Early voting analysis in two primarily Hispanic counties along the Texas border suggests Republicans are outpacing Democrats in voter enthusiasm and perhaps turnout, and Hispanic politicians in the state tell Fox News that its indicative of a larger trend.A report from the political consulting company Ryan Data & Research shows that
Republicans are 76% of the way to matching 2018 turnout in Cameron County, Texas along the southern border with Mexico with eight days remaining until Election Day. In Hidalgo County, which also sits on the border with Mexico, turnout is 65% of the way to matching 2018.
On the
Democrat side, the party is only 59% of the way to matching 2018 turnout in Cameron County and 47% of the way in Hidalgo County.
Hispanic political candidates and operatives in Texas told Fox News that the early data points to a
larger trend of Hispanic voters, especially in the Rio Grande Valley, supporting Republican candidates in areas that have been predominantly controlled by Democrats for decades.Armenta added that there is a "new" and "different energy" with Republican voters in the predominantly Hispanic Rio Grande Valley, where he believes that the Republican message of family values, border security and cracking down on crime is resonating with voters.
"It's about the issues that are impacting their home," Armenta said. "The issues that are impacting their pocket book, their schools, the crime in their neighborhoods. When as a Republican candidate, I'm talking to them and I just ask them even in the last 13 months of the Biden administration, 'Are things better for you?' The answer is, 'No.'"
Armenta explained that Hispanic voters in South Texas are very much concerned about illegal immigration in their neighborhoods and support Republican efforts to secure the southern border.
Border security is all about crime," Armenta said. "These voters, the Latino voters, are legal citizens. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-early-voting-data-hispanic-shift-gop