{"id":482375,"date":"2026-10-31T13:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/482375\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T13:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:00:35","slug":"latino-voters-in-texas-rio-grande-valley-regret-backing-trump-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/482375\/","title":{"rendered":"Latino Voters In Texas\u2019 Rio Grande Valley Regret Backing Trump In 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

WESLACO, Texas \u2014 Slowly pushing a shopping cart down the aisle at a Walmart Supercenter in this remote border town, Nivia was initially reluctant to talk politics.<\/p>\n

But when asked how the past two years have been for her and her community under the Trump administration\u2019s policies, the 48-year-old Latina resident unloaded.<\/p>\n

\u201cScrewed up,\u201d fumed Nivia, who, like others we talked to, requested only using her first name. \u201cWhere do I even start? Everything is wrong with ICE. Innocent people taken away, families torn apart. Everything\u2019s just worse, everything\u2019s so expensive. And the pay rate doesn\u2019t go up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lives in the nearby town of Alamo, one of many heavily Latino communities in the Rio Grande Valley, which stretches along the southern border of the United States and Mexico. Residents here have historically been Democratic voters, until 2024, when they broke with a decadeslong pattern and helped elect President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Nivia was one of those voters. At the time, she was hopeful Trump was going to make the economy better. She thought he would focus his aggressive immigration enforcement tactics on violent criminals. Instead, the costs of groceries and gas have gone way up, and good people she\u2019s known personally have been taken from their families and deported.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret it,\u201d she said of her vote for Trump. \u201cI guess I was blindsided.\u201d<\/p>\n

The regret Nivia is experiencing is common throughout the Rio Grande Valley, a region that has become symbolic of the destruction of Trump\u2019s 2024 coalition, which Republicans were so confident would hold together that they redrew the area\u2019s congressional lines last year, believing the conservative lean of the region\u2019s Latino voters was a new fact of politics.<\/p>\n

Instead, residents have revolted, angry about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, high prices and everything else. Their rebellion could mean three congressional districts the GOP state Legislature drew to be solidly Republican instead go to Democrats. Voter turnout in the area is expected to be high and could power state Reps. James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa to victory in the state\u2019s U.S. Senate and governor\u2019s races, making them the first Democrats elected statewide in three decades.<\/p>\n

Both sides of the political aisle are treating the region as crucial: Talarico, Hinojosa and Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido campaigned in Weslaco last weekend. Vice President JD Vance headlined a campaign event in September in Harlingen.<\/p>\n

Interviews with nearly two dozen voters in the valley about Trump, their lives over the past two years and how they plan to vote in the midterms yielded a litany of complaints like Nivia\u2019s: anger at high prices, anger at ICE\u2019s presence and a feeling they were duped by a billionaire president.<\/p>\n

Like most residents we talked to, Nivia said she definitely plans to vote and is backing Talarico. She said it\u2019s in part because of her anger at Trump\u2019s recklessness, doing things like demolishing the East Wing of the White House \u2014 \u201che should be in a mental institution\u201d \u2014 and in part because she sees Republican candidate Ken Paxton as corrupt. Paxton, the sitting attorney general, was previously indicted on felony charges<\/a> of securities fraud, and impeached by his own party<\/a> on 20 counts of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cKen Paxton, I mean, he\u2019s the one charged for bribery? It\u2019s obvious you\u2019re an idiot if you choose that guy,\u201d she said. \u201cHow is it he didn\u2019t get kicked out on the first day? I think once you break a law, you should just automatically be out, you\u2019re fired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linda, 75, said she\u2019ll be voting for a straight Democratic ticket. A resident of Mercedes, she voted for Trump twice in the past but has soured on him and the GOP as the costs for her electricity, groceries and gas have gone up. She said her standard grocery bill used to be about $100. Now it\u2019s closer to $300.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually I would be Republican, but now I\u2019m changing all the way around,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause of the way the world\u2019s going right now and who\u2019s handling it. It\u2019s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for her past support for Trump, \u201cI regret that I did vote for him because I had liked him before, but not anymore. I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Linda added. \u201cI\u2019m finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PresidentPresident Donald Trump’s border wall looms over towns in the Rio Grande Valley, literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n

Anxiety about immigration crackdowns is palpable in the valley. Trump\u2019s border wall is just minutes away from these towns, and it\u2019s easy to take one wrong turn and nearly drive right into Mexico. Customs and Border Patrol agents slowly patrol dirt roads by the wall, and where sections of the wall have been taken down for modifications, National Guard troops sit for hours next to the Rio Grande, watching Mexicans across the river watching them.<\/p>\n

The tension is weighing on some Latino voters here. \u201cAll that they do with immigrants, it is rough,\u201d said Esteban, 78, of Alamo. \u201cSome of them are killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t know who Talarico was by name but said he was going to vote for a straight Democratic ticket because he\u2019s unhappy with the high costs of meat and doesn\u2019t like Trump\u2019s immigration tactics: \u201cWe\u2019re gonna vote for the guy who\u2019s going to change all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Juanita Garza, a devout Christian who lives in Donna, said she\u2019ll be voting for Democrats because she\u2019s done seeing ICE tear families apart. She said one of her friends was separated from her husband, who was undocumented and is now in a federal detention center. Garza said he is a hardworking man and a good person, and she\u2019s been trying to help a Christian mariachi band raise money to help him.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily is the most powerful treasure we have in life, and he\u2019s separating them,\u201d Garza, 54, said of the president. \u201cTrump is what, a Republican? I\u2019m gonna vote for the Democrats. I\u2019m pro-family, pro-good.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she regularly prays that conditions will get better for immigrants in the United States, many of whom are trying to \u201cdo better for ourselves, for our family, for our community and, at the end, for our country.\u201d If the president wants to root out and deport undocumented people, she said, \u201che should look for the bad people, not the good people.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be sure, some voters we talked to said they stood by Trump and planned to vote for Republicans on the ballot. There just weren\u2019t that many of them, and in some cases, they were married to someone not happy with the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s trying his best,\u201d Apolonio Gonzales, 63, said of Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe keeps saying the economy is better,\u201d interrupted his wife, Ana Marie, 64. \u201cWell, our wallets aren\u2019t saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both identify as deeply religious, conservative Republicans. They\u2019d just voted that day, but they voted very differently from each other: Apolonio supported all the GOP candidates, while Ana Marie voted for all the Democratic candidates except in the governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

Paxton \u201ccommitted fraud,\u201d said Ana Marie, so that\u2019s why she supported Talarico. But the bigger issue to her is that Trump has too much power, and he needs a check.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the House, the Congress, the Senate. No, no, no, no, no, no. That\u2019s just not right,\u201d said Ana Marie. \u201cI voted all the way down Democrat. … He\u2019s got too much power. So when you create opposition, then he\u2019s not as strong. That\u2019s my main reason for voting like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SupportersSupporters listen to Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speak at the Voto Latino’s \u201cReady. Go. Vote.\u201d campaign rally outside of the Mustang Lounge Night Club on Oct. 25 in Weslaco, Texas.<\/p>\n

Brandon Bell via Getty Images<\/p>\n

A few people said they didn\u2019t plan to vote. They thought it wouldn\u2019t make a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf my girl tells me to go, then I\u2019ll go,\u201d Lucio Faz of Weslaco said with a laugh. He said his longtime girlfriend previously voted for Trump but isn\u2019t happy with him now because of \u201cthe immigration thing he\u2019s got going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never voted,\u201d said another woman, Valerie, 23. It\u2019s a 30-minute drive to the nearest polling station from her home in Alamo, she said, and that\u2019s too far.<\/p>\n

Would she vote if there was somewhere to vote in her town? \u201cProbably,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Annette, a 46-year-old resident of Alamo, was looking at the prices of eggs and juice at an HEB supermarket when we talked. A school secretary with three kids, Annette voted for Trump in 2016 but hasn\u2019t voted since then. She said life got too busy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrange juice used to be $1.25. Minute Maid. Now close to $2,\u201d she said, motioning to drinks in the coolers. She\u2019s not sure if she\u2019ll be voting in the midterms but said her community is unhappy with Trump because he didn\u2019t follow through on his promises.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a check that was going to come in. No one got it,\u201d said Annette, referring to the president last year promising $2,000 tariff \u201cdividends\u201d<\/a> to Americans. \u201cAnd a lot of health insurance got cut off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, some of the residents with the strongest feelings about voting were young. It\u2019s too early to know how much young voters in Texas will shape these elections, but turnout is generally up in early voting around the state, and there\u2019s already been a noticeable bump in voters younger than 45<\/a> casting ballots compared to the 2022 midterm elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get why you wouldn\u2019t vote,\u201d said Alexandra, 24, who was planning to vote that day, right after her shift at 707 Coffee House in Alamo. She listed by name all of the candidates she was planning to support and said she would be voting Democratic across the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many reasons to vote,\u201d she said. \u201cLike, the economy. Being a woman. Schools. I have nephews in school, and I don\u2019t know, just the thought of, like, gun safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexandra said it seems like older people in the area can be \u201cclosed-minded\u201d and that a lot of people \u201cjust don\u2019t care\u201d about elections. But her generation \u201cis very engaged,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cielo, a 27-year-old lash artist, said she\u2019s definitely voting too: \u201cWe\u2019re the ones paying the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA display with the word “vote” in Spanish is seen before the start of a midterm campaign rally Oct. 25 in Weslaco, Texas.<\/p>\n

GABRIEL V. CARDENAS via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Alex Perez, 40, has been torn about voting for years. He has two kids and spends his days working at La Casa Azul Coffee Bar in Weslaco. During a 30-minute conversation, Perez said he doesn\u2019t want to be \u201cthat guy\u201d who says voting doesn\u2019t matter, because he knows it matters. He just \u2026 feels like it doesn\u2019t matter. The last time he voted was in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery politician that I\u2019ve seen from here, they change and they follow the money,\u201d Perez said. \u201cLike, they can say whatever they want. They can do whatever they want when they get in office, and that\u2019s what speaks. And it just feels like the same story.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said a lot of people in his community don\u2019t like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and yet, he keeps being reelected governor: \u201cA lot of the programs and stuff that he\u2019s done have not made this place better.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the days after we spoke, Perez emailed to say he may be having a change of heart. He talked about hardships he\u2019s endured and his belief that everyone should vote, even if he hasn\u2019t been. Just talking about politics and elections, he said, is rare for him, and it got him thinking about his role in all of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your patience,\u201d Perez wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cP.S. I\u2019m going to look into voting again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WESLACO, Texas \u2014 Slowly pushing a shopping cart down the aisle at a Walmart Supercenter in this remote…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2137,2135,1967,13543,1472,27,29,28,2558],"class_list":["post-482375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-2026-elections","tag-james-talarico","tag-ken-paxton","tag-latino-voters","tag-rio-grande-valley","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482375","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=482375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}