Why one Republican won a redrawn Texas district despite blue tsunami

Dallas, Texas – Tuesday’s midterms were bruising for Republicans in Texas, a longtime right-wing stronghold.The state elected its first Democrats to statewide office in 32 years, and the left-wing party held onto four congressional districts that were recently redesigned to favour Republicans.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How US midterm results could reshape Trump’s foreign policylist 2 of 3Key moments as Democrats sweep to victories in US midtermslist 3 of 3The biggest winners and losers of the 2026 US midtermsend of listBut Republicans had one redistricting bright spot in a sea of unexpected defeats in Texas this midterm election cycle.Amid the so-called blue wave, Republican Jace Yarbrough defeated Dan Barrios in Texas’s 32nd congressional district near Dallas, taking control of a heavily redrawn seat previously held by a Democrat.Yarbrough became the only Republican this year to flip a Texas congressional seat, despite a push under United States President Donald Trump to shake up the state’s map for the right-wing party’s benefit.So how did Yarbrough buck the trend? He was successful for two reasons, according to Matthew Wilson, a professor at Southern Methodist...