Zapata County turns red for 2020 election

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Eyes were on Texas election night as the lone star state tip-toed around the possibility of flipping colors.

However, by the end of the night it remained faithful to the Republican party... but a shocking twist came out of the border region.

Historically, when it comes to presidential elections as a whole, Texas does not stray away from red. In fact, you would have to go back to 1976 which was the last time Texas went blue in a presidential election.

The small glimpses of blue are often seen in larger counties like Travis and Harris, and in the southern counties along the border.

Just look at the 2016 election... we were blue all along the border. Here at home, our area was prominently Democratic.

But in 2020 some blue went red, the most notable Zapata County.

According to preliminary results published by the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, President Donald Trump won Zapata County on Tuesday night with support from 52.5% of voters.

Former vice president Joe Biden took 47% of the vote in Zapata County, a big surprise coming from the small Texas county which has voted Democratic in the last several of decades.

In 2016, then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won the majority.

In 2012 and 2008, president Barack Obama also took home the majority of votes from Zapata residents.

Records show the majority of Zapata supported blue for the 2004, 2000, 1996, and 1992 presidential election.

Zapata’s flip to red even grabbed the attention of Steve Cortes, President Trump’s 2020 campaign senior adviser.

Cortes tweeting out:

“Zapata county, on the Texas/Mexico border, is 85% Hispanic. Trump vaulted 15% higher from 2016 and won Zapata yesterday. The Hispanic, working-class surge is real, broad, and not only a FL Cuban story. #latinosfortrump”

However, Zapata remained majority Democratic in other races like for U.S. senator and congressional race for District 28.

Zapata was not alone, La Salle County also made the flip too.

55.55% of Lasalle residents voted for Trump on election night when in 2016, 54.9% voted for Hillary Clinton.

This flip comes even after Zapata County challenged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in federal court earlier this year over the administration’s attempt to gain access to a small tract of county-owned land for border wall surveying.

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