Republican Jace Yarbrough Flips Redrawn Texas Seat Amid Democratic Gains

Republican Jace Yarbrough has won Texas's 32nd congressional district, defeating Democratic candidate Dan Barrios with 51.5 percent of the vote to 48.5 percent. The victory marked the only congressional seat flipped by a Republican in Texas during the recent midterm election cycle.

The district near Dallas was reconfigured in August 2025 by the Texas state legislature, following a nationwide effort supported by President Donald Trump to adjust electoral maps. According to Matthew Wilson, a professor at Southern Methodist University, Yarbrough succeeded by shifting his campaign focus from conservative cultural topics during the primary to economic issues such as inflation and living costs for the general election. Wilson also noted that the redrawn district boundaries added several conservative, predominantly white counties while reducing the proportion of non-white residents.

Despite Yarbrough’s win, Texas Republicans fell short of their broader goal to secure five additional seats through redistricting. Statewide, Democrats recorded their first victory in a Texas statewide race in 32 years and preserved four other redrawn districts previously targeted by Republicans. In the upcoming legislative session, Texas will send 24 Republicans and 14 Democrats to the United States House of Representatives.

Political analysts attributed the Republican setbacks in other redrawn seats to shifts among Latino voters, who represent approximately 40 percent of the state’s population. In Houston's ninth congressional district, Democratic candidate Leticia Gutierrez defeated Republican Alex Mealer with nearly 58 percent of the vote. Similarly, Democrat Johnny Garcia won a district in the San Antonio area against Republican Carlos De La Cruz by a margin exceeding ten percentage points.

Democratic candidates also maintained control of border districts, where Representative Henry Cuellar won the 28th district with nearly 66 percent of the vote against challenger Tano Tijerina. In the 34th district, Representative Vicente Gonzalez secured re-election over Republican Eric Flores by more than 15 percentage points, while Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated incumbent Republican Monica De La Cruz in another border seat.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com