Texas GOP Rep. John Carter has never faced a competitive general election since winning his seat in 2002. The attorney former longtime county judge, now 76, has been a fixture in local politics for decades. But Austin's northern suburbs are moderating quickly. The 31st CD, which takes in Round Rock and part of Fort Hood, gave President Trump 53 percent in 2016 after giving Mitt Romney 60 percent in 2012.
Moreover, it's not every a Democratic nominee's life story may be on the verge of being made into a movie starring Angelina Jolie. Air Force veteran Mary Jennings "MJ" Hegar, 42, is a long shot, but her biography could give Carter problems.
Hegar, a search-and-rescue pilot, was awarded a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Flying Cross for valor after her helicopter was shot down and ambushed in Afghanistan in 2009. Hegar subsequently wrote a successful book, "Shoot Like a Girl," and got tattoos to cover her shrapnel wounds. She also sued the Defense Department successfully to overturn a rule barring women from many combat positions.
Hegar won the May Democratic
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