By PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Democrat MJ Hegar of Texas says she's running for U.S. Senate in 2020 against Republican incumbent John Cornyn.

Hegar's announcement Tuesday makes her the first well-known Democrat to enter the race against Cornyn, who has been in the Senate since 2002 and was the No. 2 Republican in the chamber until this year.

Hegar is an Air Force veteran who ran a longshot congressional bid against Rep. John Carter last year. She finished within three percentage points in a traditionally safe Republican district near Austin.

Democratic congressman Joaquin Castro is also considering entering the Senate race.

A Democrat hasn't won a U.S. Senate race in Texas since the 1970s, but Beto O'Rourke's near-upset against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year has changed Democrats' expectations of what's possible in the nation's largest conservative state.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.