Within the battle for management of the U.S. Home this fall, Democrats are focusing on two San Antonio-area districts which can be thought of fairly crimson.
Texas’ thirty fifth Congressional District was shiny blue earlier than Republicans redrew it this summer season to create a GOP pickup alternative on San Antonio’s Southeast facet.
Now it’s a brand new seat that might have supported President Donald Trump by greater than 10 proportion factors below its new boundaries and neither celebration will know who their nominee for November is till after the Might 26 main runoffs.
One other shocking alternative, Texas’ twenty third Congressional District, hasn’t been on Democrats’ goal map since redistricting added Republican voters after the 2020 Census.
Texas redistricting map: How the GOP might improve its stronghold
It supported Trump by almost 15 proportion factors in 2024, however U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) simply resigned from the seat, and Democrats are feeling optimistic about their probabilities in opposition to the brand new Republican nominee Brandon Herrera.
The 30-year-old gun content material creator’s social media posts vary from entertaining to stunning, and Democrats hope they will capitalize on it in a November race in opposition to little one welfare lawyer Katy Padilla Stout.
“Brandon Herrera’s nomination is a present to Democrats and a full-blown disaster for Republican management,” mentioned Katarina Flicker, a spokeswoman for the pro-Democrat Home Majority PAC. “His candidacy places TX-23 firmly on the Home battlefield.”
Democrats spending huge
Nationwide, Democrats solely have to flip a handful of seats to upend a slender GOP Home majority.
However they consider a wave election may very well be coming, and are actually spending in fairly a couple of races so uphill that celebration leaders usually wouldn’t embrace them in a goal record like Home Majority PAC is doing.
The professional-Democrat PAC at the moment has 48 congressional targets nationwide, together with districts in Alaska, Montana, Florida and Tennessee that Trump carried by greater than 10 proportion factors.
They’re additionally on offense in Texas’ fifteenth Congressional District, the place incumbent Republican Monica De La Cruz (R-Edinburg) is up in opposition to Democrat Bobby Pulido, the well-known Tejano signer. De La Cruz’s district supported Trump by almost 18 proportion factors below its new boundaries.
This week the Home Majority PAC laid down a complete of $272 million in tv and digital promoting reservations for the autumn.
About $6.1 million of that’s in San Antonio for TX23 and TX35, the place the group’s leaders consider they will capitalize on Hispanic voters leaving the GOP.
In the meantime the pro-Republican Congressional Management Fund has reserved $153 million in adverts for its targets nationwide, none of which went to media markets close to San Antonio.
The PAC didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark in regards to the San Antonio-area races.
Republicans on offense elsewhere in South Texas
Because it stands, Republicans simply reconfigured San Antonio’s congressional districts to choose up seats on this space in 2026 — not lose them.
They nonetheless take into account each TX35 and TX23 safely of their column, and consequently, haven’t made them prime priorities for spending this November.
New maps might make San Antonio’s congressional delegation extra crimson than blue
As a substitute, when each events’ nationwide tremendous PACs laid out their preliminary advert reservations this week, the GOP-aligned Congressional Management Fund selected to focus on two incumbent Democrats whose districts are additional south.
The PAC is planning to spend cash in TX28, represented by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), and TX34, represented by U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-McAllen).
Such investments come as Republicans have tried to knock off Cuellar up to now and failed, however this yr redrew his district to take away the Bexar County components, ostensibly making it simpler for his Republican opponent, Webb County Choose Tano Tijerina.
After redistricting, 43% of Bexar County residents are in a brand new congressional district
Gonzalez, in the meantime, faces a problem from a former prosecutor, Republican Eric Flores, who has Trump’s assist.
Democrats’ congressional tremendous PAC reserved advert time in each districts to assist defend Cuellar and Gonzalez.
