An Army veteran running as a Democrat in a deep-red Texas district says she keeps meeting Donald Trump voters who feel “betrayed” by the president’s war with Iran, and she says the president should be “worried.”
Caitlin Rourk is challenging Republican Chris Gober for an open seat in Texas’ 10th congressional district, which Trump carried by an estimated 22 points in 2024, and the former military intelligence officer who served in the Texas Army National Guard and Army Reserve told The Daily Beast’s PunchUp that voters constantly bring up the Iran war on the campaign trail.
“One of the most consistent things I hear — maybe because people know my military background — is frustration with the war in Iran and what it’s costing them at home,” Rourk said.
“A lot of these voters embraced the ‘America First’ doctrine and feel betrayed,” she added. “They’re asking why we’re spending so much overseas when costs are climbing at home, and there’s still no clear definition of success or end state.”
She said the anger runs especially deep among veterans and men ages 30 to 55.
“I’ve had some random veterans proactively reach out to me with anger that ‘they’re getting our boys killed,’” Rourk said. “I hear ‘reckless’ a lot.”
Rourk said her campaign has made more than 25,000 voter contact attempts without targeting Democratic primary voters.
“I’ve heard ‘I’m a Republican, but I’d cross over for you’ many, many times,” she said. “Anecdotally, I’ve met many three-time Trump voters who say something to the tune of ‘I’m done’ or ‘I’ve had enough’ or ‘Government has gone to s—.’”
Her campaign commissioned a Change Research poll of 613 likely voters, and it found Gober leading 48 percent to 41 percent. Among voters who have heard of both candidates, Rourk led 55 to 45, according to the polling memo. Trump’s favorability in the district was 47 percent, with 50 percent viewing him unfavorably.
National polling points the same way. An AP-NORC poll released last week found that 71 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Iran and 69 percent say the war hasn’t been worth fighting.
Even Ken Paxton, Trump’s pick for Senate in Texas, privately acknowledged that the war and rising fuel prices were hurting his campaign, according to audio obtained by Axios.
“Donald Trump should be worried about districts like this in Texas,” Rourk said.
The Republican National Committee spokeswoman Natalie Baldassare blew off the warning, telling PunchUp that Rourk “should worry about her own campaign before she starts offering advice to the President of the United States.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly praised Trump’s “courage” in going to war with Iran.
Gober did not respond to a request for comment.
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