President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his endorsement of Brandon Herrera, the far-right social media influencer who is the presumptive Republican nominee in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District.

Herrera has faced condemnation for videos he posted that featured imagery, music and jokes related to the Nazis and the Holocaust. He also spoke on a podcast last year about owning a copy of Mein Kampf, though he said he does not share the views expressed in Adolf Hitler’s manifesto.

Trump previously backed Herrera’s opponent, incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who dropped out of the race last week amid an escalating scandal.

“Brandon is strongly supported by many Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in Texas, and Republicans in the U.S. House,” Trump said on Truth Social on Wednesday. Herrera has been backed by the House Freedom Caucus’ affiliated PAC.

“As your next Congressman, he will work tirelessly to advance our MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN Agenda,” Trump continued. “Brandon Herrera has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Texas’ 23rd Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Trump’s endorsement of Herrera marks a sharp turnabout for the president. Just a month ago, a lawyer for the president sent Herrera a cease-and-desist demanding he stop using Trump’s image in campaign advertisements, calling the ads misleading in light of Trump’s then-endorsement of Gonzales.

Herrera, who has generally taken an anti-interventionist stance on foreign policy issues, including opposing supplemental aid to Israel in 2024, said at the start of the U.S. strikes on Iran that he hopes that “If there must be military action, let it be QUICK, effective, and please God keep our service members safe.”

He said on X in June 2025, the day before the start of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which the U.S. eventually joined, “I don’t want to go to war with Iran. I don’t want to be involved in the Middle East. But if you decide to f*** with us (like they did last time), I wish you a very happy sunk Navy.” 

Herrera has faced condemnation and opposition in the past from groups including the Republican Jewish Coalition. Asked last week about Herrera’s comments that resurfaced last week about Mein Kampf, the RJC affirmed its continued opposition to Herrera.

“The RJC has a long-standing policy of speaking out against those who traffic in Nazi ideology, and this is another case,” spokesperson Sam Markstein told Jewish Insider. “The RJC opposed Mr. Herrera in 2024, and he will not get our support now.” 

Brandon Herrera, the presumptive Republican nominee in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, spoke on a podcast in 2024 — after his first run for the House — about owning a copy of Mein Kampf, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s manifesto, earning him a fresh rebuke from the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The GOP candidate and social media influencer, whose path to the nomination was cleared Thursday when Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said he would not run for reelection amid his own growing scandal, has faced ongoing scrutiny over a video he posted to his YouTube channel including imagery, music and jokes connected to the Nazis and the Holocaust, his interactions with neo-Nazis online and his membership in a neo-Confederate group.

During a 2024 appearance on the “Unsubscribe” podcast, another guest joked that he had been deeply involved in communism until he had read another book, producing a copy of Mein Kampf. Herrera, who appeared to immediately recognize the book when others on the podcast did not, promptly turned to his phone to produce a picture of his own copy of the Nazi manifesto.

“That’s my copy at my house next to a bunch of the German stick grenades,” Herrera said. “I got the 1939 edition printed in English just because I thought it was wild that you couldn’t buy it on Amazon but you could buy The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital,” he added, making a confused face.

Herrera and the others on the podcast went on to make fun of the Nazi book, describing it as poorly written, also laughing at a dramatic reading an antisemitic passage of the book by one of the hosts.

Herrera’s comments during the segment indicate that he has reviewed this version of Mein Kampf — annotated in English prior to World War II with criticism of Hitler’s writing and ideas — in at least some degree of detail.

“It’s nice that it’s not a modern annotation … this is historical context, before Germany is ‘the enemy,’ this is what the sentiment was at the time,” Herrera continued. “I never thought I’d have an intellectual conversation about the validity of reading Mein Kampf in 2024 on a podcast.”

“Poland gives this one star,” Herrera quipped.

Herrera told the San Antonio Express News that attacks on him for owning a copy of Mein Kampf are “hilarious.”

“I bought a copy for my historic book collection, and I keep it right next to my copy of the Communist manifesto. I uh, don’t agree with either book,” Herrera said.

He also denied being antisemitic, dismissing the controversial episodes as jokes.

“If my opponents continue to purposely pretend to not know the difference between humor and jokes clipped out of context and my actual beliefs, it’s going to be an annoying few months,” Herrera continued.

Herrera has also been a critic of AIPAC since its super PAC ran ads against him in 2024.

“Look, I have as much of a reason as anyone to despise AIPAC. They spent over $1 million to slander me and cost my race,” Herrera said in 2024. “But as much as I despise their ‘Israel first’ bullshit: 1. It’s far from a top issue for me. 2. The majority of Congress on both sides have ties to them (also a [red flag]).”

He also said “AIPAC is an enemy of US Elections” and claimed that the group “forces” lawmakers to sponsor legislation.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, which ran an ad campaign against Herrera in 2024 over his past controversies and his opposition to aid to Israel, again disavowed him on Friday.

“The RJC has a longstanding policy of speaking out against those who traffic in Nazi ideology, and this is another case,” spokesperson Sam Markstein told Jewish Insider. “The RJC opposed Mr. Herrera in 2024, and he will not get our support now.”

Democrats have quickly seized on Herrera’s ascension, highlighting his past baggage.

“Mike Johnson tried to quietly push sexual harasser Tony Gonzales through his primary out of fear of defending a Neo-Nazi,” DCCC spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement. “Now Gonzales is gone and House Republicans have added another casualty to their massive retirement list. Good riddance.” (Members of Congress who decide not to run for reelection are referred to in Washington as “casualties.”)

The House Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Democratic House leadership, has also been highlighting Herrera’s past controversies, and shared a post suggesting the district could be winnable for Democrats.

“Brandon Herrera’s nomination is a gift to Democrats … Herrera is an antisemitic YouTuber,” House Majority PAC spokesperson Katarina Flicker said in a statement. “Now the NRCC and Speaker Mike Johnson are aligning themselves with his extremism, and it could cost them TX-23 in November.”

Johnson’s political team did not provide comment on Herrera.

Long-shot Democratic nominee Katy Padilla Stout raised just $45,000 and ended 2025 with just $8,500 on hand, leaving her ill-positioned to a contest district that strongly favors Republicans without significant help.

President Donald Trump won the district by 16 points and Gonzales won by 24 points in 2024, though there have been indications that Hispanic voters who swung toward Republicans in 2024 may be trending away from the party. By a narrow margin, more people voted in the Democratic primary than the Republican primary in the district this week.

While the group has not endorsed Herrera, and typically does not make formal endorsements in safe seats, the National Republican Congressional Committee said in response to questions about Herrera that it expects Republicans will hold the seat.

“Texas’ 23rd District is deep red, and Democrats know it. While they talk a big game in Washington, they don’t even have a credible recruit and are too busy defending their own vulnerable members across Texas to compete here,” NRCC spokesman Christian Martinez said. “In November, voters will once again elect a Republican who will secure the border, lower costs, and stand up for Texas families.”

A strong anti-incumbent mood is apparent in the electorate, based on primary results from North Carolina and Texas’ congressional primaries Tuesday night. Meanwhile, one sitting Democratic lawmaker who lost support from AIPAC is narrowly fending off a challenge from a virulently anti-Israel challenger who campaigned in the closing days of the primary against the Iran war. 

Big picture: There’s a deep skepticism of the political establishment throughout the country within both parties. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), a center-right hawk who was one of the stars of the 2018 GOP freshman class, badly lost to state Rep. Steve Toth, a right-wing challenger backed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is doing a bit better than public polls suggested, but still is only polling in the low 40s against MAGA-aligned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race that’s headed to a runoff.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who has been enmeshed in scandal after his extramarital affair with a staffer, who later died by suicide, became public, is leading social media influencer Brandon Herrera, but is also only polling in the low-40s and will also be headed to a runoff. 

On the Democratic side, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), who was boosted to office in 2022 with AIPAC support but has since grown more critical of Israel, is clinging to a one-point lead (49-48%) over Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, who would have become one of the most anti-Israel lawmakers in Congress if she was elected. Allam was backed by the far-left Justice Democrats and received support from a new super PAC attempting to elect anti-Israel lawmakers.

The Iran war may have played a key role in the primary. Foushee won the early vote by an eight-point margin, but Allam carried the Election Day vote by six points — after airing an ad blasting the war in Iran and baselessly accusing the United States of targeting civilians. 

And in a member-against-member Democratic primary in Texas, Rep. Al Green (D-TX), one of the most left-wing members of Congress who has been a reliable vote against Israel, is narrowly trailing newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), a more mainstream Democrat. Menefee looks like the favorite, but is short of the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff. 

Meanwhile, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) is on track to reclaim his old suburban Dallas seat, unseating Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) in the process. But he’s likely heading to a runoff as well. 

All told, pro-Israel Democrats can express a bit of relief toward Tuesday night’s primary results. Assuming Foushee holds on to victory, it blocks the path of a Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) prototype from getting elected to Congress. If Allam prevailed, she could have held that safely Democratic seat — and an anti-Israel platform — for many years. 

And Menefee’s advantage against Green in Texas is undoubtedly a win for Jewish voters, potentially replacing an anti-Israel detractor with a stronger ally (if he holds on in the runoff).

On the negative side, the successor to Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the House is expected to be Frederick Haynes III, the congresswoman’s pastor who delivered a scathing sermon against Israel one day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack against the Jewish state. Haynes was backed by Justice Democrats and an anti-Israel group (IMEU Policy Project), but didn’t have much serious primary competition. 

The highest-profile race of the night was Crockett’s Senate primary campaign against state Rep. James Talarico. Talarico prevailed, defeating Crockett 53-46%, with most votes counted. Talarico is hoping to emerge as a sleeper candidate in red-state Texas, and some Democrats believe he has an outside chance of succeeding — especially if he faces the scandal-plagued Paxton.

A few general election showdowns also now look set: Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), drawn into a tougher district, will face a rematch against Republican retired Army Col. Laurie Buckhout this year. And Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), drawn into a more Republican district, will face Republican attorney Eric Flores — in a key bellwether race of whether Republicans will be able to maintain their recent inroads with Hispanic voters. 

An unfolding scandal implicating Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) could catapult an anti-Israel social media influencer with a history of antisemitic posts to Congress in Texas’ upcoming 23rd District Republican primary.

Brandon Herrera, who ran against Gonzales in 2024, came under fire from Gonzales and Jewish and pro-Israel groups in the previous election cycle over a series of YouTube videos replete with imagery, music and jokes about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust. He also expressed opposition to U.S. aid to Israel.

But Tuesday evening, corroborating a long-running rumor, the San Antonio Express News reported that Gonzales had been having an extramarital affair with a female staffer who died by suicide last year. The Express News reported that the relationship was allegedly well-known to staffers and cited multiple sources close to the woman, including a former colleague, and a text message she sent confirming the relationship prior to her death.

Both Gonzales and the woman were married to other people at the time of the relationship and had children. Gonzales’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider, though he has previously denied the affair.

The Express News’ editorial board announced, hours after the paper broke the story, that it was withdrawing its endorsement of Gonzales.

“The affair is troubling for many reasons,” the editorial board wrote. “First, it is an act of deception. Gonzales is married and has six children. Second, this was not an equal relationship but one involving a staffer. Third, while an attorney for Santos-Aviles’ husband has said he does not believe the affair played a role in the suicide by self-immolation at her home in Uvalde, it still looms over the tragedy.”

Herrera demanded that Gonzales drop out of the race and resign, warning that Gonzales clinching the Republican nomination could allow Democrats to flip the seat in November. 

“[Gonzales] not only broke House ethics rules by having an adulterous affair with a member of his congressional staff and by using taxpayer money to fund the affair, but he also broke trust with the public by insisting that the initial reporting of the affair was false,” Herrera said. “If he prevails in the primary and becomes our party’s nominee in the general election, Democrats will seize the opportunity to flip a reliable Republican seat blue.”

Democrats have an outside shot of flipping the district, which voted for President Donald Trump by 15 points in 2024, in November.

“It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started,” Gonzales responded in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”

The late staffer’s husband said in an interview on Wednesday, his first time speaking out about the situation, that Gonzales had “abused his power” and that his wife’s mental state deteriorated after he discovered the affair and the spouses separated. He said he did not believe she was trying to kill herself, but that it was “a cry for help that turned into a tragedy.”

He said he wants Gonzales to face accountability and criticized the congressman for “pushing, you know, family values and Christian morals … denying the fact that he’s ruined somebody’s life.”

Gonzales narrowly beat Herrera in a head-to-head primary runoff in 2024, 51%-49%, a margin of less than 400 votes. Herrera has spent the last two years on the campaign trail, gearing up for a rematch.

Even before the scandal broke, a Political Intelligence (PI) poll published last week by the Daily Caller showed that Herrera led Gonzales 33%-29% among likely Republican primary voters, growing his lead to 43%-34% in a head-to-head matchup. 

Neither the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project nor the Republican Jewish Coalition, which collectively spent $1.4 million opposing Herrera in 2024, responded to inquiries about whether they plan to be involved in the race again this year.

Gonzales maintains a significant lead over Herrera in fundraising, closing out 2025 with $2.5 million on hand to Herrera’s $722,000. If neither candidate breaks 50% in the primary election, the highest vote-getters will advance to a head-to-head run-off election.

Two other Republican candidates, former Rep. Quico Canseco (R-TX) and veteran Keith Barton, are also in the race, but both trail significantly in fundraising.

Gonzales also has the backing of Trump, despite efforts by Herrera to tie himself to the president. Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Herrera’s campaign in January demanding that he stop using Trump’s image in campaign materials, which a Trump representative called misleading.

Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist, noted to Jewish Insider that the report came days into the early voting period, putting the issue front-and-center for voters as they head to the polls.

But the extent of the story’s impact, he continued, will depend on how much voters are aware of it — whether they’re seeing it repeatedly in conservative media and to what extent the Herrera campaign invests in spreading the news widely, and through what channels. He also noted that the latest reporting will likely be most voters’ first exposure to the story.

“I think it’s complicated, and I think it’s definitely not good,” Steinhauser said. “The news is tragic and horrible, and he clearly made bad decisions, and the voters are going to have their say on that, and we’ll see what they do.”

Steinhauser predicted that the race is likely to go to a runoff, and said some voters might also stay home, if they have negative views of both candidates.

When the results are tallied, the impact of the story may be measurable, he added, in whether Gonzales’ share of the votes drops from the start of early voting to later in the early voting period and election day ballots.

The revelations about Gonzales will also make it harder for Republicans to hold onto the seat in November, with both potential Republican nominees now carrying baggage into the general election. “If I were the Democrats, I would probably be looking at investing more money here,” Steinhauser said.

Mark Jones, a Texas pollster and political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said that Gonzales has “had a whirlwind” turnaround from solidifying the support of the president and the GOP establishment to the latest revelations. 

Though rumors had been circulating for a number of months about the affair, “it’s one thing to have them be allegations with him denying them, and another thing for it to be increasingly credible evidence that not only was he having an affair with this woman, but then he was disingenuous in terms of his responses and when questioned about it,” Jones said.

Jones added that Trump’s response, if any, to the news would be decisive, given the president’s immense popularity and the value of his endorsement with Texas voters.

He said that the Gonzales scandal is most likely to be a problem for Republicans in November if there is a “continued drip, drip of information that increasingly links Congressman Gonzales to this woman’s death.”

“Herrera has a fair point, certainly, the Tony Gonzales without this whole incident is a much stronger candidate than the Tony Gonzales with this incident,” he continued, while arguing that Gonzales is still likely to be “viewed more positively than Herrera” — and, as a moderate, is better aligned with the district — particularly if Democrats spend millions on an anti-Herrera campaign.

Facing a heated primary against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) accused his right-wing challenger on Thursday of associating with antisemitic and anti-Israel voices within the MAGA movement. 

Cornyn told Jewish Insider in a wide-ranging interview that Texas Republican voters should view Paxton’s associations with figures such as former Trump advisor Steve Bannon as “alarming” — while urging Republicans to call out antisemitic and anti-Israel voices within the party, along the lines of his outspoken Texas GOP colleague Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

“There’s this interesting, and troubling, tendency of some folks who claim the MAGA mantle to associate with antisemites like Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens and Steve Bannon. I know Ken Paxton regularly goes on Bannon’s ‘War Room’ podcast, and it’s something that should be alarming to Texas voters. People like that I don’t think are what I would call conservatives,” Cornyn said. 

“Once they “get their foot in the door, they have a way of corrupting the whole party and the whole movement,” he continued. “I just think allowing somebody like Ken Paxton inside the tent will end up being the destruction of the Republican Party.”

Paxton has been a guest on Bannon’s “War Room” podcast on numerous occasions in recent years, even as Bannon has made a number of controversial comments, most notably labeling popular Jewish conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro as a “cancer” on the party after he spoke out against Tucker Carlson and Owens’ antisemitism at a Turning Point USA conference last year.

Bannon has also ramped up attacks on Israel, calling the Jewish state a “protectorate” of the United States — while speaking out against President Donald Trump’s decision last year to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

A spokesperson for Paxton defended the Texas attorney general’s record on Israel and fighting antisemitism in a statement to JI. 

“AG Paxton has been a fierce friend of Israel,” the spokesperson said. “After spending $70 million and still being double digits behind in the polls, Sen. Cornyn has nothing else left but to throw random attacks at the wall and see if they stick. AG Paxton has a STRONG and unquestionable record standing against antisemitism.”

Cornyn is facing a tough reelection battle against Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), both of whom are running to his right in next month’s Republican primary.

The senator, a fixture in Texas politics for nearly four decades who served at the top levels of Senate leadership, argued that his primary contest would help determine what it means to be an electable Republican at a time when the party’s principles and values are being debated internally. 

“A lot of it [the GOP primary election] is going to boil down to a question of character. I think character still matters and the attorney general doesn’t believe it matters at all,” Cornyn said. “I just can’t in good conscience turn over this job representing 32 million people and a state that I love and a party that I helped build over my career, I can’t turn it over to a corrupt and unprincipled individual like the attorney general.”

Cornyn warned that the GOP is at risk of being overrun by extremists if prominent conservatives continue to align themselves with fringe figures who espouse antisemitic views, drawing a comparison to his assessment of the current ideological trajectory of the Democratic Party. 

“It starts out with the old saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. A lot of these folks were opposed to a lot of the worst excesses of the Democratic Party and the leftists. They began to corrode that movement with things like antisemitism and graft and greed. I think that’s how credibility of the opposition was eroded, by failing to call out people like that,” Cornyn said. 

“To maintain the integrity of conservatives, that’s why it’s so important to call out and to cut out some of these cancers that I think ultimately would result in the failure of the conservative movement,” he continued. “Because people could point to the corruption that was allowed to develop and thus undermine the credibility and integrity of the whole movement.”

Cornyn praised Cruz for “being one of the first to stand up and call out some of the fringe characters,” and criticized Republicans who associate themselves with far-right figures. 

“I’ve tried to do my part, initially through an editorial in the Dallas Morning News. I know this is a cancer, because antisemitism is just another way of dehumanizing people, and then using that behavior to justify in some people’s minds acts of violence,” the GOP senator said. “Obviously, the history of the Jewish people, dating back to the Holocaust, has been one of opponents trying to dehumanize them and make them seem to be something less than equal in terms of their dignity and their right to exist.”

Asked whether Trump would back him before the March primary, Cornyn told JI that he did not expect an endorsement, adding that he was dealing with “a lot of misinformation and lies.”

“I’ve been supportive of the president and his policies. Unfortunately, you always have to contend with a lot of misinformation and lies in modern elections,” Cornyn explained. “He [Trump] said he considers all three of us [GOP candidates] to be friends. If your base is divided among three people, choosing one out of those three people and disappointing the supporters of the other two, I can understand [that being] not something he would want to necessarily embrace unless he felt like it’s worth the cost.”

Cornyn argued that he would be the strongest general election candidate between himself, Paxton and Hunt, whereas Paxton would “ultimately provide the Democrats the best opportunity they’ve had since 1994 to turn Texas blue.”

“President Trump desperately wants to maintain the majority in the House, and we’ve got five new congressional seats in Texas,” he said. “If I’m the nominee, I will provide some help to those downballot races since I’ll be at the top of the ballot. I won by 10 [points] in 2020. If Paxton is the nominee, he’ll either lose or win by the skin of his teeth.”

Asked about Texas state Rep. James Talarico and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), the Democrats in the race, Cornyn suggested he would enjoy running against either in a general election.

“They should be running for Senate in California because they are totally out of step with where I think Texans are,” he said. 

Cornyn added that he would not underestimate Crockett.

“I wouldn’t count out Jasmine. Jasmine is smart, but I think she’s not running as good a campaign as Talarico,” Cornyn said. “Talarico is raising a lot of money, and he definitely has a better organization than Jasmine does.”

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for Senate in the state, has disavowed AIPAC and pledged not to take support from the group on the campaign trail.

But in late 2019, he attended an AIPAC event alongside a major donor to his campaign, according to a contemporaneous Instagram post about the event posted by an AIPAC supporter.

The post has been circulating online in recent days, driving discussion in progressive circles.

Since mounting his Senate bid, Talarico has vowed not to accept support from AIPAC or J Street, and has faced criticism from some in the Jewish community who believe he is singling out AIPAC in particular.

“I refuse to be complicit in the death and destruction in Gaza, and I will never use your tax dollars to support the killing in that part of the world, and it makes me sick to my stomach to see what’s happening,” Talarico said at an event last year. “I hope in this campaign here in Texas we can send a crystal-clear message to the rest of the country that we are done being complicit.”

Asked for comment on Talarico’s attendance at the AIPAC event, campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said, “James has been clear on his position on what is happening in Israel and Gaza. If anyone has questions on where James stands, they should look at his record, his extensive public comments, and the issues page on his website.”

Talarico has vowed to support efforts to ban some weapons sales to Israel and accused Israel of war crimes.

The same AIPAC supporter who shared the post with Talarico in 2019 was a major donor to his 2020 campaign; Talarico posted repeatedly on X about the donor offering to match up to $10,000 in donations to his campaign.

Talarico has also faced scrutiny on the campaign trail for accepting donations for his statehouse campaigns from a pro-gambling super PAC, Texas Sands PAC, funded by prominent pro-Israel GOP donor Miriam Adelson.

The Texas state representative is one a growing number of Democratic candidates who previously affiliated with or sought support from AIPAC but have since disavowed the group on the campaign trail amid increasing progressive hostility toward the pro-Israel organization, including Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Valerie Foushee (D-NC), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), former New York Assemblyman Michael Blake and Evanston, Ill., Mayor Daniel Biss.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), facing a serious primary challenge from his right, released a new campaign ad on Thursday calling “radical Islam” a “bloodthirsty ideology” that has influenced recent terror attacks targeting Jews.

“It fueled the unspeakable crimes on Oct. 7,” Cornyn says in the 30-second ad, called “Evil Face,” before citing the mass shooting last month during a Hanukkah gathering in Australia that was allegedly motivated by the terrorist group ISIS. “It showed its evil face again at Bondi Beach.”

Speaking directly to the camera, Cornyn touted his recent efforts to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit advocacy group whose executive director has drawn scrutiny for celebrating the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

“Let me be clear: No organization that supports terrorists should receive taxpayer benefits,” Cornyn concludes in the ad. “And Sharia law has no place in American courts or communities.”

The seven-figure ad buy is now running statewide on broadcast, cable and digital platforms, according to the campaign.

The ad comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued a declaration last November designating CAIR as a foreign terrorist group as well as a “successor” to the Muslim Brotherhood effectively posing as a front for Hamas, prohibiting the organization from purchasing land in the state. 

The declaration allows the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, the right-wing Republican mounting a competitive challenge to Cornyn in the March primary, to sue to shut down the group and impose fines on its leaders.

CAIR, which called the proclamation defamatory and unconstitutional, has filed suit to challenge the designation, which Paxton has vowed to vigorously defend.

Following Abbott’s announcement, Cornyn, for his part, introduced legislation in the Senate in December that seeks to strip CAIR of its nonprofit status over its alleged support for terrorism. In a statement about the bill, Cornyn, who is seeking reelection to a fifth term, described the organization as “a radical group of terrorist sympathizers with a long history of undermining American values,” while endorsing the governor’s designation.

Both Cornyn and Paxton have otherwise boasted of their records supporting Israel and fighting the rise of antisemitism.

Jewish leaders in Texas are growing increasingly concerned about Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s comments on Israel, with four members of the community telling Jewish Insider that without concerted outreach from Talarico, they’re likely to back Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the Democratic primary.

Their frustrations came to a head after Talarico accused Israel of war crimes in response to a general question on foreign policy at an event last week. “I will use every bit of financial and diplomatic leverage that this country has to end the atrocities in Palestine,” Talarico vowed to do if elected. “I will not use your tax dollars to fund these war crimes. I will vote to ban offensive weapons to Israel.”

He also said he’d refuse to accept support from AIPAC.

“I refuse to be complicit in the death and destruction in Gaza, and I will never use your tax dollars to support the killing in that part of the world, and it makes me sick to my stomach to see what’s happening,” Talarico said. “I hope in this campaign here in Texas we can send a crystal clear message to the rest of the country that we are done being complicit.”

The Texas state representative, who has studied to become a minister, said that the Gaza conflict “weighs on my heart as an educator, as someone who works with kids.” 

“God is screaming at all of us in Gaza, as we speak,” he said.

In response to a later question about “what it means to protect all people, rather than only Palestinian people,” Talarico said that “all people are created in the divine image … which means every person has equal worth.”

“We shouldn’t be empowering people like [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu who are waging war against civilians. And that is not a reflection on the Israeli people because many of you know that we have seen historic protests in Israel from Israelis against their government and against Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet,” Talarico continued.

Art Pronin, who leads the Meyerland Area Democrats Club, a largely Jewish Democratic group in the Houston area, told JI he’s known Talarico for years and the candidate has spoken to the Meyerland Democrats group. Pronin has repeatedly expressed concerns to Talarico directly and to the campaign about his Israel rhetoric, to little effect.

Pronin said he first confronted Talarico directly about the issue at the Texas Tribune festival in November, explaining that — while accusing Israel of war crimes and vowing not to accept funding from AIPAC or J Street — Talarico did not offer a word of condemnation for Hamas or its international backers, or express support for a two-state solution.

“I told him … ‘You’ve got to stop singling out one group,’” Pronin said, referring to AIPAC. He said that Talarico had apologized and said he would modify his rhetoric, but offered similar comments, unprompted, at the Houston town hall last week.

Pronin was in one of the front rows at the event, having been invited by Talarico personally. Pronin said that he again confronted Talarico and his staff after the event last week and they again apologized.

“It was the same conversation. I told him, ‘When you single out one institution over and over again, it’s dangerous.’ I explained to him why it’s dangerous: we just had a shooting in Australia this week. We had violence in New York, in the subway, a guy was stabbed in the street,” Pronin explained. “I said, ‘This is not helpful,’ and I said, ‘Somebody’s going to get hurt if you keep talking like this.’ I said, ‘You’re not balanced. You’re not talking about Hamas, you never mention [Oct. 7], you never even expressed empathy over what happened in Australia this week. And it’s Hanukkah tonight.’ I told him I was disgusted.”

Talarico has not addressed the shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney last week on social media, but did speak about it in an appearance on MSNOW’s “Politics Nation.”

“I am sending my love to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia and all over the world on this first night of Hanukkah,” Talarico said on Dec. 14, the day of the shooting. “It is incumbent upon all of us to confront antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head, and it was inspiring to see a Muslim man stand up for his Jewish neighbors during that deadly attack in Australia. We need that kind of interfaith solidarity all over the world if we’re going to confront these problems with truth and love, and that act of courage should inspire all of us to do the same.”

“He needs to balance his comments out,” said Art Pronin, who leads the Meyerland Area Democrats Club. “He needs to meet with our Jewish federation, our Anti-Defamation League. He needs to have that round-table meeting that I’ve tried to get him to do. He needs to hear our voices on this matter and quit repeating this everywhere he goes. He’s got to balance it out, at least.”

Pronin said that, being near the front of the crowd and having been invited by Talarico personally, he felt insulted, “threatened” and “scared” by other members of the crowd.

He said that he asked Talarico to hold a meeting with Jewish community leaders in Houston, but hasn’t heard any further followup on the subject, and feels that Talarico is ignoring his and other Jewish community members’ concerns.

“I did express to him that I might vote for Jasmine Crockett over it,” Pronin continued. “He needs to balance his comments out … he needs to meet with our Jewish federation, our Anti-Defamation League. He needs to have that round-table meeting that I’ve tried to get him to do. He needs to hear our voices on this matter and quit repeating this everywhere he goes. He’s got to balance it out, at least.”

Talarico’s campaign manager, Seth Krasne, defended Talarico’s record in a statement to JI.

“James believes every human life is sacred. His longstanding record combating antisemitism, defending Jewish students on the floor of the Texas House, and supporting Israel’s right to exist demonstrate his steadfast commitment to Jewish safety,” Krasne said.

Krasne continued, “He will continue to speak out against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s unacceptable actions that threaten civilians in Gaza — this moral clarity should never be misconstrued as opposition to the safety and security of Israeli civilians and Jewish people around the world. In the coming months, James looks forward to working with Jewish leaders to continue the important work of eradicating hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”

A source familiar with the situation told JI that Talarico will not accept campaign contributions from any advocacy group associated with either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is willing to meet with any group about the issue.

In a statement on the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, Talarico said that the “horrors of October 7th, 2023 will reverberate through our hearts and minds for generations to come,” noting that the attack was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and said that Hamas’ “war crimes should never be forgotten.”

“Every person on this Earth — no matter their color or creed — bears the image of the sacred. I continue to pray for the safe return of the hostages, an immediate end to the suffering in Gaza, and a lasting peace in the region,” he continued.

Days after the initial Hamas attack in October 2023, Talarico supported a resolution in the Texas statehouse that highlighted Hamas’ attack, its intent to destroy Israel and its use of Palestinian civilians as human shields and his support for Israel’s survival and right to “act decisively and unilaterally in self-defense to protect its citizens” and “pursue without interference or condemnation the elimination of Hamas until Hamas is permanently neutralized and public safety is assured.”

The resolution also called for the U.S. to “provide all assistance as may be required to support Israel in its defense against Hamas and all other terrorist organizations.”

“He’s very popular among the younger people and it’s very disheartening to see that he’s … going to pander to that very far-left wing progressive movement in terms of what’s going on with Israel,” Lisa Strauss, a leader in the local Jewish community, said, “especially given the fact that he’s technically in seminary to become a pastor.”

He also praised the ceasefire and hostage release agreement in November 2025, saying, “I hope this ceasefire will hold so we can achieve lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Lisa Strauss, a leader in the local Jewish community who recently helped start Jewish Women Vote Houston, said that Talarico’s comments are “very disappointing.”

“He’s very popular among the younger people and it’s very disheartening to see that he’s … going to pander to that very far-left wing progressive movement in terms of what’s going on with Israel,” Strauss said, “especially given the fact that he’s technically in seminary to become a pastor.”

She expressed particular frustration at Talarico’s accusations of war crimes and other atrocities in Gaza, which she described as “propaganda,” and said that it’s “frightening” that he and so many other Democrats are taking similar stances and seem unwilling to “even open a discussion about Israel.”

“I would like to see him meet with Jewish groups and explain his stance in greater detail,” Strauss said.

She said that Talarico’s positions on Israel were a major subject of discussion at the first meeting of the Jewish women’s group, and are an issue that’s causing significant concern in her community.

“It’s definitely something that we need to look more into and be more concerned about,” Strauss said, adding that she was surprised that Crockett, an outspoken progressive on many issues, appears to be the more pro-Israel candidate in the race at the moment.

Yvette Pintar, a Jewish voter and local Jewish and Democratic leader who was also in the audience at Talarico’s event last week, said she’d heard Talarico make similar comments in the past and that they made her “uncomfortable.”

“It doesn’t provide context for what’s going on in Gaza,” Pintar said. “I have mixed feelings when I hear about, ‘I’m not taking one penny from AIPAC.’ I’m not a fan of AIPAC, so that’s OK, but it’s still very uncomfortable to hear it, when you single out one entity not to get money from in today’s world.”

“I don’t think that he’s inherently antisemitic … but I don’t think he has been very thoughtful about standing with Jews when it comes to concerns for our physical security, anywhere — overseas, here, or whatever it is,” Yvette Pintar, a Jewish voter and local Jewish and Democratic leader said. “It’s hard to believe that he has given much thought to the concerns of Jews when it comes to physical security.”

Pintar said she was particularly uncomfortable with Talarico’s answer to the follow-up question later in the event — about speaking for “all people, rather than only Palestinian people” — which she said had provided an opportunity for Talarico to commit to offering a statement of support for the Jewish community, particularly in the wake of the Sydney shooting, but felt he failed to do so.

“To me, it was so jarring not to address that, he missed a very easy and obvious opportunity to address the real anxieties that Jews and Israelis have about security. Jews right here in Texas, we had [the hostage crisis at a synagogue in] Colleyville in the not too distant past. This is right here in Texas, so I just thought that that was jarring and very concerning,” Pintar said.

“I don’t think that he’s inherently antisemitic … but I don’t think he has been very thoughtful about standing with Jews when it comes to concerns for our physical security, anywhere — overseas, here, or whatever it is,” Pintar said. “It’s hard to believe that he has given much thought to the concerns of Jews when it comes to physical security.”

Pintar said she hasn’t made up her mind on who to vote for yet, but has the “impression” that Crockett “may be better on these issues.” She said the Talarico campaign “needs to demonstrate to Jewish voters that he takes our concerns seriously. I haven’t seen anything yet that shows he has,” and particularly reassure Jews about their security.

She also said that his current approach to the conflict in Gaza “seems divisive, and that’s not what I would hope [for] from a candidate who is supposedly a peace-loving guy who is concerned with all kinds of communities.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, following a recent move by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, signed an executive order on Monday designating the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations.

The order instructs the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol to “undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities in Florida” by the Brotherhood or CAIR. It states that all executive and cabinet agencies may not provide “any contract, employment, funds, or other benefit or privilege” to either organization or individuals who have “provided material support or resources” to one or both groups. 

The order also directs the state’s Domestic Security Oversight Council to “conduct a comprehensive review of existing statutory authorities, regulations, and policies for addressing threats” from the Brotherhood and CAIR, and to “submit recommendations for any additional action needed” from the governor or the state legislature by Jan. 6, 2026. 

“The Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamist ideology is irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, especially including the right to religious freedom and the equal protection of the laws,” the order states. 

DeSantis said in a post on X on Monday, “Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support.”

CAIR and CAIR-Florida jointly responded to the order by vowing legal action against the DeSantis administration.

“We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight,” the organizations said in a joint statement. “In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”

The order comes less than a month after Abbott issued a similar declaration targeting both groups as foreign terrorist organizations, and weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating the Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. 

On Capitol Hill, Republicans in the House and Senate are working on advancing standalone legislation reinstating the Brotherhood’s FTO designation, though House lawmakers recently stripped a key provision from their bill mandating the designation of eligible Muslim Brotherhood branches and the entire Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.

In Texas, two Republicans who have faced condemnations from the Jewish community could be making comebacks in this year’s Republican congressional primaries.

Social media influencer and gun activist Brandon Herrera is making a second attempt to take down Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), after losing to the congressman by less than 400 votes in 2024 in the 23rd Congressional District, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Herrera attracted controversy and criticism for videos he posted on YouTube featuring imagery, music and jokes about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, and was active for years in a Sons of Confederate Veterans group in North Carolina. He also pledged to support ending U.S. foreign aid, including to Israel.

The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition launched substantial ad campaigns against Herrera in 2024, highlighting his Nazi-related videos.

Gonzales is currently under scrutiny after a former staffer died by suicide after setting herself on fire. The staffer and Gonzales had allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair, something both Gonzales and the woman’s family deny.

Gonzales has a sizable lead in fundraising with $1.5 million raised and $2.5 million on hand, to Herrera’s $307,000.

Another candidate, rancher Susan Storey Rubio, also announced plans to challenge Gonzales from his right. But it’s unclear if she is still running for the seat — her campaign’s social media pages are unavailable and she refunded campaign donations she had received, as well as repaid much of a loan she made to her campaign. Her campaign account had no money remaining and $163,000 in debt listed as of last month.

Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist, said that the race is difficult to predict, but that it’s likely “going to be a good tough close race.” Both candidates, he said, have likely spent the time since their last faceoff building up their local bases of support to prepare for this rematch.

For insurgents like Herrera, Steinhauser said, a first race can give them time to build up a local base of support and to show that they have a real shot at winning. He said that Gonzales, too, has also likely been working to address some of the issues that drove voters’ opposition in the past race.

Former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) is rumored to be planning a second attempt at a political comeback; he served one term from 1995 to 1997, narrowly beating a Democratic incumbent, before losing reelection. He ran and was elected again in 2013 in a newly created district. In 2015, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in a primary against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

After leaving Congress, he was indicted and convicted on felony charges of financial misconduct, money laundering and fraud, using $1.25 million from political donors to pay for personal expenses. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but his sentence was commuted after just two years by President Donald Trump at the tail end of his first term in office.

During his first term in Congress, Stockman faced condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League for appearing on a radio show run by a Holocaust-denying conspiracy group, the Liberty Lobby. In an interview, Stockman denied that the show was antisemitic.

“They said that because they talk against ‘international bankers’ that means they’re against Jewish folks,” he said at the time. “The largest banks today are not American. I know that most of them are Japanese now.” 

He also defended himself by saying that he had “a Christian Jewish person” working in his office. Stockman asked staff in his congressional office to participate in a daily Christian prayer service.

Stockman, who at the time was known as a generally bizarre and fringe figure, also pushed conspiracy theories about the 1993 Waco siege and maintained ties to militia groups.

Stockman did cast himself as a supporter of Israel during his time in Congress — at one point memorably vanishing for weeks on what was later revealed to be a delegation trip to Israel and Egypt — sponsoring legislation cutting off support for organizations that exclude Israeli organizations in the West Bank and speaking at pro-Israel events in support of the Jewish state. He also condemned antisemitic activity in Armenia.

Stockman has yet to declare his candidacy, but was reportedly interested in pursuing the Houston-area 9th Congressional District that was revamped as a result of the GOP’s partisan redistricting push to become a solidly conservative seat.

But after a federal court ruled this month that Texas cannot use its new maps, ordering the state to stick with the congressional lines it has had since 2021, Stockman’s fate is uncertain. The redistricting ruling was appealed, with the Supreme Court temporarily ordering the state to use its 2025 map for now. adding uncertainty to what the Texas map will look like for the 2026 midterms. 

Stockman could not be reached for comment.

Steinhauser said he hasn’t heard any particular chatter about Stockman’s plans.

“Given the district [was] going to be … a very conservative area, it certainly would look attractive to him or anyone else looking to run,” Steinhauser said. He said Stockman could point to the prosecution and Trump’s pardon to frame himself as a victim of a weaponized political prosecution, as Trump has done, telling voters, “they came after me just like they came after the president.”

But Steinhauser also said it’s still a relatively open race and that various others could still join.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration on Tuesday designating the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist groups and transnational criminal organizations — a move that some lawmakers are pushing on the federal level.

The proclamation would ban both groups from buying or acquiring land in the state and allow the state’s attorney general to sue to shut down the two groups, and potentially impose fines on those involved.

Abbott’s proclamation notes the Muslim Brotherhood’s support to groups, including Hamas, that conduct terrorism in various countries, some of which have already been designated as terrorist groups, and that a series of countries have already imposed restrictions on their local Muslim Brotherhood branches.

The proclamation describes CAIR as a “successor organization” to the Muslim Brotherhood and an effective front group for Hamas in the United States and accuses the group of seeking to spread Sharia law in the country by infiltrating public office and other areas of public life.

It also notes that CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas financing case, and that a series of senior CAIR members have been involved in promoting or financing terrorism.

Responding in a statement on X, CAIR accused Abbott of doing the bidding of Israel and AIPAC donors and described the proclamation as defamatory.

“Unlike Mr. Abbott — who unleashed violence against Texas students protesting the Gaza genocide to satisfy his AIPAC donors — our civil rights organization is an independent voice that answers to the American people, relies on support from the American people, and opposes all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism,” the group wrote.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a candidate for Texas attorney general, praised the announcement, saying he would enforce it if elected, and that CAIR should also be proscribed at the federal level.

“We must fully enforce and duplicate terror designation efforts at the federal level including strict immigration policy, stripping CAIR’s [501]c3 [tax-exempt] status, vet and remove Sharia,” Roy said.

Efforts to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have seen little public progress at the federal level, both in Congress and in the executive branch.

Texas has become a particular locus of anti-Sharia law activity over concerns about a project to develop a new Muslim-focused community, known as EPIC City. The Department of Justice investigated the project for religious discrimination, but the DOJ ended its probe finding no wrongdoing. Texas has passed several laws designed to impede the project.

James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas seen as a rising star in his party, launched a campaign for Senate on Tuesday, joining a crowded primary to claim the seat held by veteran Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

The 36-year-old former public school teacher, who has studied to become a Presbyterian minister, has drawn national attention for openly embracing his Christian faith to connect with voters. In his launch video, he referred to Jesus, invoking him as “a barefoot rabbi who gave two commandments: love God and love neighbor.”

“Two thousand years ago, when the powerful few rigged the system, that barefoot rabbi walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice,” Talarico added. “To those who love our country, to those who love our neighbors: It’s time to start flipping tables.”

Talarico, who is calling for a generational shake-up in a party he sees as largely out of touch with voter concerns, until this week had no apparent record of public commentary on Middle East policy, a subject that is likely to stir debate in the upcoming election cycle amid Democratic divisions over Israel’s war in Gaza.

In interviews published on Tuesday, he indicated that he would adopt a more critical approach to Israel, calling the war a “moral disaster” that his party has failed to address. “One of the primary reasons that the Democratic Party lost young voters in particular last election was our party’s failure to recognize the moral disaster in Gaza, and I hope that we have leaders who recognize that mistake,” he said in comments to Punchbowl News that were echoed in an interview with The Washington Post.

He also declined to say, in an interview with HuffPost, if he believes that Israel’s military conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, dismissing the question as a debate “within elite political circles” that distracts “from the immediate goal, which is stopping the human suffering in Gaza.”

And on specific legislation, Talarico passed on commenting on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) recent resolutions seeking to block U.S. military aid to Israel, saying he was unfamiliar with the measures, which won support from a majority of the Democratic caucus. He said broadly that the party’s approach to Israel “needs to entail action,” but did not elaborate further.

His comments, notable for a Senate candidate in a solidly conservative and deeply evangelical state, underscore how the party is now shifting away from its long-standing support for Israel as it reckons with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and declining Democratic Party voter sympathy for the Jewish state, according to polls.

Talarico’s campaign said he was unavailable for an interview with Jewish Insider on Tuesday to expand on his new comments about Israel and the direction of the party.

His views could draw attacks from Republicans — who are already highlighting his favorable remarks regarding Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City and vehement critic of Israel.

In next year’s primary, Talarico, whose profile rose over the summer after he appeared on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast, is facing former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who unsuccessfully opposed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) last election, and Terry Virts, a former astronaut, among other Democrats. 

While Allred has previously voiced strong support for Israel and its alliance with the United States, he argued last year that Israel’s military aims in its war in Gaza could not achieve any further practical goals and that the U.S. should consider withholding some aid to pressure Israel to finalize a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Even as he has railed against billionaire Republican donors, Talarico has previously accepted campaign donations from a super PAC in Texas funded by the pro-Israel GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, thanks to his support for legalizing casino gambling within the state. 

Adelson, who was one of President Donald Trump’s biggest donors in the last election, has also donated to Cornyn, now seeking to fend off a challenge from Ken Paxton, Texas’ attorney general.

A representative for Adelson did not respond to a message from JI seeking comment on Tuesday.

In early June, Rabbi Eleanor Steinman wrote to members of Temple Beth Shalom, the Reform congregation she leads in Austin, Texas, sharing the synagogue’s plans to celebrate Pride Month with several events in June. 

Steinman also revealed that, for the first time in more than two decades, her congregation would not be marching in the Austin Pride parade, which event organizers say draws 200,000 people each August, because of concerns about antisemitism. 

“The Austin Pride organization took an antisemitic stance in the midst of the Pride Parade and Festival last year,” wrote Steinman, who is gay. 

Ahead of last year’s Pride parade, slides were leaked from a presentation in which Austin Pride organizers said hate speech against Jews wasn’t welcome, including “symbols, images or flags used by terrorist and hate groups.” An accompanying image showed people holding a “Globalize the Intifada” sign, a Hamas flag and a “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” banner. It was part of an education campaign for queer activists as anti-Israel sentiment exploded in the queer community after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza, as it did in many other progressive spaces. 

But the effort to educate about antisemitism backfired. Anti-Israel activists pressured Austin Pride to disavow that message. Austin Pride not only backtracked on barring those slogans; it issued a statement pledging to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and stating that the organization does not work with the Anti-Defamation League. In the months that followed, Jewish leaders and LGBTQ activists pushed Austin Pride’s leadership to consider changing this stance, but they did not. 

“Despite attempts to meet with Austin Pride since then, a coalition of Jewish leaders were unable to create an environment where we felt we would be both safe and respected as Jewish LGBTQ+ and allies,” Steinman wrote in the email. 

It was a remarkable statement, tinged with bitter irony: The synagogue first started marching in Pride so that LGBTQ congregants would feel that they could bring their full selves to the Jewish community. Now some of those same congregants feel that they need to suppress their Jewishness in order to fully belong in the queer community. 

“It’s putting people back in the closet,” Steinman told Jewish Insider in a recent interview. “It makes me so angry and so sad that Jewish queer people are having to choose between those two identities, almost in a hierarchy — Which one am I more? — and decide how they want to live their truth.” (Micah Andress, president of Austin Pride, said in a statement that he was “saddened that members of the Jewish community may have been misled about our intentions,” and said “misinformation” was circulating. “Everyone is welcome at Austin Pride. Hate speech, of any kind, is not,” said Andress.)

Temple Beth Shalom was joined by two other synagogues, the local ADL branch and the leadership of Shalom Austin — the umbrella organization encompassing Austin’s Jewish federation, JCC and Jewish Family Service — in pulling out of Austin Pride and announcing a suite of Jewish Pride events instead, including a “Jewish queer joy and resilience” happy hour and two different Pride Shabbat services. 

“There aren’t really very many queer spaces in this city that allow queer Jews to exist without being interrogated about Israel, Zionism, the war, things like that,” said Emily Bourgeois, director of public affairs at Shalom Austin. “We decided that this was a good moment for us and our community, knowing just how isolated the LGBT Jewish community specifically is, to really uplift and celebrate queer Jews.” 

Austin is not the only place where Jewish members of the LGBTQ community are opting out of large Pride events because of fears of antisemitism and worries that they will face exclusion and ostracization. Similar monthlong Jewish Pride festivities are also taking place in San Diego and Raleigh, N.C., where organizers of the citywide Pride festivals have taken stances that Jewish leaders say put LGBTQ Jews at risk. In New York and San Francisco, grassroots “Shalom Dykes” parties are being planned as alternatives to the cities’ Dyke Marches, where anti-Zionist sentiment is de rigueur. 

“We’re not going to let them take Pride away from us. We’re going to create a really inclusive Jewish Pride,” said Rabbi Denise Eger, interim executive director at A Wider Bridge, which builds ties between LGBTQ communities in the U.S. and Israel.

Even amid rising antisemitism, Jews in many places have and will participate in large Pride celebrations. At WorldPride in Washington early this month, a large Jewish contingent marched together. 

“We encouraged people to show up to the parade, especially wearing Jewish pride and not being afraid of showing the world that we are LGBTQ Jews,” said Josh Maxey, executive director of Bet Mishpachah, an LGBTQ synagogue in Washington. “We have every right to be in the Pride march, just as anyone else.”

But in other communities where Pride organizers have aligned their organizations with anti-Israel movements or failed to offer support to concerned Jewish community members, the counterprogramming is a way for queer Jews and allies to express support for the LGBTQ community without having to hide their Jewish identity. 

“We’re not going to let them take Pride away from us. We’re going to create a really inclusive Jewish Pride,” said Rabbi Denise Eger, interim executive director at A Wider Bridge, which builds ties between LGBTQ communities in the U.S. and Israel. (Eger is married to Steinman, the Austin rabbi.) 

Even if the events are meant to be joyful, they will be enjoyed with a hint of discomfort. After years of fighting for inclusion, many LGBTQ Jews worry that excluding Jews is becoming accepted in queer spaces, particularly if those Jews are believed to be Zionists. 

Seth Krosner, a trauma surgeon in San Diego, has seen enormous progress in Jewish spaces when it comes to LGBTQ inclusion. That makes it even harder for him to watch anti-Jewish sentiment become more common in LGBTQ spaces. 

“I’m in my early 60s, and it wasn’t always that you could easily have a husband and be a surgeon, or have a husband — well, if you’re a man — and be president of a Conservative synagogue,” Krosner told JI. He lives near the city’s Pride Parade route, and for years he has hosted his rabbi overnight on Shabbat to enable the rabbi to walk to the parade. 

San Diego Pride has stood by its decision to feature R&B singer Kehlani as its headliner, despite facing pushback from the Jewish community over the singer’s lengthy history of violent rhetoric targeting Israel and Zionists. Five synagogues, along with the San Diego JCC and the San Diego Jewish Federation, formally pulled out of San Diego Pride as a result. They will be collaborating on a weekend-long Jewish Pride event the same weekend in July. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also pulled out of the event over Kehlani’s role in it.

“I’m still happy to be a gay man with a wonderful husband. I’m proud to be a Jew, and I insist on being both. I’m not going to be forced to choose. But I can’t go to the parade in all good faith,” Krosner said. A spokesperson for San Diego Pride said the event is “an inclusive space that centers on and celebrates diverse queer identities, voices and joy [and] remains committed to ensuring a welcoming and, above all, safe Pride experience for the entire community.”

“While we respect those from our local Jewish community who have made the decision not to participate in San Diego Pride’s programming this year, we hope everyone will gather during Pride as a sign of solidarity for our queer community,” the spokesperson said. 

“We have been aware for some time of antisemitism within the LGBTQ community,” Rabbi Lucy Dinner, Temple Beth Or’s senior rabbi, told JI. “This promotion of antisemitism by the OUT! Raleigh event leaders is a profound escalation of that expression, so much so that a local police officer advises that our safety may be at risk if Jews participate.”

Jewish communities are already on high alert, following the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington last month and the firebombing of a Boulder, Colo., protest for the Israeli hostages in Gaza soon after. A statement by the San Diego Jewish organizations referenced those incidents. “Kehlani’s hateful messages, including calls to ‘eradicate Zionism’ and for an ‘Intifada Revolution’ are not only dehumanizing, but history has shown that when they are normalized and platformed, they can lead to real-world violence against Jews,” they wrote. 

Sometimes, community leaders must take into account security needs and make difficult calls about when it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Temple Beth Or, a Reform congregation in Raleigh, announced in an email to community members last week that the synagogue would not be formally participating in the OUT! Raleigh pride festival after a conversation with a police officer about security concerns. That decision followed the recent uptick in antisemitic violence, but it also came after OUT! Raleigh released a sharply anti-Zionist statement last year adopting BDS and pledging to “unequivocally stand with the Palestinian people” and demand an “end to Israeli occupation of native Palestinian land and the unjust apartheid system.” (JI did not receive a response to an inquiry sent to OUT! Raleigh.) 

“We have been aware for some time of antisemitism within the LGBTQ community,” Rabbi Lucy Dinner, Temple Beth Or’s senior rabbi, told JI. “This promotion of antisemitism by the OUT! Raleigh event leaders is a profound escalation of that expression, so much so that a local police officer advises that our safety may be at risk if Jews participate.” (A Raleigh Police Department spokesperson disputed that the detective in question told the synagogue to pull out of the Pride event. “I want to affirm that RPD fully supports the right of all individuals to come to Raleigh and peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights,” Chief Public Information Officer Lt. David Davis told JI.) 

In 2025, the exclusion of Jews is rarely so cut-and-dry as someone saying “Jews not welcome here,” particularly on the political left. But the New York City Dyke March, an event focused on queer women that draws between 15,000 and 30,000 people to Manhattan every June, came close: It said this year that Zionists aren’t welcome, even as polls show that an overwhelming majority of American Jews feel a connection to Israel. 

“We oppose the nationalist political ideology of Zionism,” Dyke March organizers affirmed in a statement of values adopted this year, over objections from some Jewish activists. One of the activists, Jodi Kreines, was voted off the planning committee as a result. She was not removed for being a Zionist — Kreines never told her fellow committee members if she is or is not a Zionist — but rather for simply voicing that Zionists should be allowed at the Dyke March. 

“Recent public statements attributed to you, expressing support for Zionist inclusion and collaboration, are in direct conflict with our mission and have caused deep concern in our community,” a group of committee members wrote in an email to Kreines that was viewed by JI. “We’d like to ask you to step down from the committee.” When she did not respond to their email, they voted to remove her. 

“What crazy bizarro world is this, where calling for inclusion is a reason to be ousted from an organizing group, from a progressive space?” Kreines told JI on Monday.

This year, many queer Jewish women and nonbinary people will attend a “Shalom Dykes” party instead of the New York Dyke March. Nate Shalev, who organized the first “Shalom Dykes” event in 2024, is excited that it is happening again. But Shalev, who uses they/them pronouns, struggles with feeling they don’t belong in larger activist communities at a time when they want to protest against anti-LGBTQ policies being promoted by conservative politicians. 

“If we set that precedent this year, that we’re siloing Jews to their own spaces, that’s going to continue, and are we ever going to be able to return?” Sarah Haley, a labor organizer in San Francisco asked. “I do think this type of hatred has gone very mainstream. I don’t think it’s fringe anymore. I think it’s pretty popular to be anti-Zionist, to say ‘Zionist scum’ and things like that. To not recognize this as a slur, I think, has become mainstream. If that’s where we are this year, next year, where will we be in five years? Will it be just no Jews allowed, period?”

“I want to be out there protesting and building coalitions around the values and issues that I care about, and I don’t feel like I’m able to do that,” Shalev said. “I don’t know how much we align anymore. Knowing that folks would possibly want to push me out if we had a conversation about it, and my Israeli wife wouldn’t be able to attend these.”

Sarah Haley, a labor organizer in San Francisco, faced harassment and name-calling from other San Francisco Dyke March volunteers when she argued in a planning meeting that Zionists should be allowed to attend the event. 

“In some ways, it feels like we’re backsliding into a time period when Jews were only able to exist in their own spaces, only in their own businesses and their own groups,” Haley told JI. She does not plan to attend the march this year, but worries about what that means for queer Jews in the future. 

“If we set that precedent this year, that we’re siloing Jews to their own spaces, that’s going to continue, and are we ever going to be able to return?” Haley asked. “I do think this type of hatred has gone very mainstream. I don’t think it’s fringe anymore. I think it’s pretty popular to be anti-Zionist, to say ‘Zionist scum’ and things like that. To not recognize this as a slur, I think, has become mainstream. If that’s where we are this year, next year, where will we be in five years? Will it be just no Jews allowed, period?”

For the many queer Jews who do choose to participate in larger Pride gatherings this summer, doing so is often a celebration of their identity — mixed, increasingly, with a quiet apprehension about antisemitism. Idit Klein, president and CEO of Keshet, an organization that fights for LGBTQ inclusion in the Jewish community, marched in WorldPride in Washington this month.

“It really was a day of queer Jewish joy, with these flashes of vulnerability, and looking around, and anxiety about what might happen, and then profound relief and gratitude,” Klein told JI. “I’m really kind of amazed by this: There wasn’t a flicker of negativity.”

As the WorldPride parade marched down 14th Street the first weekend in June, several announcers situated throughout the parade route shouted out the name of each contingent that marched past. 

“Happy Pride, queer Jews of Washington, D.C.!” the announcers said. 

Except one of them didn’t see the group’s banner, and chimed in with a different name, deduced from the sight of an Israeli flag. 

“Happy Pride, LGBTQ people from Israel!” the announcer stated. 

The Jewish marchers paused and held their breath, hoping the reaction from spectators wouldn’t be too harsh.

“All of us froze for a moment and wondered, what is going to happen now?” Klein recalled. Would this be one of those bad stories? 

Then everyone cheered, just like they did for all the other floats and groups. And they kept on marching.

“To have an experience of a parade, and all the more so in Washington, D.C., given the murders that just happened there, that really just felt embracing and celebratory — that felt quite extraordinary,” said Klein.

The decision by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the state’s GOP primary is not only setting up a blockbuster contest between two Texas heavyweights, but is testing what it means to be a conservative Republican at a time when the party’s principles and values are rapidly shifting.

The contest pits Cornyn, a fixture in Texas politics for nearly four decades who served at the top levels of Senate leadership, against Paxton, the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general and a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, in what is expected to be one of the highest-profile – and costly – intra-party fights this cycle. 

“It’s going to be really nasty and really expensive,” Matt Mackowiak, a Republican political consultant and the former chairman of the Travis County GOP, told Jewish Insider of the race. “Paxton is going to have to prosecute an intense, negative case that resonates with primary voters, but Cornyn is going to also prosecute a negative case with primary voters too.”

Cornyn has the support of many leading Republicans in Washington, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). The committee endorsed Cornyn’s reelection, and has lobbied Trump to back the incumbent. 

Cornyn is also one of the top fundraisers in the party: He spent over $33 million for his 2020 Senate reelection bid, and banked over $4.1 million in his campaign account at the end of last year. A hotly contested primary could require nearly $100 million, especially if Democrats plan to contest the seat amid the GOP divide.

One of the Republicans staying on the sidelines is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cornyn’s more-outspoken Senate counterpart. Cruz offered an early endorsement of Cornyn well before his last reelection campaign in 2020, while Cornyn raised money for Cruz during the senator’s competitive race last year against Democrat Colin Allred. (Cruz, who has close ties with both Republicans, didn’t weigh in for Paxton during his 2022 reelection when he faced a spirited primary challenge from George P. Bush.)

“Both John and Ken are friends of mine, I have worked closely with both of them. I respect them both and I trust the voters of Texas to make that decision,” Cruz told reporters at the Capitol last week. 

In Paxton’s corner is Axiom Strategies, the Texas-based GOP consultancy founded by Jeff Roe, who is a close confidante of Cruz. While Roe is not personally involved with the Paxton campaign, his work as a top strategist for Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential super PAC could hurt Paxton’s ability to secure a Trump endorsement.

Paxton has also received two early endorsements from a pair of House Republicans, Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Troy Nehls (R-TX). 

Surrogates for both Cornyn and Paxton have been lobbying Trump and top White House officials to endorse their respective candidates, according to several sources familiar with the political efforts. Republican operatives advocating for a Cornyn endorsement have “expressed concerns to the White House that Paxton’s run would threaten Trump’s Republican Senate majority” and have highlighted his campaign’s ties to Axiom, one source said. 

“The specter of Trump’s involvement kind of hangs over this thing,” Mackowiak said, noting that whether he weighs in and whom he throws his weight behind would “fundamentally” impact the outcome.

Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas GOP operative and partner with Steinhauser Strategies, said that Trump’s decision to withhold his endorsement, which he described as “huge” and “potentially decisive in a race like this,” suggests there isn’t a clear favorite in the contest.

“[Trump] wants to back a winner,” Steinhauser told JI. “I just really think he’s going to stay out of it. There’s no reason for him to get involved in this. He has what he wants from both of these guys, and that is that they’re in lockstep politically. They’re loyal to the president. They’re going to be good foot soldiers for him. Why does he care who it is?”

Cornyn is expected to target Paxton over his many controversies in office, including accusations of bribery and other misuse of public resources, which led to his impeachment by the Texas House and a federal investigation. He was acquitted by the Texas Senate. Prior to serving in office, he was indicted on securities fraud charges, which were later dropped as part of a settlement agreement. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing on the corruption charges.

The Texas senator and his allies argue Paxton being the party’s nominee will put the state in play for Democrats, forcing national Republicans to allocate resources to an otherwise red state that could be used for races where Democrats are on defense. In last year’s Texas Senate race, Cruz spent over $103 million to fend off a serious challenge from Allred.

Paxton, meanwhile, is expected to focus his campaign messaging attacking Cornyn’s involvement in the successful 2022 bipartisan effort to enact gun control restrictions on individuals convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, also known as the “boyfriend loophole,” and his support for arming Ukraine in its war with Russia, two issues that put the Texas senator at odds with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. 

In a video announcing his campaign to unseat him, Paxton cited Cornyn’s comments in 2023 describing the charges against Trump related to his handling of classified documents as “very serious” and his prediction that same year that he did not believe Trump “could win the presidency” after being found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case. Cornyn’s relationship with Trump has improved since 2023, the result of the Texas senator doing considerable outreach to the president while he was running to be Senate Republican leader last year. 

A source familiar with the thinking of the leadership at Axiom cited Cornyn’s lack of “intensity” with the Republican base as a main reason for him being vulnerable to Paxton’s challenge. 

An internal poll by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, commissioned by political allies of Paxton, showed Paxton leading Cornyn by over 20 points, findings Axiom sources point to as another reason for confidence that the incumbent senator is beatable. (The polling firm is also used by the Trump campaign.)

A public poll conducted in February 2025 by the University of Houston found Paxton with a slightly higher favorability rating (63%) than Cornyn (54%) among Texas Republican voters.

“People like to underestimate Cornyn, but they do so at their peril,” Mackowiak said. “He’s never lost an election. He’s 19-0, and his last three primary challenges he won by 30 to 40, and 70 points. He’s one of the greatest fundraisers in the history of the state of Texas, and he does it at the federal level, where you have $3,500 per person limits. Cornyn is going to run a highly sophisticated, well-funded, professional, aggressive effort.”

Steinhauser told JI that Paxton’s strong early polling in the race is as much a function of his strengths — an imposing profile in Texas state politics and appeal with the right-wing grassroots — more than any significant Cornyn vulnerabilities.

“[Paxton] certainly has a lot of support among very active, very conservative activists in the base. So I think that that is giving him a great opportunity at the beginning of the campaign. But if it was a different candidate, I don’t think we’d be talking about the race,” Steinhauser said

Both Republicans have touted their records in support of Israel and fighting against domestic antisemitism. 

Asked by JI in the Capitol this week what makes him a stronger candidate than Paxton when it comes to addressing the concerns of Jewish voters, Cornyn replied: “He’s a con man and I’ve got a demonstrated record of support. I think I’m probably at 100%. I keep asking AIPAC, ‘Can I do any better than that?’ And they’ve said, ‘No, that’s about as good as you can do.’”

Cornyn also argued that Republicans should “absolutely” be concerned that they could lose a Senate seat to Democrats if they were to nominate Paxton over him. “It would also be about a half-a-billion dollar race in money that would be more effectively spent in Michigan, in Georgia and in New Hampshire. So I think it’s a bad idea for him to run,” Cornyn said.

Jewish Insider’s senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod contributed to this report.

There are a number of intriguing races to watch in Texas’s primary runoffs today. Patrick Svitek, a political correspondent for the Texas Tribune, ran through some of the most noteworthy matchups in a recent interview with Jewish Insider. Here’s what he’s keeping an eye on as votes are tallied today:

Senate runoff: At the top of the ticket is the Democratic primary runoff for the United States Senate. M.J. Hegar, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, is going up against Royce West, a veteran state politician who has served in the Texas Senate for close to three decades. Though West has trailed Hegar in the polls, he has slightly closed the gap in recent weeks as mass protests against police brutality have swept the nation. But West, who is African American, isn’t exactly an upstart progressive along the lines of Charles Booker, who came close to defeating Amy McGrath in Kentucky’s recent Senate primary race.

“I don’t think it’s an explicit moderate-versus-progressive matchup,” Svitek said of the West-Hegar contest. “And I think it may be tempting for folks from outside the state to kind of put it through that lens.” Svitek believes that Hegar — who is backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and has outraised her opponent — is the ultimate favorite in the race. Whether she will be able to defeat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in November, however, is another story. Hegar is still something of a long shot, according to Svitek, but Trump’s sagging poll numbers may bode well for her. “I think she’s increasingly coming on the radar because of how close the presidential race is looking in the state,” Svitek said. 

TX-13: In Texas’s 13th congressional district, Ronny Jackson, Trump’s former doctor, is going up against Josh Winegarner, a cattle industry lobbyist, in the open-seat race to replace outgoing Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX). Svitek described the race as the “most contentious” in the state. Jackson, who has been endorsed by the president, has accused his opponent of being anti-Trump, while Winegarner has attacked Jackson for only recently moving to the district. As of a week ago, Svitek said, it looked as if Jackson had the edge, but more recently, the race has tightened. “That’s one to watch, for sure,” he told JI. 

TX-10: In 2018, Mike Siegel, a progressive Democrat, came within just four percentage points of beating Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) in the state’s 10th congressional district, a historically conservative swath between Austin and Houston. He is trying again this cycle, but first, Siegel will have to defeat Pritesh Gandhi, a well-known doctor in the district. “Gandhi is not as progressive as Siegel,” Svitek said, “but has run a pretty strong race, been the top fundraiser, brings a really interesting story as a physician here in Austin for a community health clinic, and he’s obviously benefited from being in the spotlight on the frontlines of the coronavirus.”

Still, Svitek added, Siegel has built-in name recognition from his last attempt at the seat, which may give him an advantage in the runoff. Regardless of who wins, it will be a competitive race in the general election in a district that has been trending purple in recent years. “The challenge with McCaul is that he has been able to prepare for this race since January 2019,” said Siegel, adding, “He’s also incredibly independently wealthy, and while he has been fine fundraising on his own so far, he could write himself a $5 million check tomorrow and kind of take this race off the grid.”

TX-17: Former Rep. Pete Sessions, who lost to a Democrat in 2018 in the state’s 32nd district, is trying to make his way back to the House in the open-seat contest to replace retiring Rep. Bill Flores in Texas’s 17th congressional district, which includes the city of Waco. But Sessions may have some trouble regaining entry given that Flores has endorsed the other candidate in the race local businesswoman Renee Swan. 

“It’s been a unique race in that the outgoing incumbent, I think, has really played an outsized role in trying to shape the field and the battle lines,” said Svitek. “He wanted someone with stronger roots in the district than some guy who just represented Dallas for a long time.” Svitek told JI that Sessions may be the slight favorite in the district given his name recognition. “But I think it’s going to be a close race, regardless.”

TX-24: Two Democrats are running in a competitive district for the chance to succeed Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX), who is retiring at the end of his term. Kim Olson, a former military pilot, is something of a “mini-celebrity” in the state thanks to her run for Texas agricultural commissioner two years ago, said Svitek. “It looked like she was going to be the candidate to beat in this current race,” he said. Candace Valenzuela, a young progressive candidate of color, got into the race a little later than Olson and had a pretty slow fundraising start. 

But then Valenzuela picked up the endorsement of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Emily’s List, as well as Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). Although Olson has been the top fundraiser in the race, Svitek said, Valenzuela has caught up with her and surpassed her in the most recent period. “Valenzuela has really built considerable momentum in this runoff,” he told JI.

TX-22: Two far-right candidates — Kathaleen Wall and Troy Nehls — are vying to succeed Republican Rep. Pete Olson, who isn’t seeking re-election, in this district in the Houston suburbs. Wall, a wealthy Repulican donor, is almost exclusively self-funding her campaign, Svitek pointed out. Nehls, a sheriff in Fort Bend County — which Svitek said contributes to about 70% of the vote in the district — has struggled to raise money, but has a solid base of support. “He just seems to cultivate loyalty among his followers,” Svitek told JI.

Wall, for her part, lost her bid for Congress last cycle in a separate district in Texas. “It was kind of an embarrassing loss for her,” Svitek said. And Nehls has some “vulnerabilities in his law enforcement background” that may put him at risk in the general election. Whoever emerges victorious will face stiff competition from Sri Kulkarni, the Democratic opponent who won his primary outright and lost to Olson by less than 5 percentage points last cycle. “If you look at the competitive districts in Texas, on paper, that one is maybe middle of the pack, but I think because of the current dynamic there, where you have a really strong candidate who’s already won his primary in Kulkarni, and you have this very messy runoff between these two candidates with unique flaws, I think that that district has kind of moved up the ranking.”

Tony Gonzales recently spent two years in Washington, working as a Department of Defense legislative fellow for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Now, the former Navy master chief petty officer is looking to return to the nation’s capital — as the congressman representing Texas’s 23rd congressional district.

Gonzales, who comes armed with the endorsement of President Donald Trump, is likely to win Tuesday’s runoff against another veteran, Raul Reyes. Gonzales came out on top in the March 3 primary, taking 28% of the vote to Reyes’ 23%. The winner will go up against Gina Ortiz Jones, who handily beat her opponents in the Democratic primary.

Jones narrowly lost her 2018 bid against Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), who announced last August that he would not be seeking a fourth term. This year, Jones is favored to win in the district that The Cook Political Report rates as “Lean Democratic.”

But Gonzales is up for the challenge, telling Jewish Insider that he can deliver a victory against Jones in November where Reyes cannot. “I have the experience of being on Capitol Hill, drafting legislation, staffing, hearings, doing constituent services,” he said. 

Mark Jones, a political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, agreed that Reyes would be unlikely to win in November.

“Whoever wins [the runoff]… will have a real uphill struggle against Gina Ortiz Jones,” Jones continued. “It’s going to be really tough for Gonzales to win that seat.”

But Gonzales is optimistic that voters in the district, which has flipped between Democratic and Republican control in recent years but was held by Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla for 14 years, will turn out for him in November. He pointed out that he’s a Hispanic candidate running in a majority-Hispanic district, an advantage over Jones.

***

Should he win, Gonzales would bring to Congress a font of Middle East policy expertise. While in the military, he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. And while working for Rubio, he focused on defense, national security and intelligence issues, with a particular focus on the Middle East.

“I spent my entire adult life basically at war,” he said. “A big part of my message is taking care of veterans, on one hand. The other aspect of it is for America to be firm. I believe in peace through strength.”

In 2018, as a national security fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Gonzales visited Israel, which he said helped shape his view of the region and understanding of the geopolitical situation.

“I read about the Golan Heights and studied it and I understood its strategic importance,” he said, explaining that seeing the situation on the ground allowed him to realize that the area was more than a military interest. “But when you visit it, the part that is left out is there’s this amazing winery just miles from the Golan Heights. So in my eyes, yeah, of course Israel would never give up that area.”

Julia Schulman, senior director of special projects at FDD, told JI, “Gina and Tony are both members of FDD’s non-partisan national security alumni network. Both are dedicated public servants who were actively engaged in our programming. Both have exciting careers ahead and we look forward to seeing how they continue to serve our country.”

Gonzales said he does not believe the U.S. should dictate any specific peace plan for the region, nor should it dictate whether Israel should be allowed to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank.

“The Israelis and the Palestinians, I think, should lead the way,” he said. “I think [America’s] role is to bring those [actors] together and open up a dialogue, not necessarily dictate what that peace process should be like.”

He added, however, “my experience in the military has taught me that you really can’t have peace unless you have partners that are willing to have that discussion. So I think it starts there.”

Although Gonzales believes that peace negotiations also are the best way to resolve the U.S. conflict with Iran, he did not support the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with the regime.

“I’d love nothing more than Iran to come to the negotiating table and have a dialogue and a discussion. That’s, I believe, how we solve a long-term solution,” he said. “In the meantime, though, that region of the world views strength through power.”

In this sense, Gonzales said, the Trump administration’s tougher posture toward Iran, including the strike which killed Gen. Qassem Solemaini, has been a net positive.

Gonzales — who was a Navy cryptologist — said Iran, as well as Russia and China, pose major cyber threats to the U.S., including U.S. elections.

“Our greatest [external] adversaries are China, Russia and Iran,” he said. “The number one thing is having the dialogue and saying, ‘Yes, China is trying to impact our elections. Yes, Russia is trying to impact our elections. Yes, Iran and others are trying to impact our elections.’ Why? Because they’re our adversaries. They’re trying to undermine us. And I think just being able to say that is already a win that we don’t have on Capitol Hill.”

***

What was anticipated to be a fairly quiet runoff in southwestern Texas between two military veterans has become the site of a high-stakes clash between major players in the national GOP. 

Gonzales has the support of Trump, Hurd and other GOP leaders, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) broke with the party to support Reyes, boosting him with a massive ad campaign that raised eyebrows at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

And on the eve of the primary, Trump’s campaign sent a strongly worded letter to Reyes’s campaign, admonishing him for using the president’s name and image on a mailer. 

“President Trump and his campaign do not support your candidacy in TX-23’s July 14 runoff primary,” Trump campaign executive director Michael Glassner said in the letter, which was first reported by Politico. “Your campaign’s efforts to make voters believe otherwise are deceptive and unfair.”

Reyes’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Jones said Trump’s endorsement helped shore up Gonzales’ campaign by shielding him from Reyes’s claims that he’s too much of an establishment Republican.

“I think Gonzales is going to [win that runoff] pretty easily,” Jones told JI.

But if he doesn’t, Jones predicts the race will drop off the radar of the GOP. “If Reyes wins, I would expect national Republicans to pull the plug on [TX]23,” Jones told JI. “If Reyes wins, [the district] will cease to be a real priority.”

In the Texas primary runoff scheduled for July 14, two Democrats — M.J. Hegar, a white, female veteran of the United States Air Force, and Royce West, an African-American state politician — are competing for the chance to go up against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the powerful Republican incumbent who has held onto his seat for nearly two decades.

If that sort of matchup sounds familiar, it’s likely because it is reminiscent of Kentucky’s recent Democratic primary battle in which Amy McGrath, a white former Marine fighter pilot, narrowly defeated Charles Booker, a Black state representative who benefitted from a late-stage surge in popularity thanks in part to mass protests against systemic racism and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

The same dynamic has altered the political landscape in Texas, as the demonstrations “have turned what would have otherwise been a pretty easy victory for Hegar into a competitive contest,” said Mark P. Jones, a professor in the department of political science at Rice University in Houston.

Still, heading into the runoff, West has struggled to harness the national mood to his benefit. The most recent polling on the race, released on Sunday and conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler, found that Hegar, at 32%, leads her opponent by a comfortable margin of 12 points among Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents.

Royce West

Those numbers may reflect the fact that West, the longtime 67-year-old state senator, isn’t exactly an up-and-coming progressive, despite a legislative record that includes efforts to reform the criminal justice system. “Royce West is an institutionalist,” said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “He’s an insider and longtime member of the Texas Senate, so he is more of a moderate than a progressive among Black politicians and among Democrats.”

West seemed intent on maintaining that impression in a recent conversation with Jewish Insider. Though he supports the ongoing protests, advocating for a national standard around the use of deadly force, he also made sure to note that he has had positive interactions with the police. Shortly after he got his driver’s license, he said, an officer pulled him over for speeding and gave him a stern lesson on vehicular safety. “I never have forgotten it,” the longtime state senator recalled. 

Asked to name a political role model, West mentioned Lyndon B. Johnson, the former Texas-born president and senator. He cited Robert Caro’s biography of LBJ, Master of the Senate, noting that he hadn’t read the whole book, which is more than 1,000 pages. “I’ve read a few pages of it, though.”

You don’t hear a lot about LBJ these days, but Jillson said that West’s comment makes some sense. “Royce, I think, is saying there that he’s a deal-maker,” Jillson told JI, “that he’s an insider and that he’s tried to understand what the person on the other side of the table needs in order to deliver a product, in order to deliver a compromise, a bargain.”

For her part, Hegar, 44, has sought to avoid any sort of conflict with West, even as the race has become increasingly acrimonious in recent weeks. Throughout her campaign, she has focused largely on Cornyn, with the implicit assumption being that she will be the one to face him in November.

Hegar is the candidate with the most out-of-state institutional support. She is backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as well as Emily’s List, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and J Street. 

Hegar, a Purple Heart recipient who completed three tours of duty in Afghanistan, ran for Congress in Texas’s 31st congressional district two years ago, attracting national attention with a viral ad. Hegar lost by less than 3 percentage points to Rep. John Carter (R-TX), but she believes she will fare better this time around. 

Though the pandemic has disrupted campaigning, Hegar — who has raised more than $6.6 million, according to the Federal Election Commission — maintains that she has “planted the seeds for a grassroots movement,” having spent the first year of her Senate bid driving tens of thousands of miles around the state.

Hegar, a Purple Heart recipient, completed three tours in Afghanistan with the United States Air Force.

In an interview with JI last week, Hegar expressed concerns about “racial injustice,” but seemed more at ease discussing foreign policy. 

“So much is falling by the wayside as far as not grabbing headlines that I think is very concerning,” she said, noting that the U.S. was losing its influence abroad. “We’re losing a lot of that position with this America-first kind of isolationist platform, with gutting our State Department,” she said. “Those kinds of things are really damaging our ability to operate globally.”

Hegar is also critical of Trump’s Middle East peace plan. “I’m going to advocate for policies that come from national security experts and advance the long-term goal of peace without sacrificing safety,” said Hegar, who supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I don’t believe his plan does that. I don’t think anyone’s surprised because the way he develops his plans seem to be through nepotism and what’s best for his party or speaking to his base instead of what’s best for the country and what’s best for our allies.”

Hegar added that Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal was a mistake. “It wasn’t perfect,” she said. “I do think it was a practical step in the right direction. The president acting unilaterally to abandon it and escalate confrontation with Iran — which he’s shown a willingness to continue to do — has really put troops and our allies at risk and has led us down a path toward what would be a very costly and destabilizing war.”

“I think that we should be partnering with the international community,” Hegar told JI. “I know some people like to shoot from the hip and be a cowboy. And I don’t believe that we should be losing any of our autonomy — I do believe we’re the leaders of the free world — but I think that that mantle is delicate and fragile, and we will lose it if we don’t act as such. And we are not acting that way now.”

West, who has brought in nearly $1.8 million in donations, was more comfortable discussing police reform than foreign policy in his interview with JI. He supports a two-state solution as it was “outlined in the Clinton Paramaters [sic],” according to a position paper, and expressed a desire to visit Israel if he is elected to the Senate. “Israel is our strongest Democratic ally in the Middle East, and so America should be supportive of Israel,” he said.

But he hesitated when asked for his opinion of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as BDS. “Remind me of what the acronym stands for?” he asked. After he was reminded, he said he did not support the movement. 

West also appeared to support rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, but seemed somewhat hazy on what that would involve. “The fact is, I don’t know all the details of the plan, but any type of plan that we have can always be reviewed to improve upon,” he said. “So I would not be opposed to reviewing it to see whether we can improve upon it.”

Fluency on foreign policy matters, however, is unlikely to swing the runoff in either direction. But because West has struggled to leverage the national mood in his favor, experts predict that Hegar will likely advance to the general election in the fall.

Whether she can beat Cornyn remains to be seen. 

The senator will be tough to unseat, according to Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston. “He’s got pole position — more money, better name identification and a veteran Texas campaign operation — he can define [Hegar] early and she might not have the money to respond unless she can raise Beto money,” Rottinghaus told JI, referring to former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who raised more than $80 million in his ultimately failed bid to oust Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Still, Hegar maintained that she is ready for the fight. 

“The primary and the runoff feel a little bit like I’m in an aircraft flying to go pick up a wounded soldier or civilian,” Hegar told JI, “and we’re talking about the difference between having a disagreement with someone in the cockpit about tactics and how we’re going to roll in versus the guy on the ground pointing an RPG at me.”

Cornyn, she made clear, is the guy with the rocket launcher.

Gina Ortiz Jones is hoping that two years will make all the difference. The former Air Force intelligence officer and former advisor to the Executive Office of the President on economic and national security issues is aiming to win the chance in today’s Democratic primary to try and flip Texas’s 23rd Congressional District come November. 

Flashback: In 2018, Ortiz Jones narrowly lost 49.2% to 48.7% — a margin of 926 votes — to incumbent GOP Rep. Will Hurd. This time, Hurd is not seeking re-election in the district, which includes much of southwest Texas.

The incumbent: Hurd, a moderate Republican and the only black Republican in the House of Representatives, has held the seat since 2015. He has frequently voted against his party on key issues like LGBT rights, gun control and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. “I think Will Hurd would agree I have the stronger chance this time, that’s why we scared him out of this race,” Ortiz Jones told Jewish Insider.

Money lead: In terms of fundraising, Ortiz Jones holds a towering lead over her four Democratic primary competitors. She’s raised nearly $2.7 million so far, compared to just over $16,000 by the next largest Democratic fundraiser. 

Healthcare focus: Ortiz Jones said that healthcare is “by far the number one issue” in her district, because of rising costs, fear in the Hispanic community about seeking out healthcare services, poor infrastructure and lack of medical personnel. She said she supports a public option for health insurance.

Looking south: Ortiz Jones — whose district includes a significant stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border — lambasted President Donald Trump’s border wall. “His policies have frankly made us less secure,” she said. “This president finds it okay to declare a fake national emergency so he can steal from the military to build a wasteful wall — it’s abhorrent and it’s a waste of resources.”

On immigration: “I look forward to making sure that we’ve got national security and foreign policies that reflect our values and actually keep us safe,” she said. While it’s important to secure the border, “we can also treat people with humanity and with respect, she added. Ortiz Jones also characterized immigration as “an opportunity… [and] an economic imperative,” which could help address issues like the dearth of medical workers in her district, and she said foreign policy programs could help address the economic and security issues in the countries from which immigrants are fleeing.

Israel: Ortiz Jones said she supports a two-state solution, and expressed support for the U.S.-Israel alliance. “They’re a key partner — will always be. I think, though, a two-state solution does the most to respect both sides’ rights to self-determination and security.”

Trump’s intelligence community: Ortiz Jones was particularly critical of Trump’s decision to appoint Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting director of National Intelligence, and of the perceived politicization of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. “The fact that you would appoint a partisan hack part-time to lead the world’s most powerful intelligence community, most capable intelligence community, suggests that there’s not nearly sufficient respect for the sacrifice that those men and women make, to be able to ensure that our national security leaders have the information they need to keep our country safe,” she said. She added that she’s concerned that allies may become wary of trusting the U.S. and sharing their intelligence.

General election: Politico and the Cook Political Report have predicted that, with Hurd’s retirement, the district now leans Democratic, meaning that Ortiz Jones has a shot at winning in November if she emerges victorious from today’s Democratic primary.

On a trip to Israel in October 2012, Pierce Bush visited Masada, the ancient desert fortress where, according to ancient scholars, a band of beseiged Jewish rebel soldiers chose to commit suicide rather than surrender to Roman troops. Though Bush was a long way from his native Houston, the story reminded him of a similar tale back home — that of the Alamo, the famous site of a protracted battle in which a group of Texian revolutionaries died defending the stronghold from Mexican soldiers. 

“From a cultural standpoint,” Bush told Jewish Insider, “it spoke to me.”

There may be another reason why the legend of Masada resonates with Bush, the 33-year-old political scion — grandson of the late George H. W. Bush and nephew to George W. Bush, respectively the 41st and 43rd U.S. presidents — who is now running for office in Texas’s 22nd congressional district, a suburban swath of southwest Houston. 

Ahead of the primary on March 3, more than a dozen candidates are vying to succeed Republican Rep. Pete Olson, who announced last summer that he would not seek re-election.

In recent years, the Bush name has come under siege in the Republican Party, representative of a kind of genteel conservatism that seems to have been negated in the age of Donald Trump. The Bush family has a strained relationship with the president, who notoriously mocked Jeb Bush as “low-energy” during the 2016 election cycle, in which H.W. — snubbing the GOP — cast his vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Trump.

Any Bush who wants to enter politics now must contend with this history. While Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has embraced Trump wholeheartedly, his cousin Pierce seems to have chosen a different and somewhat more cautious route. Rather than surrendering completely to the Trumpian impulses of the modern Republican party, experts say Bush is straddling a delicate line.

Mark P. Jones, a professor in the department of political science at Rice University in Houston, described Bush as a moderate at heart whose core values gravitate to the conservative center. 

“But he knows that that doesn’t play in today’s current Texas Republican primary electorate,” Jones told Jewish Insider. So in an effort to survive on the campaign trail, Jones said, Bush has veered further to the right — particularly on issues like immigration — and pledged his allegiance to Trump.

To do otherwise would, perhaps, be a form of political suicide.

***

Pierce Bush, grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, speaks during the unveiling ceremony of the Forever Stamp honoring Bush in June 2019, in College Station, Texas.

Bush’s pedigree is, of course, still an asset in the 22nd district, which was represented by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay from 1985 to 2006. But he is up against a number of hard-edged candidates who have complicated his prospects. 

Republican donor and candidate Kathaleen Wall, who has spent more than $3 million of her own money in the primary, is a frontrunner in the race who has aligned herself with Trump’s policies — vowing, for instance, to stop illegal immigration and build a wall along the border with Mexico. Another serious contender is Troy Nehls, a Fort Bend sheriff who is popular in the district.

Bush has managed to hold his own, raising more money than Wall and Nehls combined — more than $1 million, according to the Federal Election Commission — and notching endorsements from Olson as well as the Houston Chronicle. 

In his December announcement video, Bush cast himself as a kindhearted, benevolent leader, touting his role as CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, a Texas affiliate of the nonprofit youth mentorship organization, while warning of the evils of socialism. 

At the same time, he has put forth some views that echo the president’s, vowing in one ad to “stop the cartels” and “deport criminal illegals” — policy points that have created some tension in his messaging. 

Moving beyond domestic issues, Bush discusses foreign policy in a manner reminiscent of his uncle’s aggressive, post-9/11 approach. 

“We need to be a shining light for the rest of the world in terms of foreign policy and stand for freedom,” Bush told Jewish Insider by phone Friday morning from a polling station in Cinco Ranch, a suburb of Houston, where he was greeting constituents on the last day of early voting. “I think freedom works.” 

But he is also quick to praise the man who now occupies the Oval Office. “President Trump is doing a good job on foreign policy — I’d like to be on the record as saying that,” Bush said. “He intervenes when America’s interests are at stake, but he’s also kind of a non-interventionist and he’s shown to be someone willing to go have discussions with people and try to negotiate things in a favorable way for the United States.”

Bush defended Trump’s controversial decision to assassinate Iranian General Qassim Soleimani in early January, a move that critics said could destabilize the Middle East. 

“I think it’s his responsibility to make tough calls,” Bush said, speaking more broadly about the president’s prerogatives as commander-in-chief. “I’ve been close to two presidents who had to make those calls. In a strategic way, it makes sense to me, because it’s his decision and it’s on his watch. And it’s a huge responsibility. The world is better without Soleimani, no doubt about it.”

He was equally complimentary of Trump’s Middle East peace plan, released in late January and overseen by Jared Kushner. “I think Jared’s a really smart guy,” Bush told JI. “And I’m sure whatever plan he presents is a good one, because I know he cares deeply about finding a peaceful solution and about our partnership [with Israel].” 

Having visited Israel twice in the past decade, Bush told JI he believes the country shares similar values with the U.S., and he regards the Jewish state as a “tremendous partner.” His affinity for Israel — along with his vocal opposition to antisemitism — goes beyond politics. His sister Lauren is married to a Jewish man — David Lauren, son of fashion designer Ralph Lauren. 

“My two nephews are being raised in the tradition,” Bush told JI. “And so of course I think we need to stand up to antisemitism. This is a compassionate country and our compassion has to be built around inclusivity and tolerance — and I personally don’t have time for antisemitism at all.” 

He added, “I’m blessed to have friends in the Jewish culture, and it’s a rich culture, and it makes our country better. So, believe me — it alarms me, because there are people I love who are Jewish.”

***

In conversation, Bush is warm, engaged and affable, qualities that would seem to be at odds with some of the more hardline beliefs he has adopted. Such views have the potential to alienate voters in a district that is home to a number of immigrants and includes most of Fort Bend, one of the most diverse counties in the country — though they may redound to his benefit in the primary. 

Pierce Bush, his wife Sarahbeth and Winston-Moose.

Still, Bush speaks with a sense of awe about his district — where he recently settled with his wife, Sarahbeth, and their golden retriever, Winston-Moose — that suggests a more inclusive brand of conservative politics. 

“It’s a pretty amazing place,” he told JI, later adding: “You could say it’s a microcosm of what the country will be like in 20 years.”

Since the primary is so crowded, experts predict the frontrunners will split the vote in Tuesday’s primary, resulting in a runoff election on May 26 between the top two candidates. 

“I would be surprised if Pierce Bush would not be in that runoff,” said Cal Jillson, an expert on Texas politics and a professor at the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. 

Should he win the runoff, Bush may still have a fight ahead of him in a district — and a state — that has been shading purple in recent years. Though the 22nd is a historically Republican district, in 2018, Olson beat his Democratic opponent, Sri Kulkarni — who is running again this primary season — by a margin of just five percentage points.

Abhi Rahman, director of strategic communications for the Texas Democratic Party, told JI that he believes Bush will lose if he makes it through to the general election. 

“Pierce Bush’s fate,” he said, “proves that the Trump name is stronger than the Bush name among Texas Republicans.”

The more immediate question, as the primary looms, is whether Bush’s name will function more as an asset or as a liability in a political climate that seems to favor brash Republican populism over the traditional conservatism that defines the Bush family.

“The Bush name still has sway with many Republicans,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, “but the challenge for Bush is to walk the line between an accessible conservatism associated with the family name and the more strongly conservative leanings of modern Republican primary voters.”

For his part, Bush is optimistic ahead of Tuesday’s vote. “I feel like momentum is on our side,” he told JI. “I think our message is resonating.”

It will be up to voters, then, to decide if Bush’s message is more Trump’s or his own — and, ultimately, if one matters more than the other.