Texas Hispanics voting red this year

 Red State:

For decades, Democrats have relied on the votes of black and Hispanic voters to keep them in office. The constant drumbeat of "Republicans are racist!" doesn't seem to be working anymore as those voters struggle in the Biden-Harris economy. While Democrats' wildest dream might be to turn the Lone Star state blue, it's the exact opposite of what appears to be happening. A definite shift happening among Hispanic voters in Texas could spell trouble for the Democrats in the 2024 election and beyond.
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The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is an area that directly borders Mexico. The population is primarily Hispanic, and traditionally, it has been heavily Democratic. But that appears to be changing. Residents who describe themselves as lifelong Democrats are increasingly at odds with their party. The soaring cost of living in one of the nation's poorest areas and disagreement with Democrats on cultural issues have these lifelong Democrats taking a look at the Republican Party.

Five counties make up the RGV. Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy, Zapata, and Cameron. Numbers from the last two elections illustrate how the tide might be turning. In 2016, Hillary Clinton took all five of these counties. In Zapata, which is 94 percent Hispanic, Clinton soundly beat Donald Trump with 65 percent of the vote to 32 percent. But in 2020, something happened. A county that had been reliably blue for nearly 100 years flipped red, with Trump beating Joe Biden with 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent.

The trend toward Donald Trump has spread across the other RGV counties as well. He gained 69,493 more votes across those counties from 2016 to 2020, and local Republican officials are excited at the possibility those numbers could go higher in 2024. Toni Trevino is Starr County's Republican Chair and said, “His support is just really remarkable....It’s off the charts, more so than in ‘16 and ‘20.” The reason for the shift is pretty obvious. Jennifer Thatcher, Zapata County's Republican Chair, said, “What they want is change. Everybody’s tired of the same thing, you know, same empty promises and nothing getting done.”
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I graduated from High School in San Benito, about 20 miles north of Brownsville, at the very tip of Texas, on the Mexican border.  I think there are fewer Anglos in the border area now than when I lived there.  What I can say about the Hispanics I grew up with is that they were very patriotic and often joined the military.  I can understand their transition to the GOP in the current climate.