Many Republicans outside Texas are dismissive, convinced the polls are wrong and that the 2018 Senate race was anomalous.

That mindset frustrates GOP strategists in the state, who say their private data matches public surveys and fret that even a narrow Trump victory on Election Day might not be enough to pull Republicans in competitive House seats across the finish line. Republican strategists monitoring House contests concede Democrats could flip up to four GOP-held districts, with another three seats on their watchlist.

“Every Republican in the suburbs should be running 24/7 like their hair’s on fire and asking donors to empty their bank accounts,” a GOP consultant in Austin said, grumbling that too many Republicans in Washington lack a sense of urgency about the party’s precarious position in Texas. “Otherwise, you would have seen a whole lot more involvement, investment, and interest.”