A Republican primary in the Texas district that includes Uvalde has become illustrative of the current infighting within the party, Axios San Antonio reported on Tuesday.
The race, between incumbent Representative Tony Gonzalez and pro-gun rights social media influencer Brandon Herrera, is now basically a referendum on gun and immigration politics.
This is because of a decision by Gonzalez after the shooting at Uvalde's Robb Elementary School shooting, where 19 children and two adults were killed. Following the event, Gonzalez supported a bipartisan gun safety bill aimed at tightening background checks for people under 21, among other measures.
This drew severe backlash from many Republicans, with the state chapter voting to censure him in response. It also created an opening for many to challenge him in party primaries. After he failed to get over 50% of the votes to avoid a runoff, he is set to face Herrera, a self-described "Second Amendment activist."
Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project, told Axios that "primary voters tend to be more set in their ideological views, and care intensely about one or two issues." This can vastly influence the state's policy at a general level.
But as their stances are opposed on the issue of guns, they hold similar ones on immigration, which stands at the top of voters' priorities' list. Both have gone to the border frequently as the state takes centerstage of the national conversation given Governor Greg Abbott's policies.
The most salient one is SB4, the Texas law allowing the arrest and deportation of migrants who cross illegally into the state. The measure is currently on hold, after the three-judge panel who comprise the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a divided, 2-1 ruling on the issue in late March.
However, the state has implemented other measures to reduce the flow of migration into its territory, turning a port of entry into a "militarized zone, fortified by rifle-toting soldiers, a fleet of Humvees and a forest of razor wire glistening in the desert sun," according to a LA Times report.
The report adds that the goal is preventing migrants from reaching the gate altogether, thus making it impossible for them to apply for political asylum or other forms of relief that could allow them to stay in the U.S.
The report witnessed hundreds of people stuck in the area, with one of them saying they wanted to turn themselves in but the army won't let them. Migrants managed to break through the gate once and surrender to Border Patrol, leading Abbott to beef up forces there.
The Abbott administration has also erected razor wire as a barrier between the Rio Grande River and Shelby Park, a 47-acre area in Eagle Pass, even after the federal government said the wire impedes federal border agents from apprehending people who cross the river. It has continued to do so despite the government getting a ruling ordering Texas to stop.
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