With this year’s presidential election shaping up to be a rematch of 2020, all eyes are on Texas. Although a deep-red Republican stronghold for decades, margins have gotten narrower as the state has grown in population and become more diverse.
While Democrats and Republicans vie for the votes of key demographic groups, little attention has been given to Texans of Irish descent. After talking to voters who trace their roots back to Ireland, it's clear that Irish Texans do not represent a unified voting bloc.
Jimmy Flannigan, a former Austin City Council Member who describes himself as “very progressive politically", says of his November voting intentions: "I will be voting for Biden, obviously". He cites Donald Trump’s recent felony convictions and what Flannigan perceives as authoritarian tendencies among his followers as reasons for supporting the incumbent president.
After a rough week, it was so energizing to be among family at @CeliaIsrael fundraiser - she will be an amazing Mayor for Austin! pic.twitter.com/ufjDND2kyr
— Jimmy Flannigan (@JimmyFlannigan) June 29, 2022
Biden’s heritage and outreach to Ireland during his presidency weigh little on Flannigan’s vote. However, he is proud of Ireland's radical history. “I find myself inspired by Irish people and Irish politics and how fiercely progressive Ireland has been in spite of its history,” he says, referring in particular to the 2015 and 2018 referenda that legalized same-sex marriage and abortion in the Republic.
With LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights threatened in Texas, these are top priorities for Flannigan going into November.
However, not every blue voter is thrilled about the choice they face. Amanda Cavazos-Weems, a full-time organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America, says she tends to vote for the Democratic candidate in elections. Will that trend continue this year?
“It’s something I’ve thought about quite a bit," she acknowledges. "I will probably be voting for Biden against my will. I have been very disappointed in how he’s conducted himself, especially in regard to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Her Irish heritage does color her political outlook. "In talking about the famine that drove our family from Ireland, my father always made pains to connect the struggle of immigrants and refugees everywhere to our shared history as Irish people. On both the Mexican and Irish side of my family there is a history of being dispossessed and forced out of our home.” IDEALS: Joan Moody, a 2024 award recipient at the Irish Echo's Heroes of Irish America gala
On the red side of the aisle, enthusiasm toward the presumptive nominee in November is also understated. Joan Moody, a resident of San Antonio who considers herself conservative, but not a Republican says she is not energised by either candidate. “I’m not for Trump and I’m not for Biden either," she says. "I think none of them have really talked about the hundreds of thousands that are coming across our southern border. To be very honest with you, I don’t know.”
Beyond issues like immigration and housing, which Moody listed as two of the most pressing problems facing Texas, she indicated dissatisfaction with the divisive nature of elections. “The political parties of the era of JFK no longer exist and we have become uncivil to those who do not share our views,” she adds. “I think it was JFK who said that things should not be a Republican issue or a Democratic issue but an American issue.”
One of the most prominent Texans of Irish descent is Representative Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas’ 4th congressional district and the only Texan member of the Congressional Friends of Ireland caucus.
We desperately need a new branch of the armed forces to confront cyber threats to America.
A US Cyber Force would give our military the tools and resources to prevail in this new domain of warfare. pic.twitter.com/TyehrFP4t3
— Rep. Pat Fallon (@RepPatFallon) June 14, 2024
"100 per cent behind Trump" he attributes Biden's low polls to his performance in office.
For Fallon, the traditional association of Irish-Americans with the Democratic Party is a thing of the past. "My parents were both lifelong Democrats but me and my two sisters are all Republicans," he explains. "Ronald Reagan was the one presidential candidate that I really found inspiring as a kid.” He points to his patriotism and respect for law and order as defining values that solidified his choice to move away from the historically dominant party in Irish America.
While growing in popularity as a destination for Irish immigration in the 21st century, only six per cent of Texans reported Irish descent. Not surprisingly, there is no Irish political constituency.
On the progressive side, Flannigan views being Irish-American as “less of a voting bloc and more of a cultural identity". “I don’t think all people of Irish descent share my perspective.”
Cavazos-Weems agrees. "Living in Texas, I’m often reminded that my politics are not in the mainstream,” she says.
On the right, Rep. Fallon tells the Echo that, while having a soft spot for the country of his heritage, “my first love will always be America.” A sentiment shared by Moody. “I think we need to come together as Americans on American issues and not have a certain bloc having a certain opinion.”
This much is clear, like the rest of America, when it comes to national politics, Irish Texans are diverse — and divided.
