The political landscape in South Texas, historically a stronghold of Democrats, is the scene of intense disputes over the conquest of the Latino electorate.

Part of this electorate has approached the Republicans, as illustrated by the NBCNews report. “Science teacher Jorge Jasso takes pride in his Mexican roots. But, he also says, ‘I’m an American first’ who wants to see elected officials put the needs of people in this country before immigrants”.

Early voting in the Nov. 8 election starts Monday (October 24) in Texas, where Latinos now outnumber whites.

Because of the redistricting, two incumbents, Vicente González, a Democrat, and Mayra Flores, a Republican, battling it out in a district where 88.5% of voters are Latino and considered favorable to Democrats. Flores made history as the region’s first elected Latino republican and the first Mexican-born congresswoman to win a special election in June.

Even though the race is more competitive than expected in a district that   favors Democrats, Gonzalez told NBC News that he has strong campaign coordination by which he has managed to make visits to more than 200,000 homes with more than 60 percent of residents responding positively. According to the publication, “His campaign work is overlapping with that of other Democrat campaigns, such as gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke and Texas state Senate candidate Morgan La Mantia, to multiply their forces”.

“Of the three Latina Republicans running, Mónica De La Cruz, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and running in an adjacent congressional district, Texas' 15th, is considered the party's best chance to win. The GOP-led state Legislature made the district more Republican and carved González's home out of the district and into the 34th. Democrat Michelle Vallejo has struggled for financial support in the race against De La Cruz”, NBC points out.

Republican Cassy Garcia is challenging nine-term incumbent Henry Cuellar in Texas’ 28th Congressional District in a bitter contest. Cuellar has long had Republican Party supporters in the area because he is one of the few Democrats who opposes abortion and has supported the Border Patrol and law enforcement, bringing funding to the district as a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

“At stake in the races is the future of the Rio Grande Valley, a region that has long had higher poverty, lower median income, less access to higher education and the state’s oil revenues that fund it, lower wages, higher numbers of Latinos without health insurance and more limited industry”.

Communities in the border region depend greatly on the economy of Mexico as well, from tourism to the movement of goods and services.

“Being in South Texas, the districts are also affected by immigration and spending on border security, although the region also relies on counties not directly on the border that are more rural, with economies tied to agriculture”, according to the same publication.

The increased attention in the region meant multimillion-dollar spending on electoral disputes, especially from outside groups. According to data from Ad Impact, Republicans and their support groups and PACs are spending more than Democrats and their allies in the three contests last Tuesday (25).

“The most money is being spent in the Cuellar-Garcia race, a total of $9.2 million, with the GOP spending slightly ahead, $4.7 million, to Democrats’ $4.5 million. Also, Republicans spent $1.2 million in Spanish-language ads in the three races, while Democrats have spent $1.7 million”.