Speaking to roughly 150 worshipers at San Antonio’s Cavalry Baptist Church on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) laid out his vision for where Democrats’ work might start if they reclaim control in Congress in this November’s midterm election.

“We’re going to work hard to lower the high cost of living, work hard to end this reckless and costly war of choice, work hard to reverse these Medicaid cuts, and make sure that we pass the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — so we can end the era of voter suppression in this country once and for all,” said Jeffries, who is poised to claim the speaker’s gavel if his party flips the U.S. House.

As it stands, most political observers expect him to get there.

Two years ago, Republicans took control of the White House, U.S. House and Senate after one of their best elections in recent memory. Now Democrats expect to capitalize off President Donald Trump’s tumultuous return to office — and their most feasible target is the U.S. House, where every member is up for reelection this November.

Recent polling indicates Democrats are favored to flip between 12 and 22 House seats on Nov. 3, far more than they need to upset a razor-thin GOP majority.

Last week the newest rankings from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report even indicated Democrats have a chance at two San Antonio-area districts that Republicans carried easily two years ago, including the new 35th Congressional District, where Jeffries was stumping with Democratic candidate Johnny Garcia on Sunday.

“Republicans’ path to keeping control of the House has all but evaporated,” Cook Political Report U.S. House Editor Erin Covey said in her agency’s latest report last week. “The outstanding question is how large Democrats’ majority will be.”

A focus on voters of color

Jeffries’ whirlwind visit to San Antonio is the latest manifestation of that optimism for Democrats.

The 35th Congressional District was created to give Republicans an extra pickup opportunity this year by cramming low-propensity voters of color into a district where they’re likely to be outvoted.

Now a fast-shifting shifting landscape has Democrats expanding their targets into increasingly red territory, particularly as polls show voters of color moving away from the GOP.

Jeffries visited two Black churches on Sunday morning, where he quoted scripture and vowed to provide “a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch” that’s waging a war in Iran without Congress’ permission, diving up prices and gutting social programs.

He also promised a legislative solution to restore voting protections for people of color — who can now be redistricted with no abandon after the majority-conservative Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act last year.

“These are difficult times, challenging times that we’re navigating here in the United States of America,” Jeffries told the crowd at Cavalry Baptist. “… The Apostle Paul writes, ‘We are troubled on every side, but not distressed; perplexed, but never in despair.'”

The 56-year-old grew up attending the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn and seemed at ease speaking to a congregation.

“Isn’t it a blessing to have somebody who not just knows the politics, but knows the Prince of Peace?” Cavalry Baptist Church Reverend Kevin L. Nelson concluded after Jeffries’ speech.

Two years ago Democrats watched some of their most reliable voters in this area sit out the presidential election, and Black voters largely rejected the party’s U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico in the March primary.

Garcia said he’d invited Jeffries out to campaign with him because he knew he’d be a hit with local Democrats, who can’t afford to be apathetic if he’s going to win a district Trump would have carried by more than 10 points under its new boundaries.

“I said, ‘Our community needs you here in San Antonio. They would love to see you.’ He said, “Say no more. I got you,'” Garcia told the crowd at Cavalry Baptist.

“Well, Leader Jeffries, as you can see, this community got you … and together we’re going to make history by delivering this nation’s first Black speaker of the United States.”

‘Dramatic change’

Jeffries spent the morning shaking hands, taking pictures with supporters and greeting church attendees in San Antonio.

His visit was overall welcomed by attendees who knew relatively little about Garcia or the GOP’s mid-cycle redistricting effort, but were energized about the prospect of seeing Jeffries in leadership.

“It’s exciting for me,” said Darrell Payne, 68, who is retired from the armed forces. “I was born a long time ago, so I’ve seen a lot. With the diversity that the United States has, women, minorities should be taking over some of these roles.”

Afterward Jeffries took brief questions from reporters, where he credited Garcia for pulling a tough race into a competitive position.

The five districts Republicans hope to flip in Texas are all deeper red than the normal targeted congressional race, and Democrats can likely still flip the U.S. House without them.

“One of the most important reasons why we’re here — in terms of the failed effort by Texas Republicans and Donald Trump and MAGA extremists across the country to rig the midterm elections by gerrymandering the congressional map — is that we’ve had great civic leaders like Johnny Garcia make the decision to step forward and run,” Jeffries said. “He’s making an incredibly strong case that things are broken in Washington D.C.”

The state as a whole is about to weather an enormous loss of experience and clout in Congress, and last month House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) assured San Antonio Republicans that their new members would quickly climb the ranks if the GOP holds the House.

On Sunday, Jeffries said he too would work closely with a reshaped Texas delegation, which could now play a big role in his vision for the lower chamber.

“The American people want dramatic change, not more of the same, and Johnny Garcia represents dramatic change, moving this state and this country in a much better direction,” he said. “I look forward to supporting the new leadership, the new energy, the new perspective that Johnny Garcia and other members of the future Texas congressional delegation will bring.”