SerpApi.Org
(The Center Square) – So far, a national voter contact program canvassing four congressional districts in Texas has found that the majority of voters, the majority of whom are Hispanics, oppose late-term abortion and the Democratic Party’s platform of supporting abortion on demand.
Abortion is largely illegal in Texas after the state’s Heartbeat Law and other anti-abortion laws went into effect after Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022.
The Texas Democratic Party’s position advocates for access to abortion, referring to it as healthcare or reproductive rights, including advocating that men who claim to be women can get pregnant. In response, in 2024, Hispanic Texans increasingly voted Republican. Nearly all border counties, which are majority Hispanic, flipped red for the first time in state history. Many lifelong Democrats said the party had abandoned them and flipped Republican. After suffering major losses in 2024, the state Democratic Party chair resigned.
Even though abortion may not seem like an important campaign issue in a state where the majority of voters are prolife, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is finding voters who are passionate about the issue and urging them to vote for prolife candidates in November.
Its chief political strategist Frank Cannon told The Center Square that especially in the midterms, getting prolife voters out to vote can make the difference in close races.
“SBA Pro-Life America is investing in some of the most closely contested congressional races in Texas because they are critical to maintaining the pro-life majority in the House,” he said. “We’re especially focused on Hispanic voters, who strongly oppose late-term abortion and are sensitive to the fact that the Hispanic community is disproportionately targeted for abortion. As one woman put it: ‘They want our votes but they don’t want our babies.’”
The organization says its on-the-ground canvassing operation has already made 200,000 visits in four south Texas congressional districts: CD 23, CD 28, CD 34 and CD 35.
The districts are unique: the majority of residents and all congressional candidates are Hispanic. Republicans hope to flip key districts. Democrats hope to keep slim majorities.
In CD-23, the largest border district, Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, Republican Brandon Herrera and Independent Ben Mendoza are running. Herrera is the only prolife candidate.
In CD 28, incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is being challenged by Republican Tano Tijerina, a former Democrat who switched parties, and Green Party candidate Marlon Duran. Tijerina says he can’t support abortion as an adoptive dad. Cuellar has voted against ending taxpayer-funded abortion and for protections for babies who survive abortion.
In CD 34, incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is being challenged by Republican Eric Flores, Green Party candidate Eddie Espinoza and Libertarian Chris Royal. Flores is the only prolife candidate. Gonzalez’s voting record is similar to Cuellar’s.
In CD 35, an open seat created by redistricting, Democrat Johnny Garcia and Republican Carlos De La Cruz, who is prolife, are running.
After speaking with thousands of voters in CD 23 and CD 28, SBA bilingual canvasser Santos Pegueros told The Center Square, “the overwhelming majority – I’d say about 95% of the people I’ve spoken with personally – are opposed to late-term abortion. It doesn’t matter if folks lean more liberal or more conservative, when it comes to late-term abortion, it's a really uniting issue. And that’s rare to come by. They all think it’s brutal and something they don’t want to vote for or promote.”
Another canvasser, Krishen Rangi who spoke with voters in CD 23 and CD 35, said that in three weeks of canvassing fewer than 10 people said they “were OK with late-term abortion or didn’t have an opinion. Texans are overwhelmingly against it. In political canvassing, if you’re over 80% on an issue, we call it unanimous. With very few exceptions, no one supported late-term abortion. Even pro-choice voters opposed it.”
She also said many she spoke with “were passionate about being pro-life and said they’re voting that way. This issue is really mobilizing voters.”
The canvassing initiative follows a 2024 SBA Pro-Life America and Women Speak Out PAC pro-life voter contact effort that reached more than 10 million voters in key battleground states nationwide. They argue their efforts helped “deliver a decisive GOP victory: winning the presidency, flipping the Senate, and holding the House.”
The focus is now on the midterm elections, which “will determine control of Congress – and with it, the future of pro-life policy.”
Democrats are also targeting key races in Texas, including CD 15 and CD 35, The Center Square reported.
