A congressional map redrawn to hand Republicans another seat is turning on President Donald Trump, according to a strategist on the ground.
Democratic strategist Jackie Rosa, who works with the group The Bench, told host Tim Miller on Tuesday’s episode of “The Bulwark Daily” that Bobby Pulido, a Tejano music star running in a South Texas district Gov. Greg Abbott redrew ahead of the midterms, now holds a commanding lead there despite Trump carrying it by 16 to 18 points.
“I believe the latest poll was 13 points up, which is pretty crazy,” Rosa said.
Rosa, whose father’s side of the family has lived in the Rio Grande Valley “since before Texas was a state,” said there was plenty of doubt last year that anyone could flip a district like it.
“This is one of the most swingy, swingiest areas in the country. People are not beholden to a party. It’s very much the candidate,” she said. “And someone like Bobby is very much in alignment with the people there culturally, values-wise.”
Pulido, the son of Tejano music pioneer Roberto Pulido, was born and raised in South Texas and still lives there. Rosa said his family’s music has been “the soundtrack of South Texas life” at weddings, baptisms and carne asadas for decades.
“Bobby’s very famous in his own right and is a huge star,” Rosa said. “Obviously you see a lot of celebrities run for office…With Bobby, it’s very different because it’s so cultural.”
Rosa pointed to a recent rally in Beeville, a small town in a rural South Texas county that she called “ruby red,” where Pulido appeared alongside gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and Senate candidate James Talarico. She said nearly 3,000 people turned out.
“More people showed up at this rally than the entire county voted for Kamala Harris in 2024,” Rosa said.
She added that the region’s 2024 swing toward Trump came as residents “felt neglected” over the border and the economy, but said the Trump administration’s immigration raids have since hit the Valley hard.
“What’s happening right now is just not humane. It’s not sustainable,” Rosa said. “[It] is also destroying the economy there.”
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