Texas Republicans are facing an unprecedented challenge this year — with new polling giving them a flashing warning sign about one of the state's most important demographics.According to Newsweek, "President Donald Trump’s inroads with Latino voters, a voting bloc that historically leaned toward Democrats, helped carry him to victory in the 2024 presidential race. But his support among those voters has slipped amid backlash to his economic and immigration policies, raising major red flags for Republicans approaching the midterms in states like Texas that have a sizable Latino population.""The new poll from Texas Public Opinion Research found that Latino voters are backing Democrats by sizable margins in 2026," the report continued. "State Representative James Talarico comfortably leads among Latino voters in the Senate race, according to the poll ... Talarico led Cornyn by 32 points among Latino voters, with 57 percent support to the senator’s 25 percent. Talarico received 57 percent against Paxton as well, though the attorney general’s support stood at 30 percent, according to the poll."Paxton is currently the heavy favorite to win the GOP Senate primary runoff, after Trump finally broke his silence on the race and gave Paxton his endorsement.Hispanic voters make up a majority of Texas's population. Texas is one of the only so-called "majority-minority" states that consistently backs Republicans in statewide elections, but Democrats have come within single digits in multiple recent cycles.Trump managed to win Texas by a fairly comfortable margin in 2024; however, there are signs that many of his supporters from that election are turning on him.
