Bobby Pulido gave Democrats a South Texas U.S. House pickup by defeating Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in the first House general election held under the state’s new congressional map.
The Associated Press called the race, and CBS News projected Pulido’s victory. Unofficial returns posted by the Texas secretary of state at 12:40 a.m. ET Nov. 4 (11:40 p.m. CT Nov. 3) showed Pulido with 116,945 votes to De La Cruz’s 72,761, with 80% of polling locations reporting.
De La Cruz won the seat in 2022. President Donald Trump carried her district under its former boundaries in 2024. This was the first U.S. House general election under Texas’ 2025 congressional map.
Pulido, a Latin Grammy-winning Tejano singer, campaigned on household costs, health care and immigration enforcement in the region, The Texas Tribune reported. The Tribune also reported that De La Cruz conceded.
Pulido is due to take office when the new Congress begins in January 2027.
