Progressive sex therapist Maureen Galindo lost the Democratic runoff for Texas’ 35th District after being accused of antisemitism and facing condemnations from within her own party.
Johnny Garcia’s victory over Galindo on Tuesday has national and Texas Democrats breathing a sigh of relief.
They had moved en masse to disavow Galindo after she said in a recent social media post that she would write legislation to turn a local ICE detention center into a “prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.” They had also accused Republicans of trying to prop her up, pointing to a shadowy super PAC with possible GOP ties, Lead Left, that pumped over $900,000 into the race to boost Galindo and attack Garcia.
The district is one of the five that Texas Republicans are targeting for pickups this fall, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added Garcia, a county sheriff’s deputy, to its coveted “Red to Blue” program to support his candidacy.
Galindo has said she’s not antisemitic and claimed DCCC was trying to “inflame my comments because they want my Israeli-backed opponent.”
In an email to POLITICO last week, she said her proposal for the detention center “was NEVER for Jewish Zionists — it’s for BILLIONAIRE Zionists, regardless of religion. If they’ve done business for genocidal prison state materials or there’s evidence of pedophilia from Epstein files, they should be brought to trial.”
Tuesday’s result is a reversal from the March primary, where Garcia finished second to Galindo.
Blue Dog Action PAC spent over $1 million boosting Garcia’s bid in recent weeks, including over $450,000 to directly counter Lead Left. And he had racked up endorsements from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Texas Reps. Lloyd Doggett, Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar, all of whom represent nearby districts.
Garcia will face Carlos De La Cruz, a Trump-backed candidate and the brother of Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) who won his GOP primary Tuesday night. Trump won the district by 10 points in 2024.