Democrat rebuked by party for antisemitic remarks will lose Texas House runoff

By Arit John, CNN

(CNN) — Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy, will win the Democratic primary in Texas’ 35th Congressional District, defeating an opponent rebuked by the party over antisemitic statements.

Garcia will defeat Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist and housing advocate whose use of antisemitic tropes in criticizing Israel drew national attention and widespread condemnation from members of both parties.

Tuesday’s runoff election became for many a referendum on Galindo’s remarks and a test of whether national Democrats, at a time of increasing anti-Israel sentiment in the party’s base, could stop her.

Galindo caught Democrats off guard when she placed first in the March 3 primary, despite spending just a few thousand dollars on her campaign. After a mysterious super PAC spent nearly $1 million boosting her bid, Democrats were forced to grapple with the possibility that she could win the nomination — an outcome the party worried could jeopardize its chances in the district and tie them to rhetoric they’ve denounced.

“She does not reflect the values of Democrats, and she certainly doesn’t represent the values of San Antonio,” said Laura Barberena, a locally based Democratic strategist.

Democrats launched an aggressive push to defeat Galindo. Garcia was backed by BDA PAC, a group associated with the House’s centrist Blue Dog Coalition; the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC; and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which named him on its “Red to Blue” list for strong recruits.

Garcia will face Republican Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran endorsed by President Donald Trump, in the general election. Texas Republicans last year redrew the 35th Congressional District, which Vice President Kamala Harris won by 34 points, into one that would have voted for Trump by 10 points in 2024, according to a CNN analysis.

Galindo, who denies that her remarks are antisemitic, attributed her success in the first round of the primary to grassroots support. She raised just $5,344.50 through the end of March — a fraction of what other candidates brought in — according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.

Texas Democrats instead pointed to an influx of infrequent voters who were drawn in by the competitive US Senate primary between state Rep. James Talarico and US Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

“That brought a lot of untraditional Democratic primary voters that may be not as informed,” said Bert Santibañez, a San Antonio-based Democratic strategist. “They go down the ballot, they see Maureen Galindo — a woman first name, Latino surname — and that gets the nod for them.” (Galindo has a Spanish surname, but has described herself as White.)

Galindo’s views were also less widely known ahead of the first round of the primary.

But even before the March 3 vote there were signs that she was going beyond criticism of Israel and drifting into antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. She wrote in December that she wouldn’t accept Israel’s “blood money” and said in January that “Jewish church leadership has a dominant economic and political (& media) power that is very real, harmful, and should be named and criticized.”

Her remarks drew national attention last week, after she posted on her campaign Instagram account that, if elected, she would turn a local ICE detention center into a “prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”

Galindo has pushed back on accusations that she wants to put Jewish people in detention centers. In a statement last week, she said her “proposal for Karnes Detention Center was NEVER for Jewish Zionists– it’s for BILLIONAIRE Zionists, regardless of religion. If they’ve done business for genocidal prison state materials or there’s evidence of pedophilia from Epstein files, they should be brought to trial.”

Asked for comment about the reaction to her campaign, Galindo referred to a similar statement on her website.

Garcia told CNN last week that if voters had been aware of Galindo’s comments before the first round of the primary, there would have been a different result.

“It just goes to show that while she doubles down on her rhetoric, we have to double down on making sure that we win this race, because there’s so much at stake,” he said.

Despite the backlash, there had been some concern that Galindo could still advance.

John Lira, who placed fourth in the Democratic congressional primary, condemned Galindo’s remarks but told CNN ahead of Tuesday’s runoff that he thought she could still win if voters saw her as the only candidate critical of Israel.

“She gives those folks a rallying cry,” Lira, who rescinded his initial endorsement of Galindo after The New York Times profiled her remarks in a May 11 op-ed.“Even though they might not agree with her to the maximum degree that she’s pushing, that her rhetoric is pushing it, they might say, ‘You know what, at least she’s speaking out.’”

Tali deGroot, the vice president of political and digital strategy for J Street, a progressive Jewish organization, said voters do want leaders to hold Israel accountable. But, she added, they can also see the distinction between legitimate critiques of Israel’s government and Galindo’s “hateful” and “unacceptable” comments.

“The Democratic base wants to see their elected officials speaking out with more moral clarity and courage against the acts of the Israeli government that everybody sees on their face are inhumane and unjust for the Palestinians,” she said. “I still believe in the Democratic base and voters, and know that our community is not going to show up and vote for candidates like this.”

Since coming in first in the March 3 primary, Galindo had benefited from nearly $1 million in support from Lead Left, a super PAC that has touted her in mailers and TV ads as a progressive who would take on ICE. National Democratic leaders say the PAC is a Republican effort to meddle in Democratic primaries.

Though Lead Left claims it “stands against MAGA extremists who will infect our country with Donald Trump’s agenda,” Punchbowl News reported that its website previously included links to a Republican fundraising platform in its metadata. The group has also intervened in Democratic primaries in Nebraska and Pennsylvania to back candidates the national party views as less competitive.

The super PAC, which registered with the Federal Election Commission last month, has not yet disclosed its donors and has limited information on its website. Lead Left did not respond to requests for comment.

“We were moderately concerned about her on the ground energy,” said Brian Romick, the chairman of the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC. “We didn’t become seriously concerned until we discovered that the Republicans are propping her up.”

This headline and story have been updated.

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