美国国家公共电台 NPR--Republicans make marginal gains in South Texas as Democratic power wanes

Republicans make marginal gains in South Texas as Democratic power wanes³

Transcript⁴

Though more competitive than any previous election cycle, the Rio Grande Valley's midterm races reelected many of its Democratic representatives.

Republican candidates across the Rio Grande Valley in Texas perpetuated⁶ a nationwide narrative⁷ that a "red wave" of GOP support would turn out to the polls on November 8. Blaming rising inflation and increasing migrant crossings on President Joe Biden's policies, their stances were shown in a flurry of attack ads across local news networks.

But it seems that is all it was — a narrative, after the GOP managed to flip⁸ only one state house seat and one congressional district. Even in the state's biggest race, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott did not carry any of the Rio Grande Valley's four counties.

Mayra Flores, Cassy Garcia and Monica De La Cruz became the face of the region's Republican hopes, dubbing⁹ themselves the "triple threat." All campaigned as anti-abortion, border-wall-supporting candidates against the Democratic Party establishment, describing their opponents as corrupt¹⁰ or too radical¹¹ for South Texas.

Of the three candidates, only De La Cruz, an insurance agent based in Alamo, was elected. She won in Texas' 15th congressional district and is the first Republican to be elected to the seat. De La Cruz benefitted from a redrawn district that favored Republicans and would have been carried former President Donald Trump¹³ by 2.8 percentage points. Previously¹⁴, the district favored President Joe Biden by 1.9 percentage points.

Flores, the incumbent¹⁵ of Texas's 34th congressional district, lost to three-time Rep. Vicente Gonzalez by 8 percentage points. Garcia, a former staffer for Senator Ted⁵ Cruz, lost to nine-term Rep. Henry Cuellar by 13 percentage points.

Of the three, Flores was the only office holder¹⁶. She was elected during a special election after then-incumbent Filemon Vela left the seat to work with a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm. Flores' election against moderate, pro-life Democrat² Dan Sanchez signaled to the GOP a possible turning of the electorate¹⁷ in the RGV, after it had already invested heavily into De La Cruz's race at the beginning of the year.

But the margin¹ of Flores' win in June was small, securing only 50.9% of the vote.

So, too, are the margins¹⁸ of GOP voting increases in the Rio Grande Valley during this midterm, compared to the 2020 election. According to the Secretary of State's voter data, the region saw only small increases, and even decreases, in GOP voter turnout compared to 2020.

Like Abbott, none of the Republican candidates carried a Rio Grande Valley county in their races.

GOP weighs wins amid losses in South Texas

The GOP's heavy investment in the area, though, was not without some gains in the traditionally Democratic districts. Though turnout may have been limited from 2020 to present, compared to the 2018 midterms, all four Rio Grande Valley counties saw GOP voter turnout increase between 10 and 18 percentage points.

Republicans did have some victories down the ballot¹⁹, though not in many of the high profile congressional races. Some of those wins came in districts that previously favored Democrats²⁰ which have been redrawn to lean towards Republicans. As reported by the McAllen Monitor, those redistricting efforts were paramount²¹ to the GOP's successes in the Rio Grande Valley.

Cameron County GOP Chair and Texas Republican Party State Committeewoman Morgan Cisneros Graham wasn't surprised by the results, considering how the districts were drawn¹². De La Cruz and Flores' campaigns also had more national and state investment, compared to local races.

Graham says the "red wave" narrative – a term she says she's never been a fan of – was helpful for the national and state GOP to fundraise from. But hardly any of that investment made it to local races.

"When people saw all this money getting pumped into our area, it was only being pumped into two federal races," Graham said.

She continued, "we did not see that [investment] going down at all into those local offices. On top of that, because the focus is at the top of the ticket, it always hurts your down ballot."

Democrats push back against notion of growing GOP power

When it came to local races in the Rio Grande Valley, most of the Democratic incumbents²² were reelected. Regardless, the GOP's gains in the RGV concerned the state's Democratic party.

In an internal memo²³ acquired by the Texas Tribune, the Texas Democratic Party blamed GOP dark money, gerrymandering, voting restrictions²⁴ from Senate Bill 1 and lack of support from national Democratic organizations for the party not "making even larger gains" during the election.

In a year where Republicans were supposed to win across the country in a landslide²⁵, they could barely eke²⁶ out this one win here. They should probably pack up their bags and get the hell out of our region.

Gilberto Hinojosa, Texas Democratic Party Chairman

"Not only did their insidious²⁷ cracking-and-packing strategy simply make several seats more Republican-leaning, it also intentionally²⁸ made 'safe Democratic' districts–ones Republicans knew they could afford to lose–even bluer," Texas Democratic Party executive director Jamarr Brown said in the memo. "These less competitive races means less money invested and less overall Democratic campaigning–which, as we saw, results in lower awareness²⁹ and lower turnout across the board."

But the GOP's gains in the area are not entirely³⁰ unexpected. The Republican Party's investment in the area, in the form of heavy campaign contributions, opening a "Hispanic Community Center," and grassroots organizing have directly engaged a base that has felt ignored by the Democratic Party.

"Those Democratic leaders that have been in power in the Valley for a long time, they haven't traditionally worked very hard to expand the electorate," Cecilia Ballí, cultural anthropologist³¹ and journalist, told NPR. "So I don't think it's only the national Democratic party that has been taking Latinos for granted: I think that the local Democratic establishment has done the same. And so you have some disaffected³² voters who are willing to try something different."

Flores capitalized on this feeling in her campaign, saying the Democratic Party had abandoned South Texas.

After the election, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa saw the GOP's gains in the Rio Grande Valley as a "fluke," calling De La Cruz's election as a sign of the GOP gaining ground "complete b*******."

"There was no red wave in South Texas," Hinojosa said in a statement. "Republicans in Austin and D.C. should understand that if–even in a year where Republicans were supposed to win across the country in a landslide, they could barely eke out this one win here. They should probably pack up their bags and get the hell out of our region."

It was more of a purple wave and there was progress.

Hinojosa's confidence comes from Democrats managing to hold onto most of the Rio Grande Valley seats up for election. Still, in the heavily Latino Rio Grande Valley, Democrats saw narrow wins - and narrow losses - that some say should give them pause.

"The thing that we're not going back to is this notion that the Democratic party automatically has Latino voter support because they are ethnically³³ 'other,' and because they are working class," Ballí said.

Local GOP Chair Morgan Cisneros Graham says the party is now looking towards the 2024 primary elections, focusing on local, judicial³⁴ and school board elections in the Rio Grande Valley. Claiming the metric for what constitutes a "red wave" in Texas politics was never defined, she says the GOP's gains were a positive for the party.

"If somebody's more oriented towards foundational races, which I tend to be, then the impression would be that there was no red wave in the RGV," Graham said. "But if you're somebody who looks more at the impactful, more legislative-type offices, some would argue, well, it was more of a purple wave and there was progress."

1 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 wanes   

v.衰落( wane的第三人称单数 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• The moon waxes till it becomes full, and then wanes. 月亮渐盈，直到正圆，然后消亏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The moon waxes and wanes every month. 月亮每个月都有圆缺。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 perpetuated   

vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• This system perpetuated itself for several centuries. 这一制度维持了几个世纪。
• I never before saw smile caught like that, and perpetuated. 我从来没有看见过谁的笑容陷入这样的窘况，而且持续不变。 来自辞典例句

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

9 dubbing   

n.配音v.给…起绰号( dub的现在分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• There are mainly two forms of film translation: dubbing and subtitling. 电影翻译通常主要表现为两种形式：配音和字幕翻译。 来自互联网
• Its auspices, dubbing the program has won national awards in China. 其主持配音的节目多次获得中国全国奖项。 来自互联网

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

15 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

16 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

17 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

18 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

19 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

20 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

22 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

23 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

24 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

25 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

26 eke   

v.勉强度日，节约使用

参考例句：

• They had to eke out a livinga tiny income.他们不得不靠微薄收入勉强度日。
• We must try to eke out our water supply.我们必须尽量节约用水。

27 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

28 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

29 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

30 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

31 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

32 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

33 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

34 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。