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Many Trump voters in Zapata know one another, and they have formed an unofficial booster club and support group. It includes Ricardo Ramirez, 51, the president of a local bank branch, and Jack Moore, 45, an oil-field construction worker who said the Democrats of 50 years ago are not the same Democrats today.

Many residents in this part of Texas have strong Christian, anti-abortion, pro-gun and back-the-blue views that put them more in line with conservatives than liberals, and in Zapata, there is a strong sense among his supporters that Mr. Trump will bring jobs to the economically struggling region.

In a brief exchange during the final presidential debate, Mr. Biden had said he would transition from the oil industry because of its pollution, a remark that did not go unnoticed by Zapata residents, including Yvette Gutierrez De Leon, 56, who is a secretary for an oil-field services company and who voted for Mr. Trump.

At the end of the day, in the little bit of oil field that is still left, if it goes away tomorrow our county will go away, Ms. De Leon said. Oil is all we have here.

Isela Gonzalez-Lindquist, 42, a saleswoman at a Laredo mattress store, said she voted for Mr. Trump even though she was opposed to his plans to extend the border wall in the area, because she believed it would hurt wildlife and infringe on the rights of property owners.

I want to convey that he is not perfect and we know that, but he is the best candidate for the job, she said. I like Trumps grit and that hes not a career politician.

James Dobbins reported from Zapata, and Manny Fernandez from Houston. David Montgomery contributed reporting from Austin, Texas.

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In Texas, an Emerging Problem for Democrats on the Border - The New York Times