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(AURN News) DALLAS \u2014 Hispanic voters, particularly small-business owners, are expected to play a decisive role in the Texas Senate race, according to an opinion piece<\/a> in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.<\/p>\n Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, wrote that the state\u2019s growing Hispanic population is no longer a predictable voting bloc and must be actively engaged by candidates in both parties.<\/p>\n \u201cA little over 12 million people in the state of Texas self-identify as Hispanic,\u201d Palomarez said in an interview with AURN News. \u201cThey are the largest single population in the state of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n Palomarez also told AURN News that Hispanics make up about 40% of the state\u2019s population and have become more politically independent in recent years, with voters willing to cross party lines depending on the issues.<\/p>\n He pointed to economic concerns as the top priority for many Hispanic voters, particularly those who own or operate small businesses.<\/p>\n – Advertisement –\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe top issues were then and continue to be what is now being referred to as issues of affordability\u2026 I\u2019ve got to pay the bills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Palomarez said that includes concerns about inflation, interest rates and access to capital \u2014 factors that directly affect entrepreneurs and working families.<\/p>\n The opinion piece also highlights how candidates<\/a> who engage directly with Hispanic communities \u2014 through outreach and conversation \u2014 may gain an advantage in the race.<\/p>\n Palomarez cited increased engagement from some candidates as evidence that outreach can influence voter turnout and support.<\/p>\n He said both Democrats and Republicans have historically taken Hispanic voters for granted, often assuming they would vote along party lines without targeted outreach.<\/p>\n But that dynamic, he said, is shifting.<\/p>\n – Advertisement –\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever gets the Hispanic vote is going to have to work for the Hispanic vote,\u201d Palomarez said.<\/p>\n Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Jamie Jackson<\/a>:<\/p>\n The post Hispanic Voters Could Decide Texas Senate Race<\/a> appeared first on American Urban Radio Networks<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(AURN News) DALLAS \u2014 Hispanic voters, particularly small-business owners, are expected to play a decisive role in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-212609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Texas state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks at a primary election watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo\/Eric Gay)<\/p>\n
<\/a>Primary voter Allie Davis carries her seven-week-old son Declan as a Dallas County Election Navigator checks her ID before entering a voting center in Dallas, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/LM Otero)<\/p>\n