Texas Hispanic Republican Teaches a Lesson the Democrats Don't Want You to See

Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman, FedUp PAC

How can a Republican win in a district with these characteristics?

  • Hillary Clinton won this district by 11.6% in 2016
  • Democrats have held this seat for 139 years
  • It’s 73% Hispanic and African-American
  • Beto O’Rourke is supposedly running strong in his race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, giving emotional momentum to the state’s Democrats
  • The GOP candidate ran for this seat four years ago and lost by 20%
  • And this district spans 17 counties, some of them bordering Mexico on the Rio Grande (and remember, Hispanics are supposed to be against the Wall)

 Hopeless?  Hardly.  Pete Flores won this district by a margin of 53% to 47% on September 18.  He did it by taking conservative positions on national issues--issues that obviously appealed to the overwhelmingly Hispanic voters in his district. 

 And, says Newt Gingrich, Flores has given conservatives “a Texas blueprint for a Red Wave election in 2018.”

 "All this talk about a 'blue wave'? Well, the tide is out," says Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

 This victory is in Texas Senate District 19, and Flores is now the first Hispanic Republican State Senator in the state.  His opponent was Pete Gallego, a former U.S. congressman—hardly unknown.  Turnout was high—twice that in the last special election runoff—so the Democrats cannot blame their loss on low turnout.  And Flores embraced his conservative endorsements, including Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Right to Life, Gun Owners of America, the Texas Home School Coalition Association, and Texas Alliance for Life.

 The Nationalized ‘Big Choice’ Issues

Gingrich explains that some of the big choices in this border district were:

“Right to life versus tax-paid abortion. As devout Catholics, many Hispanic voters simply won’t vote for a liberal once they understand they are for tax-paid abortion. Of course, every Democrat who is campaigning for free government-run health care is campaigning for tax-paid abortion.

 “Safe borders versus dangerous gangs. As Lieutenant Governor Patrick explained, “most law-abiding Hispanics support controlling the border, stopping criminals, and keeping their community safe from gangs like MS-13.” As he pointed out, he campaigned four years ago on repealing the sanctuary city law in Texas and got about 50% of the Hispanic vote. Flores’s own campaign website clearly states: “Our borders must be secure, and our communities must be    safe…We will make Texas borders secure and a bad place to be for criminals and gangs. We are and must remain a state where the rule of law reigns.”

 “Gun rights versus gun control. Many Hispanic voters strongly support the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. They distrust and oppose liberals who want to have government control their guns.

 “Local rule versus centralized bureaucracy. Most Hispanic voters favor smaller government, lower taxes, and more community rather than Washington controls (or Austin controls in this case).

 “Work versus welfare. There is a strong work ethic in the Hispanic community, and the job-creating power of the Trump system is being admired and applauded. Currently having the lowest Hispanic unemployment rate in history is a real asset for Republicans in the 2018 campaign.”

 Also, I would note, Flores’s Democrat opponent ran what The Texas Tribune described as “a largely positive pitch about being the safe, reliable choice—‘I Trust Pete [Gallego] was the slogan—while Flores was not afraid to hammer attacks, airing radio and TV ads seeking to tie Gallego to Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi” (another example of a nationalized issue). 

 The leftist mainstream media don’t want voters to know about the results of this special election because it calls into doubt their forecasts of a “blue wave,” and exposes how conservatives can win the Hispanic vote by nationalizing the election with conservative issues and branding the Democrats as the radical leftist party they’ve become.  Therefore YOU must let the voters and candidates in your area know that this is how we can win the Hispanic vote and win the election.