Drive through Starr County in South Texas this fall and you’ll notice campaign signs with faces, names, and promises, but almost no party affiliation. It’s a deliberate choice in a county that shocked the political world in 2024 by voting Republican for president for the first time since 1892. Local Democrat Cecilia Hernandez calls the strategy smart and possibly manipulative, while county judge candidate Rose Benavidez traces the shift to what she calls the “Trump effect.”

The bigger picture is moving fast. An August poll found 11% of Latino Trump 2024 voters in competitive House districts now back Democratic candidates, and 63% of surveyed Latino voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance. Party leaders on both sides are working to rebuild trust with voters who felt forgotten, and candidates admit the days of coasting on a party label are over.

This matters well beyond the Rio Grande Valley. The same questions about outreach, trust, and party identity are showing up in races across Texas, including right here in Ellis County. Whether leaving party labels off signs informs voters or misleads them is the argument we’ll be having through November.

So what do you think: should candidates be required to put their party on every sign, or should they have to earn your vote without it?