Democrat Johnny Garcia Wins Texas 35th District Primary

NBC News projects Democrat Johnny Garcia has won his party’s primary in Texas’ 35th Congressional District. Garcia defeated Maureen Galindo, whom party leaders had condemned for antisemitic comments. The district was redrawn by Republicans to combine two Democratic seats and create a new district leaning their way.

The district runs from Austin to San Antonio.

Donald Trump carried the district by about 10.5 points in 2024. An outside group spent $1 million to boost Galindo despite the controversies surrounding her. Punchbowl News reported that the super PAC Lead Left PAC had links to a GOP fundraising platform.

One television ad from Lead Left framed Galindo as a fresh face compared with “weak Democrats” and highlighted her calls to eliminate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a recent Instagram post, Galindo wrote that she wanted to turn an ICE detention center “into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking,” among other things.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other national Democratic leaders disavowed Galindo’s “antisemitic” and “dangerous” statements and castigated Republicans, whom they accused of being behind the effort to boost her.

Garcia will face Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz in the fall after he won the Republican primary runoff Tuesday night. Trump endorsed De La Cruz over state Rep. John Lujan, who had Gov. Greg Abbott’s backing. De La Cruz is the brother of Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who represents a nearby district.

The new district’s voting-age population is about 52% Hispanic, according to data from the Texas Legislative Council. Brandon Steinhauser, a longtime Texas Republican strategist who previously was a top aide to Sen. John Cornyn, told NBC News that Republican lawmakers’ decision to draw the congressional map the way they did was “making some big assumptions that President Trump’s support among Hispanics in Texas would translate in the future” to the rest of the party.