Bill Clinton stumps in South Texas for Democrats ahead of Election Day

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Former President Bill Clinton made a last-minute push Monday for Democratic congressional candidates locked in tight races throughout South Texas.

Clinton traveled to Laredo in the morning to stump for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar after which went to the Rio Grande Valley to spice up Michelle Vallejo, who’s operating for an open seat. At each stops, Clinton sought to dispel Republican speaking factors on inflation and crime which might be driving the election, and he warned the GOP may intestine the social security internet and Obamacare in the event that they take again the U.S. House majority.

Republicans are focusing on three House seats in South Texas, hoping to realize new floor with Hispanic voters. Clinton stated Democratic victories may assist the nationwide celebration to shore up its dedication to the area, which some Democrats consider it has uncared for in latest years.

“If you send Michelle to Congress, it will send a loud message,” Clinton stated. “If you send all three of these people to Congress, you not only will never be ignored again by the national party, they may move everything down here.”

In addition to Cuellar and Vallejo, Clinton threw his assist to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, saying in a digital advert that Gonzalez will “protect Social Security and Medicare, something the other party has promised to cut.” Clinton first helped out Cuellar by recording a robocall that went out over the weekend.

Clinton is just not the one nationwide political determine to marketing campaign in South Texas in latest days. U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Ronna McDaniel, head of the nationwide Republican Party, had been in McAllen on Sunday night for a rally with all three GOP candidates. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., campaigned for Vallejo final week.

In Edinburg, Clinton repeatedly introduced up the GOP give attention to crime and inflation in the Tuesday election, however stated Republicans “don’t have anything like the record on crime that we established [in the White House] or the record on economic growth.” And he repeatedly invoked the potential subsequent speaker of the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has raised concerns {that a} GOP majority may pursue cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

“They’re coming for you and you’ve got to believe it,” Clinton stated.

The Republican contenders — all Hispanic girls — ridiculed Clinton’s go to, invoking his historical past as a womanizer, together with his sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

“We are not the least bit surprised that Cartel Cuellar is bringing a sinvergüenza to South Texas to try to take down a young woman, but it won’t work,” stated Brittany McGivern, a spokesperson for the marketing campaign of Cuellar’s GOP opponent, Cassy Garcia.

“Sinvergüenza” is Spanish phrase whose that means is just like “scoundrel” in English.

Garcia alluded to the talk over entitlements in a press release after Clinton’s go to, saying the twenty eighth District wants “a brand new chief who will work arduous to decrease costs, shield Social Security, and put our households ahead of political events.”

Vallejo is operating towards Republican Monica De La Cruz, who just lately invoked Clinton in an op-ed, lamenting that Democrats have drifted away from his ‘pro-growth’ message that was widespread with Latinos.”

Clinton was widespread in South Texas throughout his presidential campaigns. For instance, he received 77% of the vote in Webb County, house to Laredo, in 1996, whereas Biden carried it with solely 61% in 2020.

The Clintons have additionally lengthy boasted a particular connection to Texas, the place they labored collectively on George McGovern’s presidential marketing campaign in the Nineteen Seventies.

“Hillary and I fell in love with South Texas and we have been ever since,” Clinton stated in Edinburg, “and whenever the Democrats in Washington took their eyes off South Texas, we tried to put them back on.”

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