While Biden carried the vote in the Rio Grande Valley, he did so with a much tighter margin than Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. That erosion — in an area considered a Democratic stronghold — is a warning sign to the party as it tries to flip the state.It also serves as a stark reminder that the Latino vote is diverse, especially in a state the size of Texas. And that Democrats cannot take it for granted.
How did that happen? Fire the consultant who told you that all Hispanics hate Trump. Yes, some do but lots of them don't!
GOP candidates wrapped the "law and order" message around every Democrats neck and it worked. Defund the police turned out to be the mother of all political losing messages. There are many Hispanics who serve as police officers in South Texas. I'm sure that they voted for President Trump. Going forward, I think that many Texas Democrats want to put "defund the police" in the trash and let the truck pick it up Wednesday.
Most of all, we learned this year that Hispanics need to be courted. The Trump campaign visited the area and organized events in the valley and the Texas-Mexico border. It turned out to be a plus for the GOP as evident by the rallies and lines of cars and trucks with Trump flags.
Memo to 2022 and 2024. Hispanics are here and willing to listen to the candidate who courts them.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.