GOP gerrymandering in Texas is predicted to backfire as Democrats seize the opportunity to claim a regretful bloc of key President Donald Trump voters, according to a new report.
A southern Texas congressional district has become more favorable for Democratic challengers as a Hispanic community that "flocked" to Trump in 2024 experiences significant regret, Politico reported Sunday.
"I don't think Latino voters that voted in 2024 will stick around," Massey Villarreal, a Houston-based businessman who used to chair the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, told Politico. "[Trump] is targeting the Latino community. He's separating families. He's breaking businesses."
Ronnie Cavazos, president of the South Texas Builders Association, apologized for supporting Trump after the immigration crackdown.
"Let's be real. We voted for this," Cavazos said. "I'll take the blame."
Incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) said he asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) if he should thank him or the White House for the new districts because "Hispanics are having buyer's remorse."
Cuellar and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) are planning to win the South Texas districts by platforming on economic discontent and anger at Trump's immigration crackdown.
Republicans' "plan backfired, and now we're seeing Latinos shift back to our party, the same Latinos that they thought they had in the bag," said former sheriff's deputy Johnny Garcia, a Democrat running against businessman Carlos De La Cruz.
"Whether I'm at church, at the grocery store, while I'm in activities with my children, I'm hearing those same concerns — that people are feeling frightened in the community," said Republican candidate Monica De La Cruz, the sister of Carlos De La Cruz. She admitted Latinos are turning against Trump's immigration crackdown.
Monica De La Cruz said that Republican congressional leadership should make sure immigration is "focused on cartels, on traffickers and on violent criminals."