Republican Jace Yarbrough wins redrawn Texas seat despite Democratic gains
Yarbrough was the only Republican to flip a Texas congressional seat this year, winning a district redrawn to favour the GOP as Democrats made broad gains across the state.
At a glance
- Republican Jace Yarbrough beat Democrat Dan Barrios in Texas’s 32nd district, 51.5% to 48.5%, the only GOP flip of a Texas seat this year.
- The district was redrawn in 2025 to include Republican counties and fewer Latino, Black and Asian residents, helping Yarbrough.
- Democrats still won statewide office for the first time in 32 years and held four redrawn districts as Latino voters swung back.
Republican Jace Yarbrough defeated Democrat Dan Barrios in Texas’s 32nd congressional district near Dallas in Tuesday’s midterm elections, winning a seat that had been redrawn to favour the GOP. He was the only Republican to flip a Texas congressional seat this year, Al Jazeera reported, even as Democrats made gains across the state.
Democrats won statewide office in Texas for the first time in 32 years and held four congressional districts that had been redrawn to favour Republicans. The 32nd district was part of a redistricting push that began in August 2025, when the state legislature approved new boundaries aimed at helping Republicans win five extra seats. The effort followed calls from President Donald Trump for Republican-led states to redraw their maps.
A pivot to prices
Matthew Wilson, a Southern Methodist University professor who lives in the 32nd district, told Al Jazeera that Yarbrough won for two reasons. The first was a shift in message. Yarbrough, a constitutional lawyer who had built his career litigating progressive policies, moved from primary themes such as social and cultural issues to general-election concerns such as the cost of living. “He did talk a lot about lowering prices,” Wilson said, describing an appeal to voters in the centre of the electorate.
The second factor was the map. The old 32nd district took in left-leaning Dallas and its immediate suburbs. The new version includes only part of Dallas and stretches east into several Republican-dominated counties. Its demographics also changed: in 2024, Latino, Black and Asian communities made up about 60 percent of the population; the new map reduced that share and added predominantly white areas. Wilson said the district was “drawn to be so heavily Republican.”
Even so, Yarbrough’s margin was narrower than expected: 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent. Wilson said the race was “a lot closer than he would have expected” and pointed to a broad Democratic swing across Texas congressional districts.
Latino voters swing back
Republicans’ redistricting plan also ran into resistance in other districts. Those four Democrat-held seats remained with Democrats, in contests shaped by affordability concerns and opposition to Trump’s immigration policies, which disproportionately affect Latino communities. Political experts said the redrawn maps underestimated Latino voters, who make up 40 percent of Texas’s population and had moved toward Trump in 2024.
In Houston’s ninth district, Democrat Leticia Gutierrez won nearly 58 percent against Republican Alex Mealer. Before the vote, she told Al Jazeera that her campaign used Spanish-language outreach focused on pocketbook issues, including door-knocking. “If they don’t hear it in Spanish, they’re probably not going to show up,” she said.
Democrats also held South Texas districts. Johnny Garcia defeated Carlos De La Cruz by more than 10 percentage points near San Antonio; Henry Cuellar won nearly 66 percent in his border district; Vicente Gonzalez won the 34th by more than 15 points; and Bobby Pulido unseated Republican Monica De La Cruz. Republicans will begin the next congressional term in January with 24 Texas representatives, down one, while Democrats will hold 14 Texas House seats.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Who won Texas’s 32nd congressional district?
- Republican Jace Yarbrough defeated Democrat Dan Barrios, taking 51.5% of the vote to Barrios’s 48.5% in the redrawn district near Dallas.
- Why did Jace Yarbrough win despite Democratic gains in Texas?
- A Southern Methodist University professor cited Yarbrough’s shift to cost-of-living issues and a new map that made the district heavily Republican.
- How did Texas redistricting affect Latino voters?
- Republicans redrew maps hoping to win five seats, but the four Democrat-held districts they targeted stayed Democratic as Latino voters swung back toward the party, political experts said.
