Johnny Garcia won the Democratic primary runoff for Texas‘s 35th Congressional District on Tuesday, defeating opponent Maureen Galindo in a closely watched race shaped by controversy surrounding Galindo’s campaign.
Garcia received 60.5% of the vote to Galindo’s 39.5% when the Associated Press called the race Tuesday evening.
In the final weeks before the election, Galindo, a self-described sex therapist, faced a firestorm of backlash over a series of inflammatory social media posts that critics condemned as antisemitic.
“She’ll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking,” Galindo wrote in a recent Instagram post. “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.”
The remarks prompted several Democrats to distance themselves from her candidacy, including two Jewish House Democrats who said they would support expelling her from Congress if she won the seat.
Questions also emerged over Galindo’s campaign financing after reports that her campaign received thousands of dollars from Lead Left PAC, a political action committee Democrats have alleged has ties to Republican operatives.
Garcia launched his campaign in October after serving for several years as a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. He secured endorsements from multiple prominent Texas Democrats, including Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, who previously said he would not campaign alongside Galindo if she became the nominee.
In the March primary, Galindo and Garcia advanced to the runoff after finishing ahead of two other Democratic candidates, with Galindo winning 29% of the vote and Garcia receiving 27%.
Republicans held a runoff in the district, with Carlos De La Cruz besting state Rep. John Lujan for the GOP nomination by 57.7% to 42.3%.
Texas’s 35th Congressional District was originally created after the 2010 census to accommodate the state’s rapid population growth. The district historically stretched along the Interstate 35 corridor, linking Democratic-leaning areas of east Austin and San Antonio through Hays, Comal, and Caldwell counties.
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However, after Texas lawmakers approved a new congressional map last year, the district was significantly redrawn and is now considered more favorable to Republicans. The new boundaries shift the district away from Austin and center it around south, east, and northeast Bexar County, along with Guadalupe, Karnes, and Wilson counties.
The redistricting changes also prompted Casar, the district’s current representative, to run instead for the newly Austin-centered 37th District after Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) announced his retirement. Casar later won that Democratic primary with more than 80% of the vote.