In Weslaco, construction company owner Abad Morales said he backed President Trump in 2024 after hearing his question about whether voters were better off than four years earlier. Morales now says conditions have worsened. He said he is having trouble hiring workers and that costs keep rising. He is running for the Weslaco city commission and serves as a Democratic precinct chair, and he said he has helped register more than 350 voters this year.
A recent Wall Street Journal poll found Latino voters favored a Democrat for Congress over a Republican, 53% to 35%. The poll found 26% of Latinos approve of Trump's job performance and 68% disapprove, compared with 37% approval among all voters. Trump carried all four Rio Grande Valley counties in 2024, a region that had long leaned Democratic. Early voting figures show higher Hispanic turnout in Texas than in the 2022 midterms, according to an analysis by Ryan Data & Research.
Texas Republicans redrew the state's congressional map last year, partly based on their gains with Latino voters, aiming to flip five Democratic-held seats. Several of those races are now competitive. The Latino vote could also play a key role in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico.