Democrat Bobby Pulido Defeats Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Redrawn Texas 15th District

Democrat Bobby Pulido, a Latin Grammy-winning Tejano singer, defeated Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas's 15th Congressional District, flipping the South Texas seat. The Associated Press called the race at 12:37 p.m., with Pulido at 61.6% to De La Cruz's 38.4% and 89% of the vote counted. De La Cruz, an ally of President Trump, was first elected in 2022 and won a second term in 2024 by 14 points. Texas Republicans redrew the district, which includes parts of Corpus Christi and runs south to the border, and under the new lines Trump would have carried it by 18 points in 2024. Democrats recruited Pulido to run there. In another redrawn Texas district, Decision Desk HQ projected Democrat Johnny Garcia the winner in the 35th District, which includes San Antonio suburbs and is represented by Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat.

CBS News, on the left, leads with the flip and frames it as a Democratic target in a region that swung right in 2024. It cites Trump's declining popularity with Latino voters amid a weak economy and hardline immigration policies, and notes that 75% of De La Cruz's redrawn district was unfamiliar voters. It highlights the quinceañera episode: De La Cruz posted a video in May, and Pulido later said he had performed at 75 of them on the trail. The Washington Examiner, on the right, stresses in its headline that Republicans drew the district, and it gives the vote percentages, the 18-point Trump margin and polls showing a close race. It also reports that Republicans attacked Pulido over his tour with Frankie Caballero, a registered sex offender convicted in 2014. His campaign said he did not know of the charges. CBS omits that issue, and the Examiner omits the Latino-voter and quinceañera material. The Hill, an alternative source, covers a different race, Garcia's in the 35th District.