Texas authorities who seized the cellphone of a Democratic candidate for the Texas House and searched the home of a legislative aide this week were investigating allegations that a longtime Frio County political operator had illegally harvested votes for multiple local races in recent years, court records obtained by The Texas Tribune show. Those races include the 2024 Democratic primary campaign of Cecilia Castellano, the candidate whose phone was seized, the records show. An investigator with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office claims in a sworn affidavit that the aide, Manuel Medina, a former chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party and chief of staff to state Rep.
Liz Campos, D-San Antonio, was recorded discussing a scheme to collect votes for Castellano with the Frio County operator. No one has been charged in connection to the probe, and Castellano and Medina condemned the investigation as a political attack in interviews with the Tribune on Saturday. Latino rights advocates have decried the raids as a “disgraceful and outrageous” effort to intimidate Latino voters.
The League of United Latin American Citizens on Friday said it will ask the U.S. Justice Department to scrutinize the state’s actions.
Authorities searched the homes of at least five other Latinos, according to Texas LULAC’s state director. All work on Castellano’s campaign. “I feel like I’ve been violated,” Castellano said in an interview with the Tribune.
“This political tactic.