Smith draws another Democratic challenger

Elliott McFadden has thrown his hat into the race to topple Republican Rep. Lamar Smith from his 21st Congressional District perch. McFadden took to Twitter and Facebook on Monday to announce that he had raised $25,000 in April, a sum that he said will help him “launch a competitive campaign to unseat Lamar Smith, the lead climate change denier in the U.S. House.” McFadden is a former executive director of the Travis County Democratic Party and also chaired the successful $65 million affordable housing bond campaign in 2013. Most recently, McFadden has been working as the executive director at Austin B-cycle. According to the website ReplaceLamar.com, he joins at least eight other potential Democratic candidates, including Austin entrepreneur Joseph Kopser and Tom Wakely, the party’s 2016 nominee. Smith has served in Congress since winning his first election in the mid-1980s. The 21st District, in its current form, includes parts of Central and South Austin, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.