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SAN ANTONIO — Prominent Democrats are increasingly closing ranks in condemning Texas congressional candidate Maureen Galindo over remarks widely criticized as antisemitic, escalating tensions inside the party ahead of the May 26 runoff in Texas’ 35th Congressional District.
U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Jared Moskowitz of Florida said Wednesday they would repeatedly push for House votes to expel Galindo if she wins election to Congress.
“If for some reason Maureen Galindo wins the Congressional election in TX-35, as soon as she is sworn in, we will force a vote to expel her every single day we are here,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement posted by Gottheimer on X.
The lawmakers called Galindo’s comments antisemitic and said views like imprisoning “American Zionists” have “no place in our Party or country.”
The controversy intensified after Galindo’s campaign said in an Instagram post over the weekend that the Karnes ICE Detention Center would become “a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.” The post added: “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists.”
Days earlier, during a May 13 appearance on Texas Public Radio, Galindo said “anybody who is supported by Israel should be tried for treason” and repeated claims widely condemned as antisemitic tropes about Zionist influence over media, banking and politics, including in San Antonio.
Galindo, a sex therapist and housing activist who led the March primary field, is facing Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in next week’s Democratic runoff for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, which stretches from parts of San Antonio into several surrounding South Texas counties.
Garcia describes himself as a moderate Democrat.
“My issues are making sure that our community stays safe, that we combat antisemitic remarks that we’ve seen my opponent make,” Garcia previously told Texas Public Radio.
Garcia said members of San Antonio’s Jewish community told him Galindo’s remarks were discouraging Democratic voters.
“It hurts people,” Garcia said. “It gets people to sit out of elections and lose faith in the Democratic Party.”
The Texas Democratic Party has publicly backed Garcia, saying in a statement that he “shares our Democratic values and understands that building a winning coalition means bringing people together, not tearing communities apart.”
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading progressive Democrat who has been sharply critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and U.S. support for it, also backed Garcia this week while condemning Galindo’s remarks.
“This is absolutely disgusting,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene also condemned Galindo’s remarks as “disqualifying.”
Galindo has denied being antisemitic and said her criticism is directed at Zionism — support for Israel as a Jewish state — and at the actions of the Israeli government during the war in Gaza, not Jewish people broadly.
The controversy is unfolding at a moment when Democrats nationally are struggling to navigate deep divisions over Israel, Gaza and antisemitism.
Since the war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, progressive activists and younger Democratic voters have become increasingly critical of Israel and U.S. support for the Israeli government. International aid groups, human rights organizations and some Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and the scale of Palestinian civilian deaths during the war.
At the same time, many Democratic leaders have warned that some rhetoric emerging from the pro-Palestinian movement has veered into antisemitic conspiracy theories or hostility toward Jewish people.
Recent polling from the Yale Youth Poll found younger Americans are more likely than older voters to express unfavorable views toward Israel and sympathy for Palestinians in the conflict. The poll also found younger voters were more likely to agree with statements researchers identified as antisemitic stereotypes involving Jewish influence over media, banking and politics.
Those tensions are now playing out in Texas politics.
Last weekend, Democratic nominee for Texas’ U.S. Senate seat James Talarico said he would not campaign with Galindo if she wins the runoff, condemning her remarks.
The winner of the Democratic runoff for Texas’ 35th Congressional District will face either Republican state Rep. John Lujan or President Trump-endorsed Republican Carlos De La Cruz in November.
The district is currently represented by progressive Democrat Greg Casar, who has endorsed Garcia in the runoff. Casar chose to seek reelection in a different district after Republican-led redistricting removed Austin from the seat and transformed it from lean Democratic to likely Republican, according to the Cook Political Report.
Galindo has faced scrutiny over support from Lean Left, a Florida-based political action committee that Punchbowl News reported was backed by Republican donors. The group recently mailed pro-Galindo flyers to Democratic voters in the district, prompting criticism from Democrats who argued Republicans may view her as easier to defeat in November.
“And the donors behind the Republican super PAC funding her should be exposed,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X.
Galindo denied coordinating with the PAC and said she remained the strongest Democratic candidate in the race.
