On Saturday, the Democratic candidate cruised to a 14-point victory in a Fort Worth Senate district that President Donald Trump won in 2024 by 17 points. The Republicans' defeat is caused by a significant outflow of Spanish-speaking voters from the Republicans. The Trump camp is now panicking over declining support among Latino voters.
Recent polls show that Republicans are rapidly losing support among Latino voters. The election results only confirmed this key turn.
This is the clearest sign yet that the new Republican Party coalition that helped return Trump to the White House may be short-lived. Many Republicans warn that the party must change or risk an epochal defeat.
After losing the weekend elections in a Texas constituency that had previously been a Republican stronghold, people close to Trump they realize they need to change course on immigration. They are increasingly talking about refocusing on core economic issues and investing money in the campaign ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in November.
Texas Democrats, who are on track to win U.S. Senate elections for the first time since 1988, now see an opportunity to re-win Latino voters.
“They are leaving in droves and heading in the opposite direction,” said Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the American Latino Business Council. “It's a warning sign.”
“This should be an eye-opener for all of us that we need to step up the pace,” said Tony Gonzales, a Republican congressman from a majority-Hispanic district in South Texas. “The candidates have to do their part, the party has to do their part. And we who are active in the political arena have to do our part to help them.”
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, told reporters on Tuesday, February 3, that the election results were “very disturbing.” Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wrote on X that the results should be “a wake-up call to Republicans across Texas. Our voters can't take anything for granted.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said “a change this big is not something that can be taken lightly.”
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Taylor Rehmet, the Democrat who won a state Senate seat over the weekend, has seen tremendous success among Latino voters primarily because of two factors. There is growing nationwide opposition to the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and widespread economic frustration among various demographic groups.
Taylor RehmetEleanor Dearman/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Contributor / Getty Images
Before the election, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — a hardline immigration advocate who bused migrants into Democratic-run cities during the Biden administration — said the White House needed to “revisit” its immigration actions after the shooting of Alex Pretti by an immigration officer in Minneapolis.
“The messages coming out of Minnesota over the last few days have had a profound impact not only on Latino voters, but also on undecided and independent voters in Texas and across the country,” said Texas Republican Party consultant Brendan Steinhauser. “What happened there definitely led to some kind of political backlash.”
As Republicans panic, Democrats are feeling a new wave of optimism after winning state elections in Virginia and New Jersey last year. They believe they have found a recipe for success in Rehmet, whose biography as a labor leader, Air Force veteran and Lockheed Martin mechanic appealed to voters, as did his focus on local issues such as maintaining public school funding.
Latinos 'angered' by Trump's policies
Tory Gavito, president of the Democratic donor network Way to Win, said she received excited text messages from several major donors over the weekend after the victory. “Knowing that this is a pivotal year, it puts a little more wind in our sails,” she said. “It's not just a Texas issue, but also Mississippi and Alabama and what that means [wyniki ostatnich wyborów] for many other places.”
Texas Republicans have the most reason to be concerned of any member of their party when it comes to a significant return of Latinos to Democrats.
Latinos are currently the largest ethnic group in Texas, making up 40 percent. population. According to exit polls, Trump won the support of Latinos in the state in 2024, which was a huge change from the previous elections. Republicans then saw particularly large gains among more conservative Latino voters in rural areas of the Rio Grande Valley.
Texas Republicans hoped to retain at least some of their newfound support among Latinos when they redid the congressional district map last year to create several Latino-majority districts,
“They won three of those five new seats with a demographic that Democrats haven't been able to mobilize for 30 to 40 years,” said GOP consultant and Trump critic Mike Madrid, referring to young, Latino male voters. But now, according to an expert, Trump's tough immigration policy has seriously “angered” Latinos.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
