Democrats took a beating on cultural issues in 2024, and Bobby Pulido thinks he knows why. Even when said cultural issues have almost no impact on daily life, they are easy to default to when voters otherwise do not otherwise see meaningful differentiators.
“There’s not a big difference in their lives when either party wins,” the Tejano musician and Democratic House candidate said in a Substack Live conversation with The Argument. “They were not happy under the economy under Biden. They’re not happy under Trump right now, under the economy. So if it’s pretty much a wash when it comes to policies — which, that should not be the case; that should change — then they go to culture.”
Pulido is running in one of the most competitive House seats this cycle, Texas’ 15th Congressional district, which is a particularly clear example of the 2024 Hispanic swing away from Democrats. After voting for Biden by a margin of 1.9 percentage points in 2020, the 81% Hispanic district voted for Trump by a margin of 18 in 2024.
But as Lakshya Jain, The Argument’s director of political data, has pointed out, that swing ended and is reversing fast. Could Democrats win this Trump seat? It’s currently R+1.1 in The Argument/Split Ticket’s model.
Pulido has deep roots and a powerful reputation in the South Texas Hispanic community, but he argues that that’s not enough: candidates need to be in line with their district’s views on issues like fracking.
“Part of the Green New Deal is banning fracking. Guess what, man? In my district, a lot of, some of the best-paying jobs are oil and gas. I mean, if you’re going to go talk about that, you’re dumb. You’re going to lose because you’re taking away people’s livelihoods and their ability to put food on the table,” he said. “I want a clean environment; don’t get me wrong. I’m not for defunding the EPA ... but there has to be a bridge there that we have to kind of not take away people’s jobs.”
Check out the video above to see the full conversation, which touched on campaign tactics, immigration politics, the debate over trans people in sports, China policy, and data centers. And be sure to check out Lakshya’s recent article on how Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made the state competitive.
