By Arit John, CNN
(CNN) – House Democratic leaders criticized a newly formed political action committee on Tuesday for supporting a Democratic congressional candidate who has made antisemitic statements ahead of a runoff election next week.
Leaders from both parties have condemned recent comments made by Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist who came in first during March’s Democratic primary for Texas’s 35th Congressional District. In an Instagram post last week, Galindo claimed that if elected, she would “turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
She has also been accused of promoting stereotypes about her opponent being influenced by money from Zionists and suggested that he and anyone else “supported by Israel” should face treason charges, according to the San Antonio Current.
State Rep. James Talarico, the party’s candidate for US Senate, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he wouldn’t campaign alongside Galindo.
“This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Talarico told JTA. “We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”
Even though national Democrats have distanced themselves from her, Galindo has gained support through spending by Lead Left, a PAC that registered with the Federal Election Commission on May 6. FEC records indicate Lead Left has spent $428,000 in the 35th District, primarily on printing and postage.
CNN has reached out to both Galindo and Lead Left for their comments.
The group is also spending money to support other Democrats viewed as weaker candidates in the general election by the national Democratic Party.
Punchbowl News previously reported that Lead Left PAC had connections to Win Red, which is mainly used as a fundraising platform by Republican campaigns, found in its website metadata.
Democratic leaders pointed to reporting from The New York Times alleging that Republicans are behind Lead Left. The Times stated that “Republican fingerprints are detectable” around Lead Left while mentioning ads run by this group in Nebraska “closely mirror the messaging in ads previously paid for by a nonprofit group linked to House Republican leadership.”
“House Republican leadership must immediately cease propping up this antisemitic candidacy, pull spending in the race and forcefully condemn these comments,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan Del Bene said in a statement. “This vile language by her is disqualifying and has no place in American politics, and certainly not in the Democratic Party.”
Jeffries and Del Bene mentioned it was “beyond the pale” for Republicans to support a “fringe candidate with antisemitic – and extremely dangerous – rhetoric and views.”
The Democrats are backing Johnny Garcia, who works as a public information officer for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
A spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee Christian Martinez claimed Jeffries’ candidates had “no real support from Texans.”
“Now Democrats Johnny Garcia and Maureen Galindo are tearing each other apart in a full-blown primary civil war, turning their own races into a circular firing squad while Republicans stay focused on the issues Texans care about and build the coalition that’s going to win in November,” Martinez said in his statement.
The 35th District was redrawn last year by Texas Republicans as part of their mid-decade redistricting efforts. It shifted from having a strong Democratic lean to one where Trump would have won by 10 points in 2024 based on CNN’s analysis of state data combined with private data sources.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.
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™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.
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