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Texas has voted Republican in the last 11 presidential elections, so it’s not typically considered a swing state. However, President Joe Biden narrowed the gap in 2020, marking the closest race in the state since 1996. Some political analysts and polls have long speculated that Texas could be on the verge of a voter shift. With just over 40 days until Election Day, could Vice President Kamala Harris capitalize on this momentum?
Watch as Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette argues that as long as Texas GOP politicians like Attorney General Ken Paxton continue enacting anti-Latino policies and immigrants head to the polls, Democratic candidates may keep gaining ground.
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The following is an excerpt from the above video:
As a former Texan, let me explain to you what this is really about — in a word — race. In other words, demographics, as in changing demographics.
Did you know the population of Texas is now about 39% Latino? Did you know that Latinos who tend to register and vote Democratic are helping to turn this red state purple, starting in the major cities? Did you know that Latinos who are eligible to vote either because they were born in the United States or came here as immigrants and became naturalized — do you know that they’re showing up at polling stations in unprecedented numbers?
You know who knows all this? Republicans in Texas, that’s who. Yeah, you’d better believe it, and they’re terrified of it. Like a child who knows he has misbehaved and they’re just due for a spanking, they’re trying to find ways to get out of their punishment. The last thing they want to see is more Latinos casting ballots because they’re insecure in their ability to win some of those votes the way that Republicans did in the past.
You would never have seen a stunt like this pulled in the Texas of the 1990s when George W. Bush was governor. He got nearly 50% of the Latino vote in his 1998 reelection. Bush had no need to suppress the Latino vote, because he was confident that when all was said and done, he was going to walk away with more than his share of it.
The Texas Republican Party of today is very different. Instead of carrots to lure Latino voters to their side, they offer only sticks. Look, I usually try not to speak for other Latinos, but here I’ll make an exception. My message to the GOP is pretty simple: If you want us to stop hating, you stop acting so hateful.
