The Democratic candidate seeking to oust freshman Rep. Will Hurd (R., Texas) in one of the nation’s most competitive races conceded in audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon that his party would fail to flip the House in November.
When asked by a reporter Tuesday what he thought about Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) potentially becoming house speaker again, Pete Gallego responded, "I don’t think that the Democrats are going to win the majority so I don’t really think that’s an issue."
Gallego, who served one term in the House in 2012, was narrowly defeated by Hurd in his 2014 reelection bid for the 23rd district of Texas. The district is the state’s only competitive race this year.
Hurd has consistently outraised Gallego, with Federal Election Commission filings showing his campaign holding $1.6 million in cash-on-hand during quarter two of 2016. Gallego’s campaign, meanwhile, reported less than $800,000 in cash-on-hand, according to FEC filings.
While polls published in July showed Gallego eight points ahead of Hurd, the race has since become a virtual toss-up between the two candidates.