\u201cI just want to tell you that leaders from across Congress and across the country are all watching what happens right here in this district,\u201d Johnson told the crowd of roughly 200 people. \u201cThis district is the whole enchilada \u2014 did I say that right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meet Carlos De La Cruz, the Air Force veteran Trump boosted from obscurity in TX35<\/a><\/p>\n Texas\u2019 35th Congressional District was drawn to give the GOP a leg up in an election that party leaders worry could be brutal.<\/p>\n Johnson can only afford to lose a few seats and still hold onto the speaker\u2019s gavel, so his party placed a gamble on a part of the country that swung toward President Donald Trump two years ago.<\/p>\n Last year, Trump got Texas to redraw its congressional districts<\/a> outside of the census cycle, creating the new San Antonio-area district and reshaping several others south of here<\/a> that are currently held by Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201c2024 was a bellwether election,\u201d Johnson told reporters Wednesday. \u201cWe had a true demographic shift. We had a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters \u2014 we had a record number of Black and African American voters \u2014 coming to the Republican Party.\u201d <\/p>\n Now the party hopes it can hold onto Trump\u2019s gains in a year when the president isn\u2019t on the ballot, including with voters of San Antonio\u2019s polit<\/a>i<\/a>cally swingy South Side<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hispanic and Latino population are famously aligned with the values of the Republican Party,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey believe in family. They believe in God. Religion is important in this community. They believe in a secure border. They believe in the rule of law. They don\u2019t want their communities overrun by dangerous criminals,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s American values. \u2026 It\u2019s common sense, and because our party represents them, and the Democrats increasingly were leaving them behind, they came to us in droves.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats contend that Hispanic voters aren\u2019t happy with the results of the second Trump administration, and point to a series of special elections in which they\u2019ve already swung away from GOP candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s part of the reason they believe they have a shot at some races once considered unwinnable, including TX35, which Trump would have carried by more than 10 percentage points. The untested district\u2019s GOP voters rejected a more moderate candidate<\/a>, state Rep. John Lujan (R-San Antonio), by 16 percentage points in the primary runoff, propelling instead Trump\u2019s pick, the brother of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Edinburg), into the general election.<\/p>\n In fight for the U.S. House majority, Democrats target two uphill San Antonio-area races<\/a><\/p>\n Democrats\u2019 nominee in that race is Johnny Garcia<\/a>, a longtime Bexar County Sheriff\u2019s deputy who fended off a more progressive opponent in the primary.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cd-35.png\")
Redistricting turned Texas\u2019 35th Congressional District into a district Trump would have carried by more than 10 percentage points. Credit: Courtesy \/ Texas Majority PAC<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MikeJohnson_CarlosDeLaCruz_RepublicanGOP_CampaignEvent_VeteranVFWPost_TX35_35thCongressionalDistrict.jpeg\")
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and 35th Congressional District Republican nominee Carlos De La Cruz accept a gift from VFW Post Commander Ralph Alvarado during a visit in San Antonio on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n