Texas
Progressive Democrat's ad decrying “chaos” on the border riles up her South Texas supporters
:focal(1x0:2998x1463)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/e4cd4688ffabf75836b91fe085a96b65/0607%20TDP%20Convention%20JH%20TT%2080.jpg?ssl=1 "Progressive Democrat's ad decrying “chaos” on the border riles up her South Texas supporters")
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In 2022, Michelle Serrano and her South Texas nonprofit helped get the word out about a progressive Democratic candidate trying to win the vacant congressional district in her area of the Rio Grande Valley.
That candidate, Michelle Vallejo, hosted community events at her family’s flea market decrying what she called the “hyper-militarization” of the border due to an increased presence of law enforcement and the construction of a border wall.
But Serrano said she didn’t recognize Vallejo last week in her first major political ad of this new election cycle where she stood shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement officials criticizing the “chaos at the border” and saying it was “time to get serious” about fixing the issue.
“Everybody has this idea that Michelle was pro-immigrant and pro-community and instead we’re getting … pro-police,” Serrano said. “It’s totally against what people expected. That’s why the anger is there.”
Serrano isn’t the only one who feels betrayed. Vallejo’s social media channels are filled with angry posts from people accusing her of pandering to Republicans with her new ad. Some are threatening not to vote for her if she doesn’t pull it down.
Vallejo, who is running against U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, again this November says her messaging has been consistent on border security and legal pathways for unauthorized immigrants to become citizens: she wants both.
“I have always advocated to make sure we have the resources we need to make sure our border region is safe and secure and to make sure our families have the opportunity to live their American Dream,” Vallejo said in an interview. “We can both recognize there’s a problem in border security and immigration but we can and must treat people with dignity.”
She said she plans to listen to all constituents – Democrats, Republicans and independents – and work on border solutions even if that means working across party lines. She supports the policies laid out in the U.S. Senate’s Bipartisan Border agreement earlier this year, which fizzled after House Republicans refused to consider it. That bill would have put more Border Patrol agents on the ground and expanded capacity in detention facilities, as well as provided more resources for immigration courts to process asylum seekers more quickly.
That legislation reflects the reality and complexity of the issues facing border communities, she said, while criticizing her opponent for not advocating for its passage.
While the border ad surprised some of her past Democratic supporters, it wasn’t exactly a pivot in her politics as she was similarly centrist on the border in her 2022 campaign.
In that election, she echoed border policies that other South Texas Democrats like McAllen Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and Laredo Rep. Henry Cuellar have advocated for years. She supported funding to update the ports of entry and for Border Patrol agents facing low-morale, in a recognition that many of her constituents are employed by the federal agency.
But to her critics, there’s a clear change in tone.
“It’s a clear shift in messaging,” Serrano said. “I don’t believe for a second that this is what she always believed. Had that been the case, I don’t think so many people would have put in so many volunteer hours and the show of support [from last cycle].”
Meanwhile, De La Cruz’s campaign called Vallejo’s latest border ad a “disingenuous about-face.”
“It’s no surprise that even her own allies recognize her dishonesty, and that Democrats no longer take her campaign seriously,” Andrew Baughman, De La Cruz’s campaign manager said in a statement. “Our community has rejected her before and will do so again because South Texans know Congresswoman De La Cruz is doing a great job fighting for a strong border and a thriving economy.”
The Republican incumbent says she is the true border security candidate and touts her support for Border Patrol agents and border infrastructure – including a wall – and has called for the return of Trump-era immigration policies like the “Remain in Mexico” policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their asylum applications were processed.
Congressional District 15, which stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to Seguin, northeast of San Antonio, is one of the few competitive congressional districts in Texas. Sometimes mockingly called the “fajita strip” because of its shape, the district was redrawn in 2021, taking out reliably Democratic voters and replacing them with rural conservative voters in the northern part of the district.
Under the old district lines, voters in 2020 favored President Joe Biden over Republican Donald Trump by 2 percentage points. Under the new district, voters in the district would have preferred Trump by 3 points.
Those changes helped boost De La Cruz to Congress in 2022, after the district’s former representative, Gonzalez, ran in the neighboring and more favorable Congressional District 34 and opened up a vacancy.
De La Cruz defeated Vallejo by 8 percentage points in their first face-off and the Cook Political Report rates the competition this year as likely favoring Republicans.
Those election results may explain why Vallejo is trying to tackle immigration head-on, said Alvaro Corral, a political science professor at the University of Texas at the Rio Grande Valley.
“Her and her campaign are probably trying to shore up some support in the northern part of her district,” he said. “You might not win those but losing by less margins in the northern parts of CD-15 would probably be their game plan.”
Corral said the ad seemed like a “sensible” approach to border security and immigration especially given their importance to voters, who consistently rank those issues as the first or second most important in Texas voter surveys.
Corral noted that the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Dallas Rep. Colin Allred, is also emphasizing his bipartisan approach to border security and running ads with law enforcement praising how “tough” he would be on the border.
The Democratic messaging is a calculated risk, said Jeronimo Cortina, a political science professor at the University of Houston. Vallejo may anger some of her more progressive and young supporters but appeal to independent and moderate Republicans who have higher patterns of voting.
“The strategy here is you need to have a coalition that has core supporters but also need to have some people from the middle,” Cortina said. “That’s how you have to build that coalition and fight for those true independents who may be issue voters.”
That approach appeals to voters in the district like George Ramon, who identifies as an independent and has supported Democrats as well as Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the past. He will be voting for Vallejo in November.
“I’ve always said that the immigration system is broke and in order to fix it, it’s going to require bipartisan support,” he said. “It’s going to require a sensible approach. You can’t just be security only. Can’t be Democrat or Republican. It’s gotta be a bipartisan issue.”
Many of Vallejo’s supporters were drawn to her because of her progressive values. During her first campaign, she ran on “Medicare for All” and was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders.
For those voters, the ad was off base.
“It sounded like a Republican ad,” said Amanda Elise Salas, a political activist in the Rio Grande Valley. “It shocked me because she had a very different stance on border security.”
Salas said Vallejo not only hosted events against border militarization at her business but also participated in them and was seen as an ally to those activists.
“That’s the reason why it’s so jarring to them,” she said. “Because people saw her and her space as a place to talk and show resistance to the militarization of the area.”
De La Cruz’s campaign highlighted Vallejo’s participation in an arts festival where participants held signs with the message “FUCK ICE,” short for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. They also flagged her consulting work for Trucha, a progressive multimedia platform, which has previously called for defunding ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration.
They also knock her for past comments Vallejo has made about being “afraid” to go to a local park near the Rio Grande for Easter celebrations because there are too many border agents on patrol.
But Vallejo is getting reinforcement from some high-profile supporters, like U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a progressive Democrat from El Paso.
“I, like Michelle, live in a more realistic world, a more pragmatic world where we have to compromise in order to ensure we can achieve most of our goals,” she said. “Michelle, like me, believes that one of the best ways to secure the border is through legal pathways and that the best way to reach that is to compromise with Republicans in order to end the status quo.”
Escobar said fellow Democrats should not hold out for someone promising to deliver everything they want because that is not realistic. They have to work within the confines of the two-party system, which Vallejo is promising to do. And importantly for Democrats, Escobar said, replacing De La Cruz with Vallejo could help the party win back the U.S. House, which would drastically change the immigration conversation.
“We have to look at this issue through a lens of wanting to get to a solution,” she said.
Vallejo said the border ad is only the start of her messaging to voters and she wants them to look at her entire policy platform which includes improved access to affordable health care and bringing high-paying jobs to the district when they make a decision between her and De La Cruz.
“I knew there was a need for our community to have a representative who will fight for the things that we are experiencing and the things we need in South Texas,” she said. “I’m working really hard to make sure our community knows that I’m the champion our community needs to get the resources we have for far too long been lacking.”
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TribFest Keynotes Announced! Be there when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin take the keynote stage at The Texas Tribune Festival! Whitmer will talk with Texas Tribune co-founder Evan Smith about her memoir, her key victories in Michigan and the importance of every vote. Youngkin and Smith will close out TribFest with a conversation about his record, the state of his party and a conservative policy agenda for America. Explore the full program of 300+ speakers and 100+ events. Get tickets today.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — James Talarico did not mention Donald Trump when he greeted exuberant supporters at his primary night celebration.
But the newly minted Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Texas is now a front man for the political opposition to the Republican president, not just in his own state but around the country. With his victory over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the state lawmaker from Austin will test whether a smiling message of unity and change is enough to answer voters’ frustrations amid discord at home and now a war abroad.
READ MORE: What to watch in the consequential Senate primaries in Texas
“We are not just trying to win an election,” Talarico told supporters in the Texas capital early Wednesday. “We are trying to fundamentally change our politics, and it’s working.”
The campaign provided “Love thy Neighbor” signs to people in the crowd.
The question for Talarico as he heads into the general election campaign is whether he can generate enthusiasm from voters who opted for Crockett because they saw her as the more aggressive fighter against Trump. Crockett conceded to Talarico on Wednesday morning, saying that “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.”
Talarico will need all the help he can get in a Republican-dominated state where Democrats have gone decades without winning a statewide race. He will face either U.S. Sen. John Cornyn or state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who advanced to a Republican runoff on Tuesday.
Conventional political wisdom has it that Talarico was the stronger Democratic candidate in November, especially if Republicans nominate Paxton, a conservative firebrand who has weathered allegations of corruption and infidelity over the years.
WATCH: What’s at stake for Democrats and Republicans in the Texas Senate primaries
Although Democrats are often choosing between moderate and progressive candidates in primaries, they faced a largely stylistic choice in Texas.
Talarico, 36, is a Presbyterian seminarian who quotes Scripture and rarely raises his voice. Crockett, 44, is an unapologetic political brawler who hammers Trump and other Republicans with acidic flourish.
Both have been reliably progressive votes in their current roles and telegenic faces across cable news and social media. Both represent generational change for a party with aging leadership. Each called for a more equitable economy and society. Each talked about bringing sporadic voters into their coalitions.
But Talarico’s broader argument is one that he could have made regardless of whether Trump was in the White House. Talarico’s campaign, he said often, is about addressing a country whose fundamental divide is not partisan but “top vs. bottom.” He regularly assails the rise in Christian nationalism. A former teacher, he has advocated for public education –- and against Texas conservatives’ policies to restrict curriculum and reshape how U.S. history is taught.
“He’s just a good friend and he’s a serious advocate for the disenfranchised and a serious policymaker,” said Lea Downey Gallatin, 40, an Austin resident who became friends with Talarico when they interned together for a congressman.
Crockett promised Democrats that she could increase turnout within the party’s base, while Talarico campaigned on the theory that he could pull new people into the party’s tent.
“I can’t tell you how many have come up to me, whispering that they’re not a Democrat,” Talarico said as he campaigned in San Antonio in the closing days of the primary campaign. “I can’t tell you how many young people have said it’s the first time that they’ve ever voted, and that they are participating for the first time.”
As he strolled through the city, Talarico posed for pictures and greeted the singer of a Tejano band playing nearby. He later spoke to hundreds of people at the historic Stable Hall, a 130-year-old circular structure built for showing horses and now a converted event center. Hundreds more, unable to get into the full event, wound around the corner and along the sidewalk for blocks.
Inside, Lori Alvarez, a 39-year-old who works for a disaster relief nonprofit, said she supported Talarico because “he really listens to what we need.”
“I think he’s going to be able to make change in Washington for us,” said the married mother of three young girls.
Yet that was not what attracted so many voters to Crockett.
Troy Burroughs, a 61-year-old Navy retiree, called Crockett “rugged” and “the only one I see fighting for us.”
He added: “I like how she doesn’t back down from anybody.”
Burroughs said some voters probably saw Talarico as more electable because he is more soft-spoken. But, he said, “We’ve got to get into the gutter with these folks, because that’s where they are.”
Talarico, meanwhile, keeps fighting his own way.
“Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope,” he said Tuesday, “and a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing.”
Barrow reported from Atlanta, Figueroa from Austin, Texas, and Beaumont from San Antonio.
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Garland is about to witness a different kind of big top spectacle when Omnium Circus’ new show “I’m Possible” rolls into town for its first Texas performance on March 16 and 17 at the Atrium in Garland.
This inclusive circus was founded in 2020 by founder and executive director Lisa B. Lewis. She is no stranger to the circus world. Lewis grew up attending the circus with her grandfather, who was a Shriner. She would then later begin her own circus career at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College.
A performer in a black suit rides inside a cyr wheel
against a stage lit in red. The letters of the OMNIUM
sign are in the background.
The idea for an inclusive circus came to her during one of her first experiences working as a clown. Lewis says that during her performance, she saw a row of grumpy teenagers.
“They had their arms folded like they were mad and grumpy, and then my partner, whom I was working with, began telling jokes in sign language,” Lewis said. “How he knew they were deaf, I don’t know. The group of teenagers immediately started laughing, and the energy of the entire section shifted.”
Lewis said that in that moment, something clicked in her head, and she realized the power of inclusion.
She would then go on to spread joy through the art of circus to special-needs kids. And then later, she created Omnium Circus.
“Circus elevates our belief in ourselves; it allows us to see the best of what humanity has to offer,” Lewis said.
A female with blue hair facing a man with a red hat
Maike Schulz
between them is a large bubble with smaller bubbles
inside of it. There is a golden light coming from
behind the bubbles.
Omnium is a Latin word meaning of all and belonging to all. The circus’ mission is to create joy and entertainment for all no matter the body you inhabit or the skin that you’re in.
The hour-long show in Garland will feature many inclusive acts, such as deaf singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey, an America’s Got Talent finalist and Golden Buzzer winner.
The show will feature two ringmasters: deaf ringmaster Malik Paris will conduct the sign-language portion of the show, while ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson will handle the vocal portion. Iverson is the first Black ringmaster for a major U.S. circus, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
A juggler wearing red and black gazes at his pins in
the air while cast members around him look on in
amazement. The letters of the OMNIUM sign are in
the background behind the performers.
The show will also feature the six-time Paraclimbing World Cup champion, the world’s fastest female juggler, clowns from Dallas, plus more.
Details: March 16 at 7 p.m. and March 17 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.at the Atrium, 300 N. 5th Street, Garland. Tickets are $21.99 for youth and $27.19 for adults.
Texas
Texas GOP Sen. Cornyn tries to hold his seat for a 5th term while Democrats Crockett, Talarico face off
DALLAS (AP) — Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is trying to hold on for a fifth term in Tuesday’s GOP primary, while Democrats will choose whether to send Rep. Jasmine Crockett or state Rep. James Talarico to a November general election where the party once again hopes it has a chance.
Texas is one of three states kicking off this year’s midterm elections, a slate of primaries that come as the U.S. and Israel are at war with Iran. The war, which began over the weekend, has killed at least six U.S. service members, spiraled into a regional confrontation as Iran retaliated and sent oil and natural gas prices soaring. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on an isolationist “America First” agenda and went to war without authorization from Congress, faces mounting questions over its rationale and an exit strategy.
Tuesday also is the final day of voting in North Carolina and Arkansas in primaries that mark the start of the 2026 midterms, as Democrats look to break the GOP’s hold on Washington and derail Trump.
Cornyn faces a challenge from MAGA favorite Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a contest that’s expected to advance to a May runoff between the top two vote-getters. The three Republicans have campaigned on their ties to Trump, who has not endorsed in the race.
Crockett and Talarico each argue that they are the stronger general election candidate in a state that backed Trump by almost 14 percentage points in 2024 and where a Democrat hasn’t won a statewide race in over 30 years.
Voters also are choosing House candidates using new congressional district boundaries that GOP lawmakers — urged on by Trump — redrew to help elect more Republicans.
Cornyn fights to hold seat, Crockett and Talarico race for Democrats
Cornyn hopes to avoid becoming the first Republican senator in Texas history not to be renominated.
His cool relationship with Trump is part of why Cornyn is vulnerable. He and allied groups have spent $64 million in television advertising alone since July to try stabilize his support.
Paxton began campaigning in earnest only last month but has made national headlines for filing lawsuits against Democratic initiatives. He has remained popular in Texas despite a 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges, of which he was acquitted, and accusations of marital infidelity by his wife.
Senate GOP leaders, who are backing Cornyn, worry that Paxton’s liabilities would require the party to spend substantially to defend the seat if he is the nominee — money that could be better used elsewhere.
READ MORE: Lawsuit by Trump ally Paxton asserts unproven claim of autism risk from acetaminophen
Paxton has run ads touting his support from Turning Point USA, the group founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as well as Kirk’s praise for Paxton before he was assassinated in September.
Hunt’s entry into the race in October made it trickier for any primary candidate to win at least 50%, the threshold needed to avoid a May 26 runoff.
All three Republicans have run ads boasting of their coziness with Trump.
On the Democratic side, the party’s first major contest of 2026 offers a choice between stylistic opposites as it hungers for its first Senate win in Texas since 1988.
Talarico, a seminarian who often references the Bible, has held rallies across the state including in heavily Republican areas. Crockett, who has built a national profile for zinger attacks on Republicans, has focused on turning out Black voters in the Dallas and Houston areas.
Talarico had outspent Crockett on television advertising by more than four to one as of late February. He got a burst of attention last month from CBS’ decision not to air his interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert. Colbert said the network pulled the interview for fear of running afoul of Trump’s FCC. Talarico’s campaign announced it raised $2.5 million in the 24 hours after the interview — which was streamed online — was pulled from TV.
Key House primaries
Texas Republicans’ unusual, mid-decade redistricting was aimed at helping Trump’s party pick up five Democratic-held seats in an effort to avoid losing control of the House. It set up some intraparty conflicts between Democratic incumbents, and what are expected to be some of November’s most competitive races.
In the 34th District, former Rep. Mayra Flores is attempting a comeback. Flores made history in a 2022 special election as the first Republican to win in the Rio Grande Valley in 150 years, but she lost her bid for a full term later that year. She faces Eric Flores, a lawyer endorsed by Trump, for the nomination to run against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.
In the 23rd District, Rep. Tony Gonzales is considered vulnerable after fellow Republicans called on him to resign over an affair with a staffer who killed herself. He is being challenged by gun manufacturer and YouTube influencer Brandon Herrera, who calls himself “the AK guy.” The district includes Uvalde, site of a deadly 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw is challenged in the 2nd District by GOP state Rep. Steve Toth, who was endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz.
Former Major League Baseball star Mark Teixeira is running in District 21, in southwest Texas, for the seat held by Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who is running for state attorney general. Teixeira, a Republican, played for four MLB teams, including the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees when they won the 2009 World Series.
Democrat Bobby Pulido, a Latin Grammy winner, is running in South Texas’ 15th District against physician Ada Cuellar. The nominee will face two-term Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz.
In the 33rd District, Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson faces former Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and 2024 Senate nominee. Johnson, a first-term congresswoman, is seen as vulnerable partly because Allred previously represented part of the district, which weaves through the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. He also retains a national fundraising network from his Senate campaign.
And Democratic Rep. Al Green also is fighting to stay in office after his Houston-based 9th District was drawn to be lean Republican. Green, 78, is now running in a newly drawn 18th District against Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, 37, who won a January special election for the current 18th District. The new one includes two-thirds of Green’s old district.
Abbott and Hinojosa seem bound to face off for governor, while Roy seeks Paxton’s office
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is running for reelection and faces a likely matchup with Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
Four-term U.S. Rep. Chip Roy is seeking the GOP nomination for state attorney general, with Paxton running for Senate. Roy has been a prominent member of the conservative Freedom Caucus.
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