Never take any state for granted, yes. But also, don’t believe the hype Democrats and the liberal media heap on the ‘Texas will turn blue’ story that occurs every four years. Every year, the same folks on the Left say it’s possible, and every year the Democrats fall short. Wendy Davis was supposed to do that in the 2014 gubernatorial race, only for her to fall way short; she barely got 40 percent of the vote. And speaking of Davis, she also lost her 2020 congressional bid. At the state level, it was a night of disappointment for Democrats in the Lone Star State as well.
Trump has won Zapata County — just north of the Rio Grande Valley along the border — by 6 points, 53% to 47%, per SOS results.
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 4, 2020
Last two presidential elections there were Clinton +33 and Obama +43.
I still absolutely cannot believe that Trump won Zapata County 52-47 in the Rio Grande valley of Texas which he lost to Clinton 65-32%
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) November 4, 2020
There is no other national Republican in America who could have done that. Just incredible pic.twitter.com/hytFLEZf8d
This says it all pic.twitter.com/E5tb6gFVCP
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) November 4, 2020
Trump nearly *quintupled* his 2016 vote total in Maverick County, TX, which is 95% Hispanic on the Mexico border
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 4, 2020
Yet, what is clear is that Trump did very well with Hispanics. In Zapata County, he beat Biden 52/47. He lost to Clinton there 65-32 in 2016. In Maverick County, a border country, which is 95 percent Hispanic, Trump lost to Biden 44/55, but he quintupled his support there. And this was not lost on local media outlets (via Texas Tribune):
Democrats once again won a large number of counties along or near the Texas-Mexico border, but by a much narrower margin than in recent elections. And that underperformance played a big role in disappointing results up and down the ballot for the state’s Democrats.
In 28 counties in South Texas or near the border, Biden won by a combined 17 percentage points, according to election night returns. That’s about half of Hillary Clinton’s 33-point margin over President Donald Trump across those counties four years ago. Biden’s underperformance was even more pronounced in the Rio Grande Valley, which comprises the four southernmost counties in the state. Biden carried those counties by 15 points after Clinton won them by 39 in 2016.
The relatively poor showing prompted immediate soul-searching by Democrats in the state as politicians, party leaders and voters debated whether the various regions along the border — and Hispanic voters across Texas — have been taken for granted.
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Voters and opinion polls are shiftable sand and Democrats just ignoring folks for years appear to be taking its toll. That and Donald J. Trump built a stellar economy. Yes, the pandemic caused a huge issue, but we’re on our way to recovery—big league. It’s sad voters didn’t see that.
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