Jonathan Gracia For House District 37
The Blue Battle 2024: Inside the Democratic races.
Over the last few years, the question has been, “How the heck did HD37 turn red, anyway?” House District 37 is blue and was held by Alex Dominguez (D) for many years. In 2022, when far-right Democrat Eddie Lucio JR retired from the Texas Senate, Dominguez ran for that Senate seat, leaving the House seat open. That’s when Republican Janie Lopez took this HD37.
However, as I will explain, House District 37 is not a Republican seat and will not remain red. Of all the seats most likely to flip blue, or in this case, back to blue, HD37 is one of the top targets.
Who is Jonathan Gracia?
Jonathan Gracia is a dedicated public servant with a robust law and community service background, making him a compelling candidate for Texas House District 37.
After earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin in 2006, Jonathan was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2008 and the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, in 2011. His legal career includes serving as an Assistant District Attorney for Cameron County, where he prosecuted felony and misdemeanor cases, and later as the sole proprietor of The Gracia Law Firm, handling criminal defense, family law, and civil matters.
From 2015 to 2022, Gracia served as a Justice of the Peace for Precinct 2, Place 2, where he presided over evictions, small claims suits, criminal citations, and inquests, conducting both bench and jury trials. His judicial role required a deep commitment to listening and understanding the needs of his community, a quality he promises to bring to his potential role as State Representative.
Gracia’s extensive experience in public service extends beyond the courtroom. He has worked for various government agencies at the city, county, and national levels, including roles such as the Economic Development Corporation Director for the City of Port Isabel and a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Representative Solomon P. Ortiz. These roles have given him a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing his community and the state of Texas.
As a candidate for House District 37, Jonathan Gracia is focused on several key issues. His priorities include increasing teacher, counselor, and staff pay in public schools, improving border security with a balanced approach, fostering economic development through high-paying job opportunities and support for small businesses, ensuring reliable energy access, enhancing infrastructure, and expanding healthcare access and transparency.
Who is he running against?
The incumbent, Janie Lopez, is way out of her league. In 2022, Republicans boosted her campaign with $1.4 million, yet she only won by three points. Moreover, voter turnout in this district was only 29% in 2022. More on that later, but first, I want to show you this video of Lopez’s campaign strategy.
What are you seeing here? Lopez’s strategy was to plaster signs on her truck, have her kids hold Back the Blue flags out the window, and drive up and down streets honking her horn.
While this may be the first time many of us have seen a political strategy like this, it’s hard for us to make fun of it because she won. However, it is hilarious.
Using this strategy, she spent $1.4 million on her campaign and barely got 20,000 votes in a district with 135,000 voters. She won, with 14% of the district’s voters casting a ballot for her. Ironically, only 14% of this district’s population is Anglo.
As many of you are already aware, the Republican women in the Texas House participate in mean-girl behavior. I’ve jokingly named them The Gilead Wives Club for obvious reasons.
Here is the thing: last year, while they banned together to team up and strip away women’s rights, they excluded a few of the other Republican women from their clique. That includes Angie Chen Button and Janie Lopez.
We can only guess these white Republican women have excluded the only two Republican women of color from the group, but your guess is as good as mine.
As these women have grouped at the front mic, Janie Lopez can often be seen in a distance looking disappointed to be left out.
Aside from being unable to participate in photo-ops with her peers, Lopez’s voting record is especially heinous.
She voted for taxpayers to spend $1.5 billion on a vanity wall.
She voted for a 10-year minimum sentence if you have an undocumented person in your car, even if it is a family member or neighbor. That was the bill that prompted this viral moment:
Lopez voted to end diversity, equity, and inclusion on Texas college campuses. A bill that directly impacts student immigrants and first-generation Americans.
In fact, Lopez has spent her entire time in the House so far voting directly against her community’s well-being and best interests.
What about this district?
Republicans gerrymandered this district to be a blue district. It was only the low voter turnout that allowed Lopez to win.
This district is 83% Hispanic, where 25% of adults do not have a high school degree, and has double the poverty of the state’s average.
Republican policies not only fail to address the needs of this community but actively harm the very fabric of its social and economic structure, perpetuating cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement. A significant portion of the HD37 community already faces systemic barriers. Republican-led initiatives have exacerbated these challenges by fostering an environment of fear and discrimination. Additionally, the Republican prioritizations divert crucial resources away from economic development, healthcare, and education, which are desperately needed in this district.
When we look at how thirty years of Republican control has harmed Texans, we see that in areas like South Texas, they have been hurt by Republican policy the most.
Republicans (the ones spending millions of dollars to turn South Texas red) will claim it’s moving red and that they are gaining more votes. But this isn’t entirely true.
South Texas hasn’t been voting at the same rates as the rest of the state. When people don’t vote, Republicans win.
It seems simple, but there are a lot of other complex issues that are at play, like generational disenfranchisement, local corruption, and decades of Republican rule driving apathy.
What will it take for Jonathan Gracia to win?
For Jonathan Gracia to flip House District 37 back to blue, mobilizing voters to the polls will be crucial. Given the district’s historically low voter turnout, Gracia’s campaign must focus on extensive grassroots efforts, community engagement, and voter education. His campaign should emphasize the importance of every vote and how Republican policies have negatively impacted the district’s majority Hispanic population. Gracia’s message must resonate with the community’s needs, highlighting his plans to improve education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and infrastructure.
This year, the fundraising battle between Gracia and Lopez is nearly equal, signaling a competitive race. While Lopez relied heavily on Republican PACs in her previous campaign, Gracia’s fundraising efforts reflect strong community support and a widespread desire for change. His campaign should leverage this financial parity to amplify his outreach efforts, ensuring his message reaches every corner of the district.
By addressing the specific issues faced by HD37 and contrasting them with Lopez’s detrimental voting record, Gracia can inspire residents to reclaim their district.
You can learn more about Jonathan Gracis on his website, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
Vote early, vote often, just vote.
August 19: Last day for write-in candidates to declare their candidacy.
October 7: Last day to register to vote.
October 21: First day to early vote.
October 25: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.
November 1: Last day to early vote.
November 5: Election day!
The Blue Battle 2024 is my series covering races in the Texas Legislature (in no particular order). This series will highlight Democratic candidates once or twice a week leading to the November election. If you missed the previous installments:
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