George Soros is pouring money into local Democratic parties in Texas in a ploy to help Democrats turn the state blue, according to the Texas Tribune.
Soros, working with the Texas Majority PAC, donated six-figure sums to the Democratic parties of Hidalgo, Cameron and Dallas counties, all of which are plurality or majority Hispanic, the Texas Tribune reported. Soros’ spending comes as Democrats have lost ground nationally and in Texas with Latino voters.
Hidalgo and Cameron counties were among the places where Republicans gained the most ground between the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Hidalgo County moved 24 points to the right between the two elections, and Cameron County shifted toward Republicans by 20 points, according to The New York Times.
Hidalgo County is 92.5% Hispanic, and Cameron County is 89.8% Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau. Both counties are located in south Texas and border Mexico. While Dallas County, which is 41.5% Hispanic according to the Census Bureau, got marginally bluer between 2016 and 2020, Latino areas in the southeast and southwest of the county became more Republican, according to a comparison of racial and electoral maps produced by The New York Times.
Republicans are the dominant party in Texas. The Republican Party controls both chambers of the state Legislature, the governor’s mansion, both the state’s Senate seats and the majority of its House seats.
Local Democrats expressed gratitude toward Soros for bankrolling their operations. Kardal Coleman, the chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, called Soros’ donation a “game-changer,” the Texas Tribune reported.
Cameron County Democratic Party Chair Jared Hockema said the funds will enable his party to open a permanent office, hire another employee and fund get-out-the-vote efforts.
“George Soros is a person who knows what’s at stake in the election we face,” Hockema said, arguing that Soros understands the “specter of authoritarianism and fascism.”
(Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is up for reelection in 2024, and Biden only lost the state by 6 points in 2020, making some Democrats optimistic they can win the state.
The Texas Democratic Party said it “welcomes any new investments and efforts that collectively achieve the ambitious goals of keeping Joe Biden in the White House, sending Ted Cruz packing and electing more Texas Democrats up and down the ballot,” when asked about Soros’ donations, according to the Texas Tribune.
Soros has undertaken a broader national effort funding left-of-center Latino activist groups, including some that produce reports instructing Democrats on how to best appeal to Hispanic voters.
While Hispanics remain a pro-Democratic voting bloc, recent trends show that support eroding. Democrats won 71% of the Latino vote in 2016, though that figure declined by eight points to 63% in 2020, according to the Democratic data firm Catalist.
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