'I regret it': Key Texas voting bloc reportedly 'souring' on Trump over redistricting

Efforts by Republican lawmakers to alter congressional districts to bolster the party’s hopes of retaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives may not deliver the payoff they are hoping for.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, with the Texas Senate set to approve a new map that could lead to a pick-up of five seats in Congress, there is a growing sense of discontent within the surprising portion of Texas Hispanics who voted for the president in 2024.

As the Journal’s Elizabeth Findell is reporting, those voters have “soured” on Trump in large part over the state of the economy with one woman who admitted she voted for the president lamenting, “I thought he would help the economy—he’s a businessman. I regret it.” Noting that she is one of “thousands” of Hispanics who fled the Democratic party to vote for Trump, the Journal is reporting it might be a brief dalliance.

That means the party’s redistricting strategy could end up being “a risk ahead of the consequential midterm elections,” with Findell writing, “The rightward shift in the region, which began in 2020, came largely in response to economic factors, especially the cost of food and goods. Now, voters say they are feeling the pinch of those things more than ever.”

The report notes, “In Starr County, where the 9.7% unemployment rate and 29% poverty rate are both more than double the national average, some voters in 2020 said they appreciated seeing Trump’s name on pandemic stimulus checks. Now, they are concerned about changes coming out of a Republican-controlled Washington that could reduce food stamps and Medicaid benefits, they said.”

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D), whose district will be impacted, claimed the Texas GOP may have made a misjudgment that could come back to haunt them now that Trump’s economic reality is taking hold.

“They will flip on you on a dime if you upset them, if you don’t do things that improve their life,” he explained.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) agreed and pointed out, “It actually makes my district better.”

According to one prominent Trump supporter, Pat Saenz, 62, “I was having problems with Biden and I’m having the same problems with Trump,” adding his vote in the next election will be based on “... what they can do.”

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