Talarico is trying to win back Hispanics along the Texas border who swung toward the GOP

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — A black campaign bus with “Talarico for Texas” painted on the side came to a steaming halt at Memo’s Restaurant on the U.S.-Mexico border. Bibi Valdez’s eyes lit up. He walked towards the bus in his heels, pointing his phone camera at the door and chatting about the locals who had changed their political leanings two years ago.

“A lot of people, especially Hispanics, chose to be Republicans for some reason,” he said as security guards cleared space for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. “I don’t understand what the logic is.”

Talarico is seeking to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1994. Memo’s Restaurant was one stop on a circuitous journey across the border this month; He was seeking support from predominantly Hispanic counties that have become national political curiosity after the 2024 election.

Many who were once consistently Democrats voted for Republican President Donald Trump, some overwhelmingly. Spanish voters shift to the right at the national level. On this part of the border, residents and elected leaders generally point to two reasons: the increase in both border crossings and daily prices. One has fallen dramatically since 2024, and it wasn’t the cost of eggs.

While Trump has cracked down on illegal border crossings, once Democrats’ Achilles heel, the cost of living remains high, giving Talarico an issue he has touched on repeatedly while campaigning against Republican Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general.

Whether Talarico’s message will sway Hispanic voters who went to the GOP and returned to the Democratic Party will help determine the Senate race and could determine whether Democrats can win control of the Senate.

Talarico, a former middle school teacher and state lawmaker, was taking time to shake hands and pose for photos in front of Memo’s Restaurant, which was packed with people wanting to see him. While waiting his turn, Valdez wondered out loud why people he knew were voting Republican.

“They thought about a better economy, but obviously it didn’t work out that way,” he said, before smiling to pose for a photo with the candidate.

Talarico says the economy is rigged against working people

As Talarico started his speech, the crowd at Memo’s Restaurant, under the beating fans, mobilized shoulder to shoulder.

“A lot of politicians are coming to the border to demonize and weaponize,” Talarico said. “We’re doing the exact opposite. We’re showing the beauty of our border communities.”

This was one of several times Talarico referenced the border during his stop; instead he turned to an economy he said was rigged to help “mega donors” and criticized Paxton for being a “puppet politician” for the wealthy.

“No matter how hard we work, no matter how much we save, we cannot get ahead because the system is rigged against us,” he said.

Talarico is not the first Democratic Senate candidate in recent years to draw crowds and give the party hope of winning in the reliably Republican state. Beto O’Rourke went on a similar mission in 2018 and failed.

Republicans remain confident in Texas, but Democrats see some reason for optimism.

While Trump is gaining support from Hispanic voters in 2024, the president’s views have fallen among Hispanics overall since he took office, according to AP-NORC polling. In a June AP-NORC poll, only 29% of Hispanic adults nationwide approved of his performance as president; This is a marked decrease from 41% at the beginning of his second term.

Residents worry about high costs as illegal border crossings decline

The ebb and flow of immigrants in communities along the Rio Grande, which marks the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, is not an abstract political issue. People here still remember — mostly with empathy — hundreds of people gathered under a bridge in reflective emergency blankets and the blow to local businesses and town coffers.

Many people said there was little help from President Joe Biden’s administration.

“It was a nightmare because of him. You don’t see any immigrants anymore,” said Hector Flores, 72, sitting with two friends at a McDonald’s in Maverick County, about an hour south of Memo’s Restaurant.

Maverick County experienced one of the sharpest swings toward Trump in 2024, from supporting Biden by 10 percentage points to supporting Trump by 19 points.

These three men, who have different political views, were not following the Senate race very closely. But the issues they had in mind were the same ones Talarico and Paxton talked about, from high costs to ICE and social issues.

Eduardo “Lalo” Riojas, 73, sitting next to Flores, said costs were good under past presidents. Now, “You go to HEB to buy goods, food,” he said, interrupting without using the correct English word.

“Expensive,” Flores suggested.

“Yes,” said Riojas, who supports Talarico. “Mr. Trump is crazy.”

For Flores, who works in orphanages across the border in Mexico, these high prices don’t make her question her Republican vote. Nor is he politically influenced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s sometimes deadly operations inland; These operations upset both Hispanic and other Trump supporters.

“I love ICE,” Flores said.

76-year-old Mike Garcia, who sat across from the duo and said he voted for Trump three times in a row, was more cautious.

“Some of those they killed have been living in the United States for years and have children,” Garcia said.

He said Paxton, who was himself impeached, later acquitted and faced allegations of corruption and extramarital affairs, had a “terrible reputation.” But he is also disturbed by Talarico’s comments about God’s gender; It’s a statement Paxton has used to attack his opponent while appealing to the conservative values ​​of Texas voters.

Garcia still didn’t know which candidate he would support in November.

Talarico and Paxton criticize Biden’s border policy

Paxton has leaned more heavily on immigration enforcement as an issue, including at his own border stop in the Rio Grande Valley.

Speaking to a circle of supporters in McAllen, Paxton primarily touted the lawsuits he has filed against the Biden administration over immigration enforcement and the support he has received from the National Border Patrol Council.

He then returned to some of his basic attacks on Talarico; These included the Democrat repeating remarks that Talarico, a seminary student, made in the Texas House several years ago, citing Scripture that “God is not dual.”

His campaign’s Hispanic outreach director said Paxton is doing what Hispanics want, including fighting criminals and companies that prey on consumers, and attacked Talarico as “weak.”

“Hispanics know Ken Paxton is a strong man who shares our values, and we see James Talarico as a weak liberal,” Alex Alarcon said. “Nobody looks at him and thinks there’s a man to protect us from the cartels anymore.”

Talarico didn’t completely avoid talking about immigration enforcement during his border trip.

At a news conference, Sanderson stopped in Texas with local sheriffs to pledge to invest in surveillance technology to detect illegal crossings and hire more border patrol agents and immigration judges.

Later, after a town hall where voters voiced their frustrations over rent, property taxes and health care, Talarico spoke with The Associated Press about what’s happening there.

“The Biden administration has failed border communities in this way, and that’s why people are disappointed. They were open to an alternative, and Republicans came here with some big promises,” he said.

Now “they see that many of the promises made are not kept.”

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Associated Press reporter Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.