Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Garcia defeated housing activist Maureen Galindo in the Democratic primary runoff to represent Texas’ 35th Congressional District after Galindo’s antisemitic comments and the origins of her advertising money prompted outrage.
Garcia will face Republican Carlos De La Cruz, who won his party’s runoff, in the November general election. De La Cruz, brother of Rep. Monica De La Cruz, defeated state Rep. John Lujan.
Galindo, who finished first in the primary, called for an ICE detention center to be turned into a prison for American Zionists and said Jews run Hollywood and worship the “synagogue of Satan.” Democrats, including Texas Reps. Al Green, Greg Casar and Texas Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico, all condemned Galindo’s comments, and Republicans blasted the party for antisemitism.
Lead Left PAC, a pop-up group formed in early May that hasn’t had to disclose its donors, spent nearly $1 million on Galindo to create TV ads and mailers. Its website metadata initially linked to Republican donation platform WinRed, Punchbowl News reported, causing Democrats to denounce it as GOP meddling.
In an ad, Garcia called Galindo “MAGA’s favorite,” saying her comments would make her the easiest Democrat to beat. Galindo has repeatedly blasted Garcia for his position as a cop and taking money from pro-Israel groups.
Galindo said in an Instagram post on May 21 that she never said she wants people in internment camps. However, she doubled down on her comment about the ICE facility, saying she wants it turned into a “prison for the billionaire Zionists who have profited off genocidal prison state materials and trafficking.
Texas’ 35th District is one of several targeted by Texas Republicans last year to increase GOP congressional representation. Its current representative, Casar, was drawn out of the seat, paving the way for four Democrats and 11 Republicans to run in the March primary election.
The new district boundaries contain less than 10% of its former constituency and now cover parts of San Antonio and outlying eastern areas in Bexar, Guadalupe, Wilson and Karnes counties.
If the updated lines had existed in 2024, the district would have gone to Donald Trump by about 10 points, though the nonpartisan Cook Political Report gives congressional Republicans a four-point advantage. Still, Democrats have set their sights on overcoming the GOP gerrymander that created the Hispanic-majority district, believing they can capitalize on a leftward shift of Hispanic voters since Trump took office.
Throughout his campaign, Garcia pitched himself as an “old-school, law-and-order” Democrat that he argued was necessary to beat a Republican challenger. Some of his priorities include increasing federal grant funding for local law enforcement, ending Trump’s tariffs and preventing members of Congress from stock trading.
He was backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who put him on their “2026 Red to Blue” list, the centrist Democratic caucus Blue Dog Coalition and Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, a group that backs pro-Israel Democrats.
In a news release, Blue Dog Action congratulated Garcia on his victory and said he “will keep this seat blue in November.”
De La Cruz, a retired Air Force veteran who finished behind Lujan in the primary, was bolstered by Trump’s endorsement ahead of the primary and was fundraised by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. AI and cryptocurrency super PACs also poured a combined more than $2 million into pro-De La Cruz spending.
De La Cruz’s win against Lujan is also notable because Lujan was one of the Republicans in the Texas Legislature who carved out the district at the president’s request. Part of Lujan’s current constituency overlaps with the new congressional boundaries.
Some of De La Cruz’s priorities include strengthening border security, AI innovation and rolling back clean energy regulations to make costs more affordable for consumers.
