How the Democrats won back the US-Mexico border

Democrats won all 10 congressional districts along the US-Mexico border in Tuesday’s midterm elections, reversing the Republican gains Donald Trump made there in 2024. The result suggests that the border region’s political shift towards Republicans was not sustained, and Democrats made larger gains there than across the country overall.

Two districts in Texas, the 15th and 23rd, changed from Republican to Democratic control. In border districts where at least half the vote had been counted, the median shift towards Democrats compared with 2024 was 23 percentage points, against 14.1 points nationwide. In Starr County, which Trump won by 16 points in 2024, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico held a 55.8-point lead; Democrats also widened their margins in Hidalgo and Cameron counties.