Monica De La Cruz (R) defeated Michelle Vallejo (D) and Ross Lynn Leone (L) in the general election for Texas’ 15th Congressional District on November 8, 2022. De La Cruz is the first Republican to be elected to represent the district since it was created following the 1990 Census.
Texas’ 15th district was redrawn during redistricting after the 2020 Census to include a region of South Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley. The New York Times called it “the only competitive House seat left in Texas.” Former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed De La Cruz. Her campaign focused on border security and opposition to abortion. De La Cruz discussed cultural issues as well, saying, “South Texas is not woke, but they are awakened.”
Matthew Choi and Stephen Neukam of The Texas Tribune wrote, “In the most competitive congressional race in the state, De La Cruz pushed ahead to victory, riding the momentum of a better-than-expected run in 2020 and a wave of outside funding from national Republicans eager to gain new ground in the region…De La Cruz defeated Democrat Michelle Vallejo, a political newcomer who ran on a platform of progressive social policy and close family ties to the region. Vallejo had run an aggressive ground operation and was able to rally handsome donations from across the state. But she faced a death knell after less-than-favorable forecasts led national Democrats to dedicate their resources to protecting incumbents and supporting more promising races.”
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 48.1% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 51.0%.
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