Sylvia Garcia hints she might not give up her Senate seat before November

Texas state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, the Democratic candidate for Texas’ 29th Congressional District, hinted in a conversation with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith that she doesn’t plan to leave her Senate seat until after the November elections.

“It’s seven months away, and I feel very strongly that the voters must have the final say,” she said.

Garcia is favored to win the congressional seat, which is in an overwhelmingly Democratic district. Many of her colleagues hope that she’ll vacate her current Senate seat early so that the Houston-area district will have a representative by the start of the next legislative session, which starts in January. If she waits to resign until after the November election, a special election will have to be called, and her replacement will likely miss at least part of the next session.

But at the moment, she indicated that she’s not planning to vacate the seat. Garcia said the election is still several months away, and she doesn’t want to treat the race like she’s won it.

“I’m in a race. I don’t want to make any assumptions. I take nothing for granted,” she said.

If she hears from constituents that the possibility of a vacated seat is a concern, Garcia said, she’ll reconsider her position.

Here are some more highlights from the conversation.

It’s too early to tell whether Trump should be impeached. When asked if she’d vote in support of potential impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump, Garcia said it was “too early to tell.” She pointed to her previous position as a judge, saying she’d want to wait to listen to both sides of the issue and to look through the facts.

For the time being, she said, “the facts are not there yet.” Garcia said if she saw something of a “criminal nature” in the special counsel’s investigation, she’d vote for Trump’s impeachment.

“There’s a lot of facts that haven’t been uncovered...I think we should let the investigation go where it needs to go,” she said.  

In addition, she said she hasn’t been focused on the issue because there’s a lack of interest in her district on the topic.

It’s also too early to know who she’ll support for House speaker. Garcia said she also hasn’t decided who she’ll support if she has the chance to vote on the next House speaker.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,” she said.  

Democrats are hopeful that they can win back a majority in the House. If they do, some are calling for a change in leadership. But Garcia said she’s unprepared to commit to anyone because she hasn’t had the opportunity to have a “sit-down visit” with Nancy Pelosi, the current minority leader.