Beto O'Rourke blames President Biden for more Texas Hispanics voting GOP

O'Rourke went on to acknowledge former President Trump, saying that his economic message during the 2020 campaign was very compelling. 

Published: September 25, 2022 11:21am

Updated: September 25, 2022 3:36pm

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke said that because President Biden didn't spend time campaigning in the border region of Texas, more Latinos in those regions are voting red. 

"Candidate Biden didn't spend a dime or day in the Rio Grande Valley or really anywhere in Texas, for that matter, once we got down in the homestretch of the general election," O'Rourke told a crowd at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Fox News reported. "You got to be locking eyeballs with the people that you want to fight for and serve and whose votes that you want to win."

O'Rourke went on to acknowledge former President Trump, saying that his economic message during the 2020 campaign was very compelling. 

"It was literally one syllable, one word — it was 'jobs,' and he kind of offered a false choice: 'I can either keep you holed up in your house during this pandemic, or I can open up all places of employment and prioritize the economy,'" O'Rourke said at the rally in Austin. "What did we have on our side? Nothing."

There has been a recent shift in Hispanics voting for the GOP, with one example being Rep. Mayra Flores winning a special election for Texas's 34th Congressional District back in June, defeating Democratic opponent Dan Sanchez by 8 points.

Cassy Garcia in the 28th Congressional District and Monica De La Cruz in the 15th Congressional District are two other examples of Latina women running as Republicans for the upcoming midterm elections. 

Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales believes that the shift to the right in Latino voters is going to keep occurring, especially with the upcoming midterms. 

"We're going to be winning races that no one thought we'd win before," Gonzales said to Fox News Digital on Saturday. "And how are we going to do it? By leaning into our conservative values. This is just the start of the future of the Republican Party. I'm excited to be a part of it."

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