Bobby Pulido, the New Scion of South Texas Democrats 

Tejano star Bobby Pulido crushed the incumbent Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz by 24 points last night in a fierce blue backlash against gerrymandering, immigration crackdowns, and the high cost of living in South Texas’ Congressional District 15.

With 30 years of touring and two Latin Grammys under his belt, Pulido was a formidable opponent for the lesser-known congresswoman from the start. His nostalgic 1990s hits became the soundtrack to a moderate, good-vibes campaign pushing back against the extremism of President Donald Trump, who previously won the predominantly Hispanic district by a stunning 18 points in 2024. The red ripple and gerrymandered maps that ushered in De La Cruz as the first Republican to represent the 15th district proved to be a short-lived and failed experiment, one of countless casualties in last night’s blue tsunami.

The congresswoman’s last-ditch efforts to distance herself from the immigration raids that have disrupted life across South Texas proved futile as Pulido’s star status propelled him higher and higher in the polls. He performed at countless quinceañeras, the Texas Democratic Party convention, and at rallies alongside Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico. On October 17, the 53-year-old musician gave his final performance, La Ultima Desvelada, at a sold-out arena in Edinburg.

But now that the music’s over, constituents will see what kind of congressman Pulido will be. Asked about how he connects with voters on important issues, Pulido told the Texas Observer in a July interview, “Issues are more important to journalists than they are to people. I think the people don’t look at it as ‘How do you stand on this issue?’ It’s ‘Can I trust that you care about me?’” He’s spent more time performing “Desvelado” for local audiences and taking pictures with fans than diving into his vaguely populist, centrist platform.

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“For over 30 years, you played my music at your weddings, your quinceañeras, and your carne asadas, and the past year you welcomed me into those same celebrations on the campaign trail,” Pulido said in a statement to the Texas Tribune. “Tonight, you trusted me with something even bigger than a song. You trusted me with your future, and I will work hard everyday to honor it.” 

The beloved figure will be joining the ranks of a not-so-beloved coalition that helped fund his campaign: the Blue Dog Democrats. The conservative Democratic group established in the 1990s is notorious for siding with Republicans in Congress on critical issues like abortion, gun control, and border security. Their numbers have been dwindling over the past decade, but Pulido’s victory alongside that of Johnny Garcia in Texas Congressional District 35, fortifies the group’s hold on South Texas—alongside Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez in Brownsville, who both also handily fended off the GOP’s attempts to take them out last night. 

The Tejano singer has said he maintains his support for the Second Amendment, capitalism, and a militarized border, although he believes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations have wrongly targeted innocent people and disrupted life in the community. Immigration raids and for-profit detention centers became a flashpoint in the race.

Even De La Cruz ran advertisements boasting of her efforts to free people from federal immigrant detention. Yet in the final months of her campaign, she appeared at Trump rallies and at his fruitless Republican Midterm National Convention in Dallas. There was seemingly nothing to hold back the wave of retribution that wiped her out of office. She accepted defeat last night in a statement calling her two terms in Congress “the greatest honor of my life.”

With a whole new slate of Democratic leadership set to govern Texas and take up the majority in Congress, there are huge promises to be upheld and battles to undertake. J.C. Frias, a popular progressive influencer from the Rio Grande Valley, took to social media to share his excitement and concerns following last night’s astonishing victory. “We are all celebrating as we should, but I just wanna say we want justice. We want accountability,” Frias said. “I’m talking about our neighbors being beaten, handcuffed, dragged, threatened with firearms pointed to their face.” Frias demanded public trials and investigations of ICE.

Pulido, with all his bells and whistles, may instead represent a return to the status quo in South Texas. He told the Observer he believes in common-sense border enforcement and that ICE needs to rebuild trust and accountability—but asked what legal measures should be taken to hold them accountable, he merely responded: “Elect Democrats.”

At an election night party in his hometown of Edinburg, Pulido talked about the value of hard work and dedicated his victory speech to improving life for the working people of South Texas. “We’re rich in family, faith, culture, and determination. What we’re missing are opportunities,” Pulido said. “I want our children to grow up in South Texas, to find good jobs, buy homes, and raise families here. I want the next generation to have opportunities our parents and grandparents could only dream of.”