Latino vote thwarts Texas Republicans' redistricting effort

Last year, the Republican-controlled Texas legislature redrew its congressional maps in a controversial mid-decade redistricting effort. The aim was to give the GOP five more House seats.

Encouraged by President Donald Trump's strong showing among Hispanic voters in 2024, Republicans concentrated on four districts in the heavily Latino Rio Grande Valley in South Texas.

But the Latino vote in Texas swung back from the president on Tuesday. According to ABC News' Voter Poll, it was driven by dissatisfaction with Trump's immigration policy and the economy.

Republicans failed to flip any of the Rio Grande Valley districts. They lost by double-digit margins in all of them and ended up with a net loss of one House seat.

Hispanic voters comprise more than 30 percent of eligible Texas voters. They are especially concentrated in four counties in the Rio Grande Valley, where they make up more than 90 percent of the population, according to US census data.

ABC News' Voter Poll showed 67 percent of Hispanics who voted in the state's Senate race said the Trump administration's actions on immigration enforcement have gone too far, compared with 45 percent of white Senate voters.

Jon Taylor, a University of Texas at San Antonio political science professor, told ABC affiliate KSAT that this issue is especially influential in the Rio Grande Valley. He said: 'A number of people living in South Texas, living in San Antonio, who had family, friends, somebody they knew who got picked up in an ICE raid. It had a profound impact on voting.'

Dissatisfaction with the economy was also clear. According to ABC News' Voter Poll, about 83 percent of Hispanic voters said the economy was not so good or poor, compared with 63 percent of white voters. And 75 percent of Hispanics who voted in the Senate race said that Trump's economic policies have worsened economic conditions in the US, compared with 52 percent of white voters.

The Rio Grande Valley has some of the highest rates of poverty in the country. Hector E. Sanchez Barba, who leads Mi Familia Vota, a leading Latino political group, told ABC News that the Valley has been particularly hurt by Trump's economic policies. He said: 'It's very clear the economic impact that these policies are having is on mostly working-class, people-of-color communities.'

All four of the Rio Grande Valley counties saw voter turnout up from 2022: up 9.9 percent in Hidalgo County; 7.9 percent higher in Cameron County; a 7.4 percent increase in Willacy County; and 3.3 percent higher in Starr County. The state saw an overall increase of about 6 percent in voter turnout from 2022.

Additionally, Democrats flipped two largely Hispanic districts in South Texas that Trump had previously won by double-digit margins. And the blue wave extended to Democrats winning all statewide races.

ABC News Voter Polls showed that Hispanic voters backed Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico with 68 percent of the vote and Democratic governor candidate Gina Hinojosa with 65 percent.

Barba said they won because 'their policies are a reflection of working class families' and a 'reflection of inclusion'. He added that the Democratic victories could make the state a presidential battleground in 2028.

Barba said: 'Make no mistake, anybody that wants to become a president in 2028 has to come through the Latino community.'