EDITORIAL: Antisemitism an issue for both major parties. Voters must reject it.

May 22-It would be a disaster to have Maureen Galindo represent San Antonio and Bexar County as the Democratic nominee for Texas' 35th Congressional District.

Galindo, who is in a primary runoff with Bexar County sheriff's deputy Johnny Garcia, has received national attention and widespread condemnation for conspiratorial and antisemitic comments.

Voters would be wise to back Garcia, who is measured and pragmatic, speaks eloquently about affordability and access to healthcare, and brings a welcome and critical law enforcement perspective to the political conversation.

He deserves voter support on the merits. But if that's not enough, make no mistake that elevating Galindo as the Democratic nominee for Congress would have far-reaching consequences for San Antonio and the party.

First, it would put the local Jewish community on edge as Galindo's brand of antisemitism would be thrust from the fringes to the mainstream. Her candidacy would embolden people with similar abhorrent views.

Second, for the Democratic Party, it would be a strategic blunder. Congressional District 35, newly drawn to include the eastern and southern parts of Bexar County, would have gone for Donald Trump by 10 percentage points in the 2024 election.

Given Trump's dismal approval ratings, the district is a potential pickup for Democrats. But that requires a Democrat who can reach centrist and Republican-leaning voters. If Democrats opt for Galindo, it will be an unforced error.

Third, Galindo's candidacy in the general election would be an endless source of embarrassment for San Antonio and Bexar County. Galindo's campaign recently posted on social media about turning the Karnes Detention Center into an internment camp for "American zionists" where they would be castrated. No wonder state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has said he won't campaign with her.

Former Mayor Ron Nirenberg has said Galindo is "clearly unfit for office."

More unsettling than Galindo's boorish and inflammatory posts - which, to be clear, are unsettling - is the question of how widespread her views are. We see the likes on her Facebook posts.

We couldn't help but notice that while John Lira, who ran for this seat in the primary, rescinded his endorsement of Galindo, he did not endorse Garcia but instead chose to be "neutral" in the runoff.

That is weak.

We are living through a moment when outright antisemitism, and in many cases a flirtation with antisemitism that dwells in a gray zone of interpretation, has appeared at the fringes of both major parties.

Shifting our gaze to the Republican Party, we see Bo French, a candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, who once asked his social media followers who was the "bigger threat" to the United States: Jews or Muslims?

French later said his double dose of intolerance was misconstrued. He only meant to castigate and alienate Muslims.

In Texas' 23rd Congressional District, which also includes San Antonio, the Republican nominee, Brandon Herrera, or the "the AK Guy," has joked about the Holocaust. He once called the Nazi-era MP-40 submachine gun "the original ghetto blaster."

These three candidates come from different parties, but perhaps they have more in common than traditional partisan labels suggest. Whatever the case, it falls to voters to speak out clearly against derogatory speech, no matter its form or its messenger.

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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 11:16 AM.