Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Republicans’ stunning defeat in a deep red seat in Texas, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a district that Trump won by 17 points two years ago, should be a warning sign for the party.
Speaking to press, Cruz said the election was a “very concerning outcome” for the party and noted that the swing was so big that Democrats won “by double digits.” “That should concern every Republican, and it highlights the urgency of turnout in November.”
Rehmet defeated Leigh Wambsganss in the Fort Worth-area district, taking the Texas state Senate seat. “This win goes to everyday working people,” he said after the election.
Politico detailed that Rehmet made large gains with Hispanic voters, illustrating the national backlash Republicans are getting over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and widespread economic concerns across demographics.
Other Republicans across the country have been sounding the alarm about the exodus, with Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar recently saying that the must “reverse course” to address the matter.
In a social media publication in late January, Salazar said she “warned about this months ago, before the headlines caught up.”
“Today we are watching it unfold in real time. Hispanics are leaving the GOP in large numbers, and pretending otherwise won’t fix it. As Republicans, we must reverse course and act now,” she added.
A recent poll showed Trump’s approval rating among Latinos has plunged 23 points since the beginning of his term. CNN data analyst Harry Enten analyzed the figures in a recent show, saying the collapse happened with a speed he has “rarely” seen before.
“I’ll just say there has been a massive backlash against the president of the United States among Latino voters,” he added. Elsewhere in the analysis, Enten said the administration’s immigration crackdown played a large role in the drop, noting that the demographic was split on Trump’s deportation plans at the beginning of the second term, but the number is now at -34 points.
“You rarely ever see a 35-point decline over a year, but it is happening with Trump among Latinos on his deportation program,” he noted. “‘No, no, no,’ is what the Latino community is saying.”
Moreover, Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia, co-founder of “Latinas for Trump” warned that the topic will cost the party the midterms. She said White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is largely to blame for the drop in support, rather than Trump. “I do think that [Trump] will lose the midterms because of Stephen Miller,” she told The New York Times.
Originally published on Latin Times
