Texas And Tiers

By Hubie and Bertie

As the polls continue to look up for Joe Biden, Democrats are urging him to expand the map — as in, spend money in states that might not be crucial to getting him to 270 but that would be icing on a delicious Electoral College cake.

It's tempting, because we want to elect as many Democrats as possible down-ballot, as well as completely repudiate Benedict Donald and all vestiges of Trumpism. So rest assured that Team Biden is observing the landscape and making decisions even as we blog.

Texas figures largely in these conversations. A recent Dallas Morning News poll puts Biden up over Trump there by five points. What's not to love?

Still, the Biden campaign is handling things cautiously. They want to nail down five of the big six battlegrounds — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, North Carolina and Florida — before they throw precious resources at the Lone Star State. But surely they're not ruling out runs in the following second- and third-tier states:

• Second Tier: Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Iowa
• Third Tier: Missouri, Montana, Alaska, Kansas and Nebraska-02 (Nebraska is quirky)

If 2020 is indeed a blue tsunami election (or even just a wave), any resources that Team Biden puts into light-red states today won't matter anywhere near as much as resources they dedicate in October, when the national mood may be different (or even worse for Trump). So we're okay with the Biden camp proceeding gingerly for now — at least through the two party conventions, whatever form they end up taking.

But if the national and state numbers at the end of August are where they are today (or better for Democrats), then Biden probably needs to add another tier of states, and then some. Added bonus: The third-tier opportunity states, with the exception of Missouri, are all inexpensive to campaign in. We cats PURR.