Thread by @efindell

The talk in Texas this week: What the heck happened in the #RGV, which saw a hard swing toward Trump after generations of loyal Democratic ubiquity.

Understanding that will be key to Dem futures as they try to turn TX blue & keep a broad U.S. constituency wsj.com/articles/how-d…

Starr County saw the biggest shift to the right of any county in the U.S.

Lifelong Dems who voted for Trump included the Lazo fam, who sold Trump knives in their mattress store. They feared Biden would hurt oil jobs & hoped Trump would help small biz

Some RGC voters said they knew Trump, but not Biden. Some were swayed by abortion. Others, in a region where law enforcement jobs are high paying, dislike anti-police movements.

They hate the border wall, they said, but Trump didn't successfully build much in TX, so, so what?

The #RGV's had among the country's highest Covid death rates (wsj.com/articles/in-te…) & yet residents said when they saw Trump's name on their stimulus checks, they believed he cared about them.
wsj.com/articles/how-d…

Some Rio politiqueras turned to Trump. Elia Saenz drove 350 people to the polls, working for school board candidates-- and while they were in her car, she told them to vote for Trump.

(The Occam's razor explanation, as @jaredataylor said)

@jaredataylor Dems say this year was an anomaly driven by Trump's personality and poor D outreach. But others wonder if the shift could be more lasting.

Either way, Texas Dems have a lot to talk about.
wsj.com/articles/how-d…