Texas Tribune
Democratic primary runoffs for congressional and state legislative seats in South Texas are putting on display clearly different directions for the party as it approaches a general election where Republicans are set on capturing new territory in the region.
These additional runoffs are also deeply meaningful for Democrats. They also showcase a new guard of more progressive Democrats taking on more moderate Democrats, often backed by more established local political players.
In Texas Senate District 27, Morgan LaMantia and Sara Stapleton-Barrera are competing for the Democratic nod to replace a retiring incumbent, Eddie Lucio Jr., who leaves behind a long legacy of bucking his fellow Democrats on social issues.
And in House District 37, Ruben Cortez Jr. and Luis Villarreal are jockeying for the Democratic slot in a new battleground district that Republicans created for themselves in the redistricting process last year.
All the contests have grown contentious in recent weeks as candidates fight to show they are the best standard-bearer for Democrats going forward in a newly competitive region. Here is a look at some of the runoffs:
Texas Senate District 27
Morgan LaMantia and Sara Stapleton-Barrera are running for the Democratic nod to replace a giant in
South Texas politics: state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., the Brownsville Democrat who has represented the 27th District since 1991. And he looms prominently over the race given that he has endorsed LaMantia, and his socially conservative politics are not widely embraced inside the party these days.
But LaMantia has made clear she disagrees with him on some key issues — like his opposition to abortion rights — while looking to fend off a persistent progressive campaigner in Stapleton-Barrera, who ran against Lucio in the 2020 primary and forced him to a runoff. Despite LaMantia’s massive spending in the March primary — over $1.5 million — she and Stapleton-Barrera finished close together, getting 34% and 33%, respectively.
Now LaMantia has shaken up the runoff with a full-throated message criticizing both Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden on the border, vowing to stand up to both parties to fix immigration.
“To President Biden: The surge is here, there’s still no plan, and we on the border are paying the price,” LaMantia says in a TV ad, which is complemented by a mailer that tells Biden to “walk back your decision on [ending] Title 42,” the pandemic-era policy that border officials are using to quickly expel migrants at the border. One mailer shows a grainy, dark shot inside a migrant detention facility.
Stapleton-Barrera said Biden’s move to rescind Title 42 is the “right thing to do” and “an important step toward rebuilding the asylum system.” She accused LaMantia of using “national Republican rhetoric and trying to scare people here on the border.”
LaMantia defended the advertising in an interview, saying border communities are “fed up” with inaction by both parties on immigration reform. She said the frustrations are resonating even among the hardcore Democrats that can be expected to turn out for a primary runoff.
There is no shortage of contrasts, especially with Stapleton-Barrera’s old opponent — Lucio — in the mix. She said the district does not need “another one of [Lucio’s] mouthpieces,” and even if LaMantia is sounding different notes on abortion rights, “I don’t think that necessarily means she’s gonna be a champion or go up to bat on it.” LaMantia said Lucio remained an asset for her candidacy given all his experience and the void in seniority the next senator will have to fill.
More broadly, LaMantia pointed to her business experience — her family owns L&F Distributors, a beer wholesaler throughout South Texas — as her main difference with Stapleton-Barrera.
“Where she enjoys the soapbox, I enjoy the work,” LaMantia said.
Whether the GOP is serious about flipping this seat is the most open question among the Democratic primary runoffs in South Texas. But just like elsewhere, Republicans got a head start in SD-27, finalizing their nominee, Adam Hinojosa, back in the March primary.
All the contests have grown contentious in recent weeks as candidates fight to show they are the best standard-bearer for Democrats going forward in a newly competitive region. Here is a look at some of the runoffs:
Texas Senate District 27
Morgan LaMantia and Sara Stapleton-Barrera are running for the Democratic nod to replace a giant in
South Texas politics: state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., the Brownsville Democrat who has represented the 27th District since 1991. And he looms prominently over the race given that he has endorsed LaMantia, and his socially conservative politics are not widely embraced inside the party these days.
But LaMantia has made clear she disagrees with him on some key issues — like his opposition to abortion rights — while looking to fend off a persistent progressive campaigner in Stapleton-Barrera, who ran against Lucio in the 2020 primary and forced him to a runoff. Despite LaMantia’s massive spending in the March primary — over $1.5 million — she and Stapleton-Barrera finished close together, getting 34% and 33%, respectively.
Now LaMantia has shaken up the runoff with a full-throated message criticizing both Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden on the border, vowing to stand up to both parties to fix immigration.
“To President Biden: The surge is here, there’s still no plan, and we on the border are paying the price,” LaMantia says in a TV ad, which is complemented by a mailer that tells Biden to “walk back your decision on [ending] Title 42,” the pandemic-era policy that border officials are using to quickly expel migrants at the border. One mailer shows a grainy, dark shot inside a migrant detention facility.
Stapleton-Barrera said Biden’s move to rescind Title 42 is the “right thing to do” and “an important step toward rebuilding the asylum system.” She accused LaMantia of using “national Republican rhetoric and trying to scare people here on the border.”
LaMantia defended the advertising in an interview, saying border communities are “fed up” with inaction by both parties on immigration reform. She said the frustrations are resonating even among the hardcore Democrats that can be expected to turn out for a primary runoff.
There is no shortage of contrasts, especially with Stapleton-Barrera’s old opponent — Lucio — in the mix. She said the district does not need “another one of [Lucio’s] mouthpieces,” and even if LaMantia is sounding different notes on abortion rights, “I don’t think that necessarily means she’s gonna be a champion or go up to bat on it.” LaMantia said Lucio remained an asset for her candidacy given all his experience and the void in seniority the next senator will have to fill.
More broadly, LaMantia pointed to her business experience — her family owns L&F Distributors, a beer wholesaler throughout South Texas — as her main difference with Stapleton-Barrera.
“Where she enjoys the soapbox, I enjoy the work,” LaMantia said.
Whether the GOP is serious about flipping this seat is the most open question among the Democratic primary runoffs in South Texas. But just like elsewhere, Republicans got a head start in SD-27, finalizing their nominee, Adam Hinojosa, back in the March primary.
House District 37
Much to the chagrin of Rio Grande Valley Democrats, Republicans divided up state House districts in the region during redistricting last year and came out with a newly competitive district based in Cameron County, including South Padre Island. President Joe Biden would have carried it by only 2 percentage points.
Republicans swiftly consolidated behind Janie Lopez, a San Benito school district trustee, and she easily won her primary in March. But the Democratic primary went to a runoff between two candidates who hail from distinctly different local factions: Luis Villarreal, a young former aide to state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville; and Ruben Cortez Jr., a member of the State Board of Education who challenged Lucio in the 2020 primary.
Cortez is arguing Villarreal would be “more of the same,” a moderate like his former boss who is too cozy with Republicans. He has also highlighted that Villarreal recently worked as an executive for a staffing company that partnered with a troubled nonprofit to open a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the Valley.
“This young man is poised to become the next Ryan Guillen,” Cortez said, referring to the longtime South Texas state representative who switched parties and joined the GOP last year. “He is not gonna fight for this battleground district every two years. … He will fold to the Republican Party.”
Cortez has seized on two donations that Villarreal made to Republicans toward the end of the 2020 election — $5,000 to the state Republican Party and $2,800 to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn — asking if Villarreal is running in the right primary. Villarreal has not shied away from the contributions as he has characterized them as indicative of the kind of bipartisan cooperation needed in the state Senate.
Asked at a recent forum if it is OK for Democratic candidates to have previously donated to Republicans, Villarreal answered in the affirmative, saying it “shows character in a way that you’re willing to work with both sides.”
“We’re here locally, and we need to ensure that you’re able to get what you need done,” Villarreal said, “and sometimes that means working with the other side, as I will when I become a legislator.”
Cortez has faced his own attacks from charter-school advocates, who he has battled on the State Board of Education. One pro-charter school PAC, Charter Schools Now, is running an ad against Cortez that hits him as an “unethical” politician “out for himself.” Villarreal has piled on, writing on Facebook on Friday that Cortez “has spent the last 18 years milking the government’s cow.”
Republicans swiftly consolidated behind Janie Lopez, a San Benito school district trustee, and she easily won her primary in March. But the Democratic primary went to a runoff between two candidates who hail from distinctly different local factions: Luis Villarreal, a young former aide to state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville; and Ruben Cortez Jr., a member of the State Board of Education who challenged Lucio in the 2020 primary.
Cortez is arguing Villarreal would be “more of the same,” a moderate like his former boss who is too cozy with Republicans. He has also highlighted that Villarreal recently worked as an executive for a staffing company that partnered with a troubled nonprofit to open a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the Valley.
“This young man is poised to become the next Ryan Guillen,” Cortez said, referring to the longtime South Texas state representative who switched parties and joined the GOP last year. “He is not gonna fight for this battleground district every two years. … He will fold to the Republican Party.”
Cortez has seized on two donations that Villarreal made to Republicans toward the end of the 2020 election — $5,000 to the state Republican Party and $2,800 to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn — asking if Villarreal is running in the right primary. Villarreal has not shied away from the contributions as he has characterized them as indicative of the kind of bipartisan cooperation needed in the state Senate.
Asked at a recent forum if it is OK for Democratic candidates to have previously donated to Republicans, Villarreal answered in the affirmative, saying it “shows character in a way that you’re willing to work with both sides.”
“We’re here locally, and we need to ensure that you’re able to get what you need done,” Villarreal said, “and sometimes that means working with the other side, as I will when I become a legislator.”
Cortez has faced his own attacks from charter-school advocates, who he has battled on the State Board of Education. One pro-charter school PAC, Charter Schools Now, is running an ad against Cortez that hits him as an “unethical” politician “out for himself.” Villarreal has piled on, writing on Facebook on Friday that Cortez “has spent the last 18 years milking the government’s cow.”
8 comments:
MAMONES their priorities line their pockets look at the sucios!!!
Tu sabes que yo se.
Yes, look at the Sucios. As the article notes, Luis Villarreal in one of their interns. So we are going to replace a Sucio with someone trained by the Sucios?
Folks dont worry the red tide is coming in November 2022, the Republicans will win all of these seats, so Dont Worry be Happy. Just ask Gilberto Hinojosa el dick face.
There are no good choices here and can't hope for the best, cause it NEVER HAPPENS not here any way.... MAMONES Y RATAS!!!
FACT: The Buffalo killings are part of a pattern: Most extremist violence in the U.S. comes from the political right.
Leave Luis alone. He is a political novice. He will probably lose, but will come back stronger next election! Fuerza Luis! #Villarreal2024
McAllen started a volunteer program asking for artist to paint murals downtown and other places. IMAGINE THAT? Here the city commissioners take from the taxpayer and hire some idiota from california and pay them 40,000 dollars to paint A WALL, A WALL, A WALL...
WHEN IS THIS PENDEJADAS GONNA STOP???? Y el pinche mayorsito con sus movidas chuecas. HE NEEDS TO GO!
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