Write a new simple attractive title based on the title from Commentary: What Hispanics in the Valley see in Trump and dont use quote marks

During my time as a Hispanic member of the Texas Legislature representing a tony and mostly Anglo district in Dallas County, I quickly realized how little our state and elected officials really know about the fastest-growing racial minority in Texas.

In an effort to better understand Texas Hispanics, I visited 42 communities around the state where I could meet my Hispanic brothers and sisters. From Laredo to Lubbock, Amarillo to Alpine, and every place in between, I set out to meet “my community.” It was a fascinating journey filled with interesting people, divergent ideas and myriad positions on nearly every issue I explored.

In all of my journeys, one thing always rang true about these noble men and women: They were fiercely independent, industrious, hardworking and uniquely self-reliant, and they sure weren’t ever going to be categorized by a politician from Dallas wearing a stiff blue suit with a pocket square.

On a visit to the Rio Grande Valley, or the RGV as it is known, I met a small group of folks in a tiny adobe Mexican restaurant in Pharr. I gave an earnest talk comprised of what I now realize were hackneyed Republican talking points: faith, family and freedom.

After I spoke, some of the audience approached me. They were polite and gracious but very honest. They asked, “Do you even know us?” As the fragrant maize tortillas cooking on the comal permeated the room, it was clear to me that my answer was “no.” Even though these beautiful people were Mexican Americans, just like me, I did not know who they were.

What I realized that evening was that very few people outside this region really understood the good men and women of the Valley. Not Republicans. Not Democrats. Not even fellow Texans from other parts of the state.

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The RGV is home to the highest concentration of Latinos in Texas. It’s also the epicenter of the newly emerging political battleground of Texas.

Long taken for granted by Democrats, Texas Hispanics in the RGV often followed the path of their forefathers. They would vote for the party of John Kennedy because that’s what good Catholics do and that’s what abuela did.

Latinos in this hardscrabble, working-class region care about three things: jobs, safe communities and family. No one in this part of Texas mistakes President Donald Trump for some poll-driven, politically correct politician. Many trust him to protect the jobs in the oil patch and make sure the police aren’t “defunded.”

Hispanics are too proud to accept handouts. But they have no qualms accepting a hand-up. And that’s what Trump represents to many Hispanics. They can look past his fiery, anti-immigrant rhetoric as long as he can stave off “socialism” and crime, and as long as he can protect the oil patch jobs in the region.

In my new role as president of the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation, many people have asked me: “What happened in the RGV?”

My answer is that while Joe Biden won predictably and decisively, Trump was able to move the needle in the region in a way that no Republican has been able to match in a generation. Love him or hate him, Trump created and protected jobs for thousands of families in the region. He supports, and is strongly supported by, the evangelical and Catholic communities of the Valley. And he embodies the “strongman” approach to leadership so common among the politicians from “back home.” Because of his celebrity, he became bigger than an ordinary politician.

That does not mean that Republicans now own the Valley. Nor does it suggest that Texas Hispanics will be easily manipulated into the Republican side of the poll ledger. But what it does mean is that Texas Hispanics are an important player in Texas politics and that neither Republicans nor Democrats can take them for granted.

I finished my evening in Pharr over an ice-cold margarita with a member of the audience. I asked him, “What did you think of my talk?” He said, “Don’t quit your day job.”

I told him my day job is being a Texas legislator. He said: “Maybe you should quit your day job.”