Hispanic Republican Women Win Big In Texas

Tuesday night proved to be a big one for Republican Hispanic women running in Texas congressional primaries.

Hispanic Republicans, especially women, have been steadily gaining traction in border areas of the Lone Star State for a while as Democrats try to dismiss the upswing in Hispanic GOP support as a sort of temporary Trump effect.

But if Tuesday’s primary result are any indication of what’s to come, Democrats have a lot to be worried about.

The Tide Could Be Turning

Republicans enjoyed heavy turnout in southern border counties, many of those places where Donald Trump did make big gains with Hispanic voters in 2020. A few of the races will go to run-offs that will be held on May 24.

If run-off elections go the GOP’s way, as many as eight Hispanic candidates, six of them women, could be the Republican congressional nominee in their district. What was once a Democrat bastion now has more Hispanics running as Republicans, and the GOP putting more money into those elections.

In Texas’ 34th district, Republican Maya Flores won her race, as did Monica De La Cruz, who was endorsed by Donald Trump. Cassy Garcia will compete in a run-off election for her race in May.

Flores said of her win,

“We want to show Hispanics that this is what the Republican Party looks like. It looks just like them. We were raised to think that the Republican Party was for the rich and only white men and that’s not true. Look at us. We are the face of the party.”

Republicans By The Numbers

The inroads Republicans have made in the Hispanic community in terms of the increase in the voter percentage is something Democrats will have a hard time ignoring. In four of the southernmost counties in the Lone Star State, counties on the border, the population is 90% Hispanic.

However, GOP share of the primary vote in 2022 compared to 2018 is eye-opening. In Cameron County, the GOP share of the vote jumped to 35% compared to 23% in 2018. In Hidalgo County, Republican share of the vote rose to 29% of all votes cast compared to 17% in 2018.

The trend seems unmistakable.

Growth In Hispanic Republicans Not New

While Democrats may try to convince everyone that the shift in the Hispanic community from traditionally Democrat to “suddenly” Trump-loving Republicans is something that just happened, that is not the case.

The trend has been happening for a while. In May of 2021, The Political Insider introduced Hidalgo County Texas GOP Chairwoman Adrienne Pena-Garza. She along with then-candidate Maya Flores took the lead in Hispanic women turning to the Republican Party.

This is De La Cruz’s second attempt at flipping a blue seat red. She seemed to sum up the reason why many in the Hispanic community have taken a second look at Republicans.

She said in 2021,

“The Hispanic culture really aligns with pro-life, pro God, and pro country. Those are the values of the Republican party. Democrats have just simply gone too far to the left and towards socialism.”

Becky Noble

Becky Noble, a political blogger and writer for over 10 years, lives by the motto, “Being normal is not necessarily a virtue. It rather denotes a lack of courage.” Becky holds a degree in journalism from Regent University.