MAY 28, 2026
Texas Democrat Maureen Galindo loses runoff after antisemitic remarks, but analysts debate what loss signals for party
Maureen Galindo, a Texas Democratic congressional candidate who said "billionaire Zionists" should be held at the Karnes ICE facility, lost Tuesday's runoff election to moderate Democrat Johnny Garcia, who received 63.8% of the vote to Galindo's 36%. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene issued a joint statement calling Galindo's remarks "vile" and "disqualifying." A super PAC called Lead Left, suspected of having ties to Republican donors via links to WinRed found in the site's metadata, donated $500,000 to Galindo's campaign shortly after her comments became public.
Maureen Galindo, a progressive congressional candidate in Texas House District 35, lost Tuesday's Democratic runoff election to Johnny Garcia after remarks she made on a podcast — that "billionaire Zionists" should be imprisoned at the Karnes ICE facility — drew widespread condemnation from both parties. Garcia received 63.8% of the vote; Galindo received roughly 36%.
Democratic and Republican strategists interviewed by Fox News Digital disagreed on whether the outcome represented a meaningful rejection of the party's left flank. Progressive talk show host Thom Hartmann described Galindo as a candidate who "does damage to the Democrats," and suggested the race was partly shaped by Republican outside money funneled through Lead Left PAC, a super PAC whose website metadata contained links to WinRed, the GOP fundraising platform. "Let's find a wacky lefty sex therapist who will make antisemitic remarks, and let's really promote her in a Democratic primary," Hartmann said, characterizing the PAC's strategy.
Republican strategist Ben Ferguson disputed the framing that Democratic voters were broadly rejecting the activist left, pointing to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has a Nazi tattoo, as an example of far-left figures still gaining traction. "The truth is Democrats are not rejecting extremism — they're only rejecting the versions that become politically impossible to defend on cable news," Ferguson said.