The Republican theory of the 2026 midterm election was based on the idea that Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 made a permanent shift rightward and could be used to build a wave-proof gerrymandered majority to keep the House with the GOP.
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That was the entire idea behind Texas Republicans redrawing their congressional districts to net them more House seats, but even before the ink was dry on the new map, signs showed Republicans had gotten it totally wrong.
Trump immediately did everything that he could to alienate the Hispanic voters who supported him in Texas, and they are seething with rage at the president.
The New York Times talked to Hispanic voters in Texas and found a grim scene for Republicans:
In more than two dozen interviews across the region in recent weeks, Hispanic voters said they were furious over the president’s approach to immigration and the economy — the very problems they had counted on him to fix.
Trump is coming to Texas on Thursday, and things could get ugly.