John Lujan’s Message: On Job Creation, Public Safety, and Family Values. As the son of a minister, he gave religion an important issue for many Latino families.
SAN ANTONIO – Growing up in a working-class San Antonio neighborhood, Adolfo Chagoy had long supported, both locally and nationally, Democrats who promised more jobs and infrastructure projects.
But last week, when he was lined up to cast his vote in the second round of a highly competitive election for a seat in the House of Representatives, Chagoy was thinking, rather, about the issues that had been worrying him lately, such as reinforcement. from the border, funding for police departments and a ban on abortion. So he ticked the box for Republican candidate John Lujan, who narrowly got enough votes Tuesday to represent the southern part of the city and the 118th district of the state.
“The idea has always been, ‘Because I’m poor, I can’t be a Republican,’” said Chagoy, a 66-year-old retired cook. “I don’t think securities can be bought. I voted for the issues that concern me, not for who is from which party.
Chagoy’s vote helped turn a Democratic stronghold upside down by 286 votes that used to be safe in the second round of a special election. Similarly, four of his five children, long-time Democrats, switched parties and decided not to endorse Frank Ramirez, a 27-year-old former Democratic legislative aide.
On Tuesday night, Ramirez acknowledged his defeat after being hit by Democrats in San Antonio, a majority-Latino metropolis located 150 miles north of the Mexican border and home to several prominent Democratic leaders, including the twins Julián and Joaquín Castro. About 70 percent of the families, mostly working class, in District 118 identify as Latino.
This victory has encouraged the Republican Party to continue its relentless strategy to fight the Democrats in San Antonio and South Texas. After none of the three Democrats or the two Republicans who ran in the September special election received a majority of votes, Lujan won a critical seat for Republicans to fight their way with Latino voters, who not long ago they were inclined to vote to favor the Democrats.
In last year’s presidential election, 56 percent of voters in District 118 supported President Joe Biden and 42 percent chose Donald Trump. But Latino voters have begun to distance themselves from the Democratic Party, and according to recent polls, Biden’s approval rating among that population is about 50 percent.
The group Associated Republicans of Texas, an association that supported Lujan, commented on Twitter that Lujan’s victory sets the tone for Republicans as “we continue to reach out to Latino voters and South Texas communities for more seats in 2022 “. On Tuesday night, Governor Greg Abbott and Lower House Speaker Dade Phelan called Lujan to congratulate him, which is a clear sign that they were satisfied with his strategy.
On Tuesday night, moments after obtaining the majority of the votes, Lujan joined that position. He stated that voters reacted to his message on job creation, public safety and family values. As the son of a minister, he gave religion, an important issue for many Latino families, a prominent place. Lujan is a full member of the Southern Zone Baptist Church and often mentions that he adopted three children.
“This speaks volumes about people being interested in conservative values,” Lujan said. “We want our border to be secure and we want to develop our economy.”
“This denotes that family, religion and country are very important,” he added.
Ramirez, who has worked for a San Antonio councilor as director of planning and land use, among other government positions, in his campaign spoke about investing more in public education, repairing deteriorating infrastructure and reducing property taxes. estate. But in the end this was not enough.
Ramirez hinted that he might try to unseat Lujan in next year’s general election.
“We are not done,” Ramirez wrote on Twitter. “Our work is not done. Ahead!”.
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