000 television ad buy supporting Granger and criticizing Putnam.

Putnam called Granger a career politician and claimed in an ad she supported President Barack Obama’s immigration policy. He said, “Unlike our 24-year incumbent, I will support President Trump’s efforts to build the wall, eliminate the free government incentives that motivate people to migrate here illegally and end sanctuary cities.” Putnam also said of Granger, “It’s only at election time when she claims to be pro-life.” The Club for Growth endorsed Putnam and is supporting him with a seven-figure ad buy attacking Granger’s congressional spending record. The Protect Freedom PAC also released a $1.1 million television ad buy against Granger.

The winner of the primary will run in the general election on November 3, 2020.

In the 2018 general election, Granger defeated Vanessa Adia (D) 64% to 34%. Granger defeated Bill Bradshaw (D) 69% to 27% in 2016. The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+18, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district’s results were 18 percentage points more Republican than the national average.

Click here to learn more