Democrat Gabe Vasquez keeps it low key in a pivotal swing seat - Roll Call

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

61% : "One of the reasons I think I can connect, especially to Hispanic folks in rural communities in my district, is that I grew up with a .22 in my hand,'' he said.
59% : In 2024, he once again prevailed over Herrell, bucking national trends and boosting his margin of victory even as Trump narrowly carried the largely rural district -- one of just 13 House battlegrounds represented by a Democrat but won by the president.
55% : Biden would have carried the seat by 6 points in 2020, though district voters backed Trump by 2 points last fall, according to calculations by elections analyst Drew Savicki. Vasquez, 40, is a first-generation Mexican American who grew up on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
34% : Instead, Vasquez, who represents a purple-tinged stretch covering the southern and western parts of the state, says he's charting a different course, one that hews closely to the kitchen table concerns of his working-class, majority Latino district, which Trump carried in 2024.
31% : Homing in on local concerns is "at the core of what Democrats need to get back to doing," Vasquez said, and "not getting caught up so much in the national politics and the issues of the day." While progressives seek fighters to do battle with Trump and moderates look for candidates who can appeal to a broader electorate, Vasquez has taken a more low-key approach, largely skipping the ideological battles dividing Democrats.
29% : "I'm not looking to actively get into conflict with Republicans or folks who voted for Trump,'' the second-term congressman said in an interview.

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