A Texas Democrat was caught on tape questioning whether Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) could successfully challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) because he's Black.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), who is running against Allred in the Democratic primary, was recorded Jan. 19 at a campaign event in Houston saying that he doubted the congressman could beat Cruz in the November election because he isn't Hispanic, reported The Daily Beast.
“I’m telling you, it’s not Allred. I mean, it’s gonna be a Hispanic candidate, a strong Hispanic candidate,” Gutierrez told an attendee at the event. “Listen, Rochelle Garza outperformed Beto [O’Rourke] by 3 points. I outperformed Beto by 3 points.”
“I’m just trying to tell you that work, hard work, hard work ethic, and yeah, some identity politics,” he added.
Gutierrez said he believes Cruz owes his own success to his last name.
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“They’ll go vote for the president and he steals a vote, he steals a percentage point because his last name is Cruz,” Gutierrez said.
About 40.2 percent of the Texas population is Hispanic or Latino, but a recent poll shows 29 percent of Democratic primary voters plan to back Allred, compared to only 7 percent for Gutierrez, with 37 percent undecided.
“Latinos are the biggest ethnic group in Texas, Roland can energize the base and speak to a broad range of voters,” Gutierrez campaign manager Sam Robles said in a statement.
“Roland Gutierrez has a better chance of taking down Ted Cruz, because Latino ticket splitters, particularly rural men, are interested in a candidate like Roland. Research shows strong Latino candidates routinely outperform the top of the ticket. It’s time Texans have an opportunity to vote for a candidate that looks like them, talks like them, and has lived their life.”
