Scoop: Dems launch South Texas ad blitz with Latino voters
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Rep. Monica De La Cruz gives her victory speech on Nov. 8, 2022, in McAllen, Texas. Photo: Sergio Flores for the Washington Post via Getty Images
Two Democratic groups are launching a six-figure ad campaign against Rep. Monica De La Cruz, hoping to capitalize on Latino voters' growing discontent with President Trump's economy.
Why it matters: Democrats see South Texas as a proving ground for whether they can claw back Latino support in 2026.
- At Trump's direction, Texas Republicans advanced a mid-decade redistricting effort, creating five new GOP-leaning congressional seats.
- Latino voters are a majority in four of the districts.
- Fresh polling suggests Trump's standing with Latinos may be slipping, especially on the economy, a top issue heading into the midterms.
The details: The $250,000 buy, first shared with Axios, comes from Way to Win's aligned Valiente Action Fund and Unrig Our Economy.
- The ads — titled "Dreamers & Doers" and "Some Bulls**t" — will run for four weeks in Texas' majority Latino 15th District, anchored in the Rio Grande Valley.
- One ad says: "We want affordable groceries, health care, rent, a better future, but Trump and Congress, their agenda is some bulls**t. It raises costs on us, but lowers taxes on billionaires, cuts food aid for children, raises our electric bills, kicks seniors off their health care. All so billionaires can buy another yacht."
- The effort is also part of Unrig's long-term $12 million campaign across eight states to inform voters about how their members of Congress are voting on Trump's policies.
State of play: Grammy Award-winning musician Bobby Pulido launched a bid to represent the 15th District on Wednesday.
- In a campaign video posted on X, Pulido pointed to lowering costs and securing the southern border as top issues in South Texas.
- De La Cruz, first elected in 2022, handily won reelection last cycle, but the district has historically leaned blue.
The big picture: Trump made historic gains with Latinos in 2024, winning nearly half of their support after losing the group decisively in 2016 and 2020.
- Republicans are hoping those gains will hold, but Democrats argue Trump's signature policies, like sweeping tariffs and the "big, beautiful bill" that became law, are backfiring with Latino voters.
By the numbers: A recent poll from Somos Votantes, a liberal-leaning Latino voter group, found that Trump's favorability with Latino voters has fallen since he returned to the White House.
- Trump's "big, beautiful bill" act has also struggled, with 46% people disapproving of the law, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center conducted last month.
What they're saying: "I think Republicans need to understand what Democrats increasingly are understanding, which is that Latinos really are a swing vote," W2W president Tory Gavito told Axios in an interview Tuesday.
- "We're looking at congressional districts across the South and Southwest that have real Latino swing voters in them to make sure they understand just how extreme the impact of Trump's budget bill has been in gutting Medicaid and food assistance."
- Unrig our Economy spokesperson Leor Tal told Axios the group is looking to "keep a drumbeat going" heading into the midterms.
- "We know that families, especially Latino families, are being hit hard by these cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and we believe that congressional Republicans like Monica De La Cruz need to answer for it," Tal said.
The other side: "House Republicans like Monica De La Cruz are working around the clock to once again earn the trust of voters in South Texas. No amount of liberal dark money can sell their out of touch candidates and failed agenda," NRCC spokesperson Reilly Richardson told Axios in a statement.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the NRCC.
