MAY 21, 2026
Democratic lawmakers and Texas Senate nominee rally against congressional candidate over antisemitic remarks ahead of May 26 runoff
Texas Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo faces bipartisan condemnation after posting on her campaign Instagram that she would turn a local ICE detention center into a "prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking." Galindo placed first in the March 3 Democratic primary for Texas' 35th Congressional District and faces a May 26 runoff against Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy. Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Jared Moskowitz of Florida issued a joint statement saying they would force votes to expel Galindo from Congress "every single day" if she is elected.
Texas Democrats' US Senate nominee James Talarico endorsed Johnny Garcia in the 35th Congressional District runoff on Wednesday, citing Garcia's background as a deputy sheriff raised in a working-class San Antonio household. The endorsement, first reported by CNN, is the latest in a string of party interventions aimed at blocking Galindo from advancing to a general election in a district Texas Republicans redrew to favor the GOP, a district that would have voted for President Donald Trump by 10 points according to a CNN analysis.
Galindo's original Instagram post proposed turning the Karnes Detention Center into "a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking." In a subsequent statement, she said her proposal was "NEVER for Jewish Zionists" but for "BILLIONAIRE Zionists, regardless of religion," and tied the proposal to those connected to what she described as "genocidal prison state materials" or alleged evidence from the Epstein files. A separate social media post from her campaign stated that "all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic" and accused runoff opponent Garcia of being paid by "Zionist terrorism and trafficking." Galindo has also posted that many Zionists are pedophiles who should be castrated, according to Fox News.
Gottheimer and Moskowitz, in a joint statement, described Galindo's views as "insane" and antisemitic, and said the idea of "putting Americans in concentration camps" has no place in the party or the country. Moskowitz told Fox News Digital that his grandmother escaped Nazi Germany through the Kindertransport and that her parents were killed in Auschwitz. Both lawmakers said the episode reflects a broader rise in antisemitism across the political spectrum, with Gottheimer calling on Republicans to similarly condemn podcaster Candace Owens.