Hispanic House District Republicans Fear Trump Blowback
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Donald Trump pinatas, with dark suits, oversized pink lips and unruly yellow manes in paper mache, are top sellers across South Texas. That's a potential sign of trouble for its Republican congressman and some colleagues representing predominantly Hispanic districts across the country.
First-term Republican Rep. Will Hurd is seeking re-election in a district that's nearly 70 percent Hispanic and encompasses 820 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump doubled down Wednesday on calls to build a border wall and force Mexico to pay for it. He previously suggested that Mexican immigrants were rapists and killers.
Such sentiments have put some congressional Republicans in tough spots from California to Florida and areas in-between — fearing anti-Trump backlash.
Trump's rhetoric especially resonates in Hurd's district, which encompasses an area larger than 29 states.