Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, flipping a South Texas seat that Republicans had carried in 2024. CBS projected Pulido as the winner after the Nov. 3, 2026, election, and the Associated Press later also called the race for him.
The Texas Secretary of State’s partial results, updated on election night, showed Pulido with 116,945 votes and De La Cruz with 72,761, with 80% of polling places reporting. Those figures were not the final certified tally.
Pulido is a Tejano singer and Latin Grammy winner who was recruited by Democrats to contest the redrawn district. The 15th includes parts of Corpus Christi and extends south to the U.S.-Mexico border.
De La Cruz was first elected in 2022, winning a seat in the largely Hispanic Rio Grande Valley that had long favored Democrats. Donald Trump carried her district and two other Democratic-held districts in the region in 2024, helping Republicans pursue new congressional boundaries in Texas.
Pulido’s campaign also drew attention for his continued performances at quinceañeras. In May, De La Cruz posted a video saying the race was “not about who you would want to perform at your niece’s quinceañera.” Pulido turned the remark into a campaign talking point and said in late September that he had performed at 75 quinceañeras while campaigning.
CBS and the Associated Press both reported Pulido’s victory. The Texas Secretary of State’s results showed a substantial lead in the partial count, but the figures cited above were not certified final results.
Reid Bentley 
Nicole French