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Good morning! I'm live tweeting my pre-recorded interviews with "the Blue Team," several Texas Democratic U.S. candidates Candace Valenzuela, Wendy Davis, Sri Kulkarni and Gina Ortiz Jones
Question One: Why is your historically Republican district in play for Democrats this year?
Candace Valenzuela, #TX24: "The demographics have changed pretty significantly over the decades"
Wendy Davis, #TX21: "This district is the fastest growing congressional district in the state and that fast-growth has primarily toward Democrats...[and] independents are moving our way..."
Gina Ortiz Jones, #TX23: "This district is hungry for change."
Sri Kulkarni: #TX22: "One out of every four people here is an immigrant...however up until recently, a lot of these groups weren't being talked to at all."
Question 2: If you are elected to Congress, what are you going to urge Speaker Pelosi to move on?
Valenzuela: A substantial campaign finance reform, making sure people have access to the polls, making sure the USPS is funded...and making sure families get the relief they need."
Wendy Davis: "Restoring the Voting Rights Act."
Gina Ortiz Jones: "Health care, health care, health care."
Sri Kulkarni: "We have to control the spread of the coronavirus."
Do you support Medicare for All? And if not, what is the solution?
Wendy Davis: "If we don't have a public option that people can either buy into or subsidized into then we are not going to be able to provide the health care delivery we need."
Candace Valenzuela: "I'm supporting a robust public option."
What is the role of the individual US House member amid Black Lives Matter and criminal justice?
Wendy Davis: "This is a systemic problem that needs system reforms."
Candace Valenzuela: "It's going to be a little bit of everything. It's going to be leadership, it's going to be setting an example and it's going to informing policies based on those lived experiences."
Gina Ortiz Jones: "I think we have to have first and foremost leaders that understand that everybody has to have equal protection under the law. That has to be the starting point."
Sri Kulkarni: "Common sense reforms, like making sure we have body cameras on our police officers and making sure that we have training."
Question: Do you support a pathway to citizenship on immigration?
Candace Valenzuela: "I do support a pathway to citizenship."
Wendy Davis: "I think [an immigration overhaul] is doable...and yes it means we should have a path to citizenship."
Sri Kulkarni: "People agree across my district that we need a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients but we also need to make sure our immigration system works."
Question: How will the federal response to COVID-19 look differently to the citizens of your district if you win this race?
Wendy Davis: We will have leadership that puts science foremost in our decision-making ...That's not what's been happening, and the failures of the Trump administration and reps like Chip Roy have demonstrated that when we put politics first, people's lives are at risk.
Sri Kulkarni: "Personal protective equipment for all of our frontline health care workers....universal testing and it has to be rapid results."
--- And that's a wrap. If you'd like to watch the entire video, buy a #tribfest20 ticket! https://festival.texastribune.org/
