Trying to fight off Republicans who want to flip Texas’ most competitive U.S. House seat, South Texas Democrats are facing an identity crisis after the party underperformed in the region in 2020.
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In the Republican primary, frontrunner Monica De La Cruz is scoffing at the Democrats’ efforts to distinguish themselves, while she’s running with the support of former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen.and House GOP leadership. But even then, she has not been able to avoid a skirmish inside her own party as she faces a self-funding Democrat-turned-Republican, Mauro Garza, who is criticizing her as the “establishment candidate” and aligning himself with the most pro-Trump elements of the party.
Ramirez, an Army veteran who has also worked as a science teacher, said it has become “very clear that there is only one candidate who can win November, and that’s me.” Still, that position sets him apart from at least one competitor, Vallejo, who is running on a more progressive platform that she said is a “really big difference” in the primary. She supports Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage, positions that have sparked tension with some of her competitors.
“My message to those folks is that this is a working relationship. We need to talk about this,” she said, adding that she wants to educate people about how, for example, Medicare for All would benefit South Texas with all the unique health care challenges it faces, like its high uninsured rate. Campaigning last month in Seguin, Vallejo got a question from a local activist who said she was worried about Latino turnout in the area, observing that many of them do not feel like people in power are fighting for them. Vallejo said she was almost relieved to hear that “because that is the population that we’re really targeting with my campaign.”
Garza downplayed De La Cruz’s endorsement from Trump, saying “Kevin McCarthy has Trump’s ear a lot quicker than me,” referring to the House minority leader who has endorsed De La Cruz. Garza pitched himself as the “pro-Freedom Caucus, pro-Trump” candidate, vowing to join the caucus, which has a history of bucking leadership, if elected.
Garza said the $100,000 is a reference to various groups he has donated to over the years, not any single cause. The Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ organization, honored Garza in 2009 for his giving, but he said the only money he gave them was in connection with the event where he was recognized.“I’ve not been a Republican all my life — six years — but I’m as conservative as I was when I was voting Democrat and not knowing why,” Garza said. “I don’t think I’m the only one.
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