© 2024 Allbritton Journalism Institute
Election 2024 Trump Border
Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and congressional Republicans have made Eagle Pass, Texas the poster child for their immigration message. Eric Gay/AP

South Texas Has Shifted Toward Trump. Are Democrats Letting It Happen?

Republicans “recognize that national Democrats have left communities like Eagle Pass to their own devices,” Beto O’Rourke tells NOTUS.

Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and congressional Republicans have made Eagle Pass, Texas the poster child for their immigration message. Eric Gay/AP

EAGLE PASS, TX — It’s hard to tell that South Texas is a battleground. Kamala Harris certainly isn’t campaigning here. Her Beyoncé-studded Texas rally was for Houston. Democrats’ best hope of taking out Sen. Ted Cruz, Colin Allred, has spent some time campaigning in the Rio Grande Valley, but other than that, there’s not much star power devoted to these Texas border counties.

Beto O’Rourke appears to be the only big-name Democratic surrogate coming down in the very final stretch of the campaign cycle.

“If you don’t do the work, you know, Greg Abbott is showing up,” O’Rourke told NOTUS in Eagle Pass. “They’re putting dollars into this community. They recognize that national Democrats have left communities like Eagle Pass to their own devices without any real outside help or support.”