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Dem wins Trump-targeted Texas district in rebuke of Republican redistricting shakeup
Democrat Johnny Garcia is projected to have won Texas’ newly redrawn 35th Congressional District, defeating Republican Carlos De La Cruz in a race seen as a setback for the state’s redistricting strategy. The result matters because the district had been reshaped to improve Republican prospects ahead of the 2026 midterms, making the contest a test of whether favourable map changes can deliver House seats.
Republican lawmakers redrew the district in 2025 at President Donald Trump’s urging, moving Democratic incumbent Greg Casar to a different seat and creating a district Trump would have won by about 10 percentage points in 2024. De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran endorsed by Trump, conceded to Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy who campaigned on household costs, healthcare and public safety. The district has a Hispanic-majority electorate, and the result also offers a test of whether Republicans can retain their 2024 gains among Hispanic voters.
In short
- Democrat Johnny Garcia is projected to win Texas’ redrawn 35th District.
- The district was reshaped to favour Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms.
- The result tests Republican support among Hispanic voters.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Republicans can argue that redistricting is a lawful way for elected lawmakers to shape representation, and that the new district gave their party a fair opportunity to compete after its gains among Hispanic voters in 2024. The result is one contest, so it may reflect the candidates, local concerns or turnout rather than show that the broader strategy has failed.
The case against
Democrats can argue that redrawing the district to improve Republican prospects, while moving the Democratic incumbent elsewhere, undermines fair representation by letting politicians choose their voters. Garcia’s win suggests that even a map designed to favour Republicans may not secure a seat when voters prioritise issues such as household costs, healthcare and public safety.
Explained simply
Texas elects members of the US House of Representatives from districts, whose boundaries are periodically redrawn by state lawmakers. In 2025, Republicans changed the map of the 35th District, moving its Democratic incumbent, Greg Casar, to another seat and making the district more favourable to Republicans based on the 2024 presidential vote.
The district has a Hispanic-majority electorate, making it relevant to both parties’ efforts to win Hispanic voters. The contest also drew attention because President Donald Trump had urged the redrawing, while the candidates offered voters different priorities: Carlos De La Cruz was a Trump-endorsed Air Force veteran, and Johnny Garcia is a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy.