Monica De La Cruz is the first Republican to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District. What will she do with it?

Republican Monica De La Cruz at a news conference at a GOP event in McAllen on Nov. 6. On Election Day, she was elected to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District. (Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune)

McALLEN — Monica De La Cruz will be the first-ever Republican to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District and the first South Texas Republican to serve a full term in Congress. Now, the single mother of two kids and small business owner who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley will shape what it means to be a Republican in a region that has long been synonymous with Democrats.

That’s a big responsibility for someone who has never held elected office before. When De La Cruz first ran in 2020, few even in her own party had much faith in her ardent conservative platform swaying the historically blue district. She was equipped with a scrappy staff of only a small handful of people, which included a staffer who used to work for her at her State Farm insurance office and eventually became her campaign manager. They were up against the handsomely financed, seasoned campaign operation of then-two-time incumbent Vicente Gonzalez.