How a Texas Democrat rebuked by her party for antisemitism made it to the runoff

By Arit John, CNN

(CNN) — Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist and housing advocate, caught Democrats off guard when she placed first in the March 3 primary for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, despite spending just a few thousand dollars on her campaign.

That surprise quickly turned to alarm as her use of antisemitic tropes in criticizing Israel and her primary rival Johnny Garcia — whose bid for the US House seat has been backed by a pro-Israel group — gained national attention, drawing widespread condemnation from members of both parties.

Now, Tuesday’s runoff election has become for many a referendum on Galindo’s remarks and a test of whether national Democrats, at a time of increasing anti-Israel sentiment in the party base, can stop her. Thanks in part to nearly $1 million in mysterious super PAC spending, Democrats are grappling with the possibility that Galindo could win the nomination — an outcome the party worries could jeopardize their chances in the district and tie them to rhetoric they’ve denounced.

“She does not reflect the values of Democrats, and she certainly doesn’t represent the values of San Antonio,” said Laura Barberena, a locally based Democratic strategist.

Galindo, who denies that her remarks are antisemitic, has attributed her success in the first round of the primary to grassroots support. She raised just $5,344.50 through the end of March — a fraction of what other candidates brought in — according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.

Texas Democrats instead point to an influx of infrequent voters who were drawn in by the competitive US Senate primary between state Rep. James Talarico and US Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

“That brought a lot of untraditional Democratic primary voters that may be not as informed,” said Bert Santibañez, a San Antonio-based Democratic strategist. “They go down the ballot, they see Maureen Galindo — a woman first name, Latino surname — and that gets the nod for them.” (Galindo has a Spanish surname, but has described herself as White.)

Democrats are banking on a smaller but more informed group of voters turning out for the runoff, compared to the primary electorate that narrowly backed Galindo over Garcia by just under 1,200 votes.

“People didn’t have much of an awareness of her more controversial statements and opinions in March, and now they do,” said Katherine Fischer, the executive director of the Texas Majority PAC, who said Garcia is a stronger candidate. “If you’re running for office there’s always a chance, but I think it’s tough for her at this point. I hope it is.”

Much of Galindo’s social media presence ahead of the primary focused on housing policy and criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She posted extensively about her opposition to a plan to fund a new stadium complex for the San Antonio Spurs and said she would support impeaching President Donald Trump and members of his administration, as well as prosecuting ICE agents. Some posts drew on her background as a marriage and family therapist, guiding followers on how to regulate their nervous systems.

But even before the March 3 vote there were signs that she was going beyond criticism of Israel and drifting into antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. She wrote in December that she wouldn’t accept Israel’s “blood money” and said in January that “Jewish church leadership has a dominant economic and political (& media) power that is very real, harmful, and should be named and criticized.”

She did not change course when she advanced to the runoff. During an interview with Texas Public Radio earlier this month, she claimed that the US is being occupied by Israel.

“Maybe Johnny Garcia and others who support him, or anybody who is supported by Israel, should be tried for treason,” she said, adding: “I’m just really concerned, though, about the genocide that Israel is doing, and that they might try to bring it here too.” (Israel has denied allegations, including those from a UN commission, that it committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack.)

Her remarks drew national attention last week, after she posted on her campaign Instagram account that, if elected, she would turn a local ICE detention center into a “prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”

Galindo has pushed back on accusations that she wants to put Jewish people in detention centers. In a statement last week, she said her “proposal for Karnes Detention Center was NEVER for Jewish Zionists– it’s for BILLIONAIRE Zionists, regardless of religion. If they’ve done business for genocidal prison state materials or there’s evidence of pedophilia from Epstein files, they should be brought to trial.”

Asked for comment about the reaction to her campaign, Galindo referred to a similar statement on her website.

Some Democrats searching for ‘moral clarity’ on Israel

Despite the backlash, there are some in the state who say Galindo could still win Tuesday’s primary, further complicating Democrats’ hopes of holding the formerly blue seat. Texas Republicans last year redrew the 35th Congressional District, which Vice President Kamala Harris won by 34 points, into one that would have voted for Trump by 10 points in 2024, according to a CNN analysis.

Whoever wins Tuesday’s runoff will face either state Rep. John Lujan, a moderate who flipped a Democratic legislative seat, or Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz, who has Trump’s endorsement.

National Democratic groups have backed Garcia, a longtime Bexar County sheriff’s deputy. BDA PAC, a group associated with the House’s centrist Blue Dog Coalition, has spent nearly $1 million boosting Garcia, including a $300,000 investment ahead of the March 3 primary. Garcia has also received support from the Democratic Majority for Israel, which endorsed him in February.

Garcia, who narrowly came in second behind Galindo in March, said that if voters had been aware of her comments before the primary election there would have been a different result.

“It just goes to show that while she doubles down on her rhetoric, we have to double down on making sure that we win this race, because there’s so much at stake,” he said.

John Lira, who placed fourth in the Democratic congressional primary, said he, Galindo and a third candidate, Whitney Masterson-Moyes, agreed that if one of them made it into a runoff election with Garcia, the other two would endorse that candidate. Lira followed through after Galindo placed first, but rescinded his endorsement after The New York Times profiled Galindo’s antisemitic remarks in a May 11 op-ed.

“I know what leadership is supposed to look like, and how they’re supposed to carry themselves, and what they’re not supposed to say,” he said. “No public leader at all should be saying the things that Maureen is saying.”

Lira, who ran as a moderate, said he wasn’t familiar with the scope of Galindo’s comments about Israel and Zionism when he endorsed her. He said he condemned her remarks, but said there was a chance she could win on Tuesday if voters see her as the only candidate critical of Israel.

“She gives those folks a rallying cry,” he said. “Even though they might not agree with her to the maximum degree that she’s pushing, that her rhetoric is pushing it, they might say, ‘You know what, at least she’s speaking out.’”

Brian Romick, the chairman of the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, said voters in the district aren’t focused on litigating Israel policy.

“In real elections and swing seats that we need to win, people want to talk about affordability and reining in the Trump excesses, not antisemitic internment camps,” he said.

Tali deGroot, the vice president of political and digital strategy for J Street, a progressive Jewish organization, said voters do want leaders to hold Israel accountable. But, she added, they can also see the distinction between legitimate critiques of Israel’s government and Galindo’s “hateful” and “unacceptable” comments.

“The Democratic base wants to see their elected officials speaking out with more moral clarity and courage against the acts of the Israeli government that everybody sees on their face are inhumane and unjust for the Palestinians,” she said. “I still believe in the Democratic base and voters, and know that our community is not going to show up and vote for candidates like this.”

A mysterious super PAC

Galindo’s remarks have now lost her support even from past allies. Track AIPAC, a group that opposes the pro-Israel lobbying group, rescinded its endorsement of Galindo last week, saying her call to imprison Zionists was “fundamentally in opposition to our organization’s commitment to justice and due process.”

But since coming in first in the March 3 primary, Galindo has benefited from nearly $1 million in support from Lead Left, a super PAC that has touted her in mailers and TV ads as a progressive who would take on ICE. National Democratic leaders say the PAC is a Republican effort to meddle in Democratic primaries.

Though Lead Left claims it “stands against MAGA extremists who will infect our country with Donald Trump’s agenda,” Punchbowl News reported that its website previously included links to a Republican fundraising platform in its metadata. The group has also intervened in Democratic primaries in Nebraska and Pennsylvania to back candidates the national party views as less competitive.

The super PAC, which registered with the Federal Election Commission last month, has not yet disclosed its donors and has limited information on its website. Lead Left did not respond to requests for comment.

“We were moderately concerned about her on the ground energy,” Romick said. “We didn’t become seriously concerned until we discovered that the Republicans are propping her up.”

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