Latinos, long considered a foundational component of the Democratic Party’s prospects in the Lone Star State, abandoned the progressive ship in mass during the 2024 election.

Overall, Republicans saw a 28 percent gain among Texas Latinos from 2020 to 2024.

In men, that number was 40 percent.

Republicans hope the staggering shift away from Texas Democrats is permanent.

State Rep. Mano DeAyala, R-Houston, talked with FOX 26’s Greg Groogan about the GOP’s gains.

READ MORE: What went wrong for Democrats on election night? | Texas: The Issue is

Rep. Mano DeAyala: “We’re seeing the voters coming out in droves. For the first time in modern history a Republican president has won the Hispanic vote statewide. That’s amazing.”

Greg Groogan: “That is cataclysmic for the Democrats. It’s landscape changing for Republicans. Is it a one and done? How do you hold that?”

DeAyala: “Well, that’s the concern, is this a one and done? Did the stars align in so many reasons to make this happen? Or is this a progression that we see continuing? I think it’s the latter.”

Groogan: “The Democrats presented a message heavily weighted on abortion rights and failed to defend their policy on the border, failed to defend their policy on transgender issues.”

DeAyala: “It’s this welfare state mentality. It’s this, what am I going to do for you? Not what I can help you do for yourself. It is the, let’s go focus more on those that are here undocumented than the people that are citizens and residents here and the list goes on. All of that resonates. If you have the message and the right message. The truth ultimately prevails, and I think in this election cycle it did.”

Groogan: “Folks would much prefer an environment in which they can thrive and prosper on their own, versus asking for some type of support, aid or handout from the government. Do you agree with that?”

DeAyala: “A vast majority of Texans agree with that. It’s basically when you define American exceptionalism, that’s really what it is. I look in the mirror, I don’t look to the government and that is how I’m going to have my livelihood. The government’s job is to get out of the way and let opportunity abide for us to prosper and succeed. There’s a few, and I called them the kind of the super-educated elite, that feels like they have to play the parent and say I know what’s best for you. Let me let government do this for you. That’s a Band-Aid that’s temporary and usually causes more harm than good.”

READ MORE: 2024 Presidential Election: How Texas voted by county

Groogan: “Our mutual friend Bill King met with some Mexican-American lawmakers from South Texas who felt compelled to remain in the Democratic Party for a while, but said they were tolerated. Their pro-life positions were tolerated within a party that looked down on them because of that. Do you think this opens up an opportunity that [Rep.] Ryan Guillen took?”

DeAyala: “Ryan Guillen didn’t leave his party necessarily, his party left him. And you hear that over and over, you have [Houston State Rep.] Shawn Thierry, who left the Democrat Party and other. What you’re seeing here are are Democrats, especially in South Texas, in the valley, that say, you know what, I align more with the Republican Party, you’re not seeing it the other way around.”

Groogan: “Are Latinos in Texas just tired of waiting?”

DeAyala: “If we as a party do not capitalize on these gains that we had this last cycle, and I don’t mean next election cycle, I mean tomorrow. If we don’t continue to build on that, shame on us.”

You can watch Texas: The Issue Is every Sunday night on TV and anytime on FOX LOCAL.

• I waited for seven hours to try Franklin Barbecue, considered the best barbecue in Texas by many.
• In line, I met other tourists and was even interviewed by a local paper.
• Despite the long wait, the food was amazing, and we made a day out of the experience.

Texas is renowned for its barbecue. One of the most famous places to get it is Franklin Barbecue in Austin, where people wait in line for hours to order.

Established in 2009, Franklin Barbecue has made quite a name for itself in the past few years. It’s regularly recommended in Michelin Guides, and publications from Texas Monthly to Bon Appetit have listed it among the best barbecue in Texas (and even the country).

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain even called the restaurant’s brisket the “best” and “finest” he’s ever had in 2012.

As someone who loves Texan barbecue, I’d always wanted to try it.

Eventually, I got a group together to see if this spot was really worth the hype. We arrived at about 7 a.m. on a Saturday, and there was already a queue of about 80 people.

We got to know the others waiting in line

The restaurant is in a pretty unassuming turquoise-and-white building, but we immediately noticed the crowds outside of it.

Most people in the queue came prepared with chairs and coolers full of drinks. Although we didn’t have chairs, we did bring some beer.

However, 7 a.m. felt a little too early to start drinking, so I had coffee first.

We started chatting with others in the line and discovered that most were not from Austin and had traveled from other states. We even spoke to a few international visitors.

Overall, the atmosphere was very friendly, and it felt like we were tailgating before a big sports game.

The back of the line was told there may not be enough food for them

After a couple of hours, when the queue had grown to a few hundred, a staff member came out to take orders.

These were not official orders, but the staff member wanted to try to check if there’d be enough of each order to cater to everyone in the queue.

Since there was a chance of demand exceeding supply, they advised people at the end of the queue to go home and not risk wasting their time. Thankfully, we were well within the cutoff limit and didn’t need to worry about the food running out before we ordered.

The samples we received left me wanting more

We could smell the delicious meat since the smokers were very close to the line, which made us even more eager to eat.

Around 10:30 a.m., another employee came to hand out some small samples.

Although the portion sizes were smaller than a bite, the piece I tried had me salivating. My stomach was rumbling, but I knew we still had a few hours left of waiting.

At one point, a local reporter started asking a few of us why we were in line.

A reporter from the University of Texas paper came to ask some tourists why they were there. As an Australian, I was one of the people interviewed. I joked I’d flown from Down Under for lunch just to fly home after eating — and they seemed to believe me.

At this point, I was getting delirious from the hunger.

The doors finally opened at 11 a.m., and the queue began to move very slowly. Time moved even slower as I watched satisfied customers exit the restaurant.

I became impatient as we inched forward. Finally, around 1 p.m., we entered the restaurant and soon got to place our orders.

At last, we received our food after almost seven hours of waiting

Once we made it inside, I was so hungry that I wanted to order several pounds of food, but I contained myself.

Finally, after almost seven hours, we sat down with plates full of meat and sides like coleslaw and pickles. The brisket melted in my mouth and no knife was required for the tender meat.

I felt like I was in food heaven.

The long wait was worth it

After finishing our meal, we saw the owner and pitmaster, Aaron Franklin, emerge from the kitchen. We complimented him on his food and staff and told him that the experience was well worth the long wait.

I’ve tried many barbecue places in Texas, but this was the best I’ve had.

Customers can order Franklin Barbecue online to avoid this wait, but you must do so days in advance during a specific window and order at least 5 pounds.

Still, I think everyone should try the queue experience once since it makes for a fun day and an interesting story — plus, you get delicious barbecue at the end of the wait.

For all who love chaos, the potential eight-team tie for first place in the SEC is sadly over. The potential six-team tie, however, remains very much alive after Saturday’s action.

But clarity is nearing on who will play in the SEC championship: If no more upsets occur, Alabama would likely play the winner of the Texas at Texas A&M regular-season finale.

Of course, more upsets could occur.

Here are the updated standings at the top of the league. All three-loss teams are officially eliminated from championship game consideration because Georgia and one of Texas and Texas A&M are guaranteed to finish with two (or fewer) losses. That includes LSU and Missouri, which each suffered their third conference loss on Saturday.

There is one clean, but not very likely, way for first and second place to be settled: Texas and Texas A&M both win next week, and Tennessee, Ole Miss and Alabama all lose at least one more game. That would leave Georgia playing the winner of Texas at Texas A&M.

Otherwise, this will come down to the newly installed SEC tiebreakers, which are all based on conference play, and also heavily contingent on teams playing each other — which most of the time they have not, thanks to a 16-team league in which each team plays an eight-game schedule.

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, whether among just two teams or three-plus teams. The second is record vs. common opponents. The third is record against top teams in the standings and working your way down, but that’s contingent on the teams involved in those first three tiebreakers having played the same teams. Georgia has played all the other contenders except Texas A&M, going 2-2, but Alabama has only played Georgia and Tennessee, Texas will have only played Georgia and Texas A&M, and so on. There are few if any scenarios where everyone involved in a tiebreaker will have played each other.

Simply put, it is unlikely any of the top three tiebreakers will settle it.

Therefore the most likely solution will be the fourth tiebreaker: The combined record of teams’ conference opponents, in essence, schedule strength. As of now, here are the combined opponents’ record for the six contenders, including future opponents. (But not assuming results of games yet to be played.)

The records will change, but probably not too drastically, as there are just 12 conference games left. Again, the above standings already include each team’s future conference opponents’ records, just not any results. That’s why Alabama is in the best position right now — unless it loses at Oklahoma next week, or against Auburn. One loss and it’s out. The same goes for Ole Miss and Tennessee.

The picture got a bit clearer on Saturday. But it’s still murky enough to be interesting.

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(Photo of Alabama’s Ryan Williams: Brandon Sumrall / Getty Images)