The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has launched a six-figure advertising campaign in Texas to boost Latino turnout for Democratic candidate Johnny Garcia, a deputy sheriff running to represent the Lone Star State’s 35th Congressional district — an area dramatically reshaped during last year’s redistricting frenzy.
Garcia is facing off against Republican Carlos de la Cruz, an Air Force veteran, for a seat currently occupied by Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, who is now running in Texas’s 37th District after his political base was moved there during the Texas GOP’s gerrymander.
The DCCC’s digital advertisements for Garcia began airing this week on YouTube and other streaming platforms. The advertisements emphasize the “price-hiking agenda” of Republicans — a point Garcia has labored on to draw voters concerned by affordability to his campaign.
English and Spanish versions of the DCCC’s advertising campaign describe Garcia as a “builder” and de la Cruz as a “taker,” seemingly leaning on Garcia’s previous experience working in construction.
“In Congress, Johnny Garcia will lower our costs so we can build a better life,” the English version of the DCCC advertisement says.
Garcia has pitched himself as an “old-school Democrat” to voters in his Congressional bid, emphasizing his career of service as a law enforcement officer in Bexar County while on the campaign trail.
“While Johnny Garcia has built his career on steady, selfless service to his community, Carlos De La Cruz has made it clear his only priority is himself,” DCCC Hispanic Press Secretary Bridget Gonzalez said in a DCCC press release announcing the advertising campaign. “Texans are ready to send a real leader like Johnny to Congress in November.”
The 35th Congressional district, which previously connected Austin and San Antonio, was redrawn by state Republicans in 2025 as part of a broader move to change Texas’s Congressional map to favor GOP candidates. Its constituency now includes Guadalupe, Wilson and Karnes counties and parts of Bexar County. Less than 10 percent of the district’s previous constituents remain within the redrawn boundaries, where Latino residents make up approximately 57 percent of the total population.
(Photo: Johnny Garcia, via Johnny Garcia for Congress Facebook)