Last year’s redistricting upended the makeup of Texas’ 35th Congressional District, prompting the Democratic incumbent, Rep. Greg Casar, to run for a different seat. The open race for the new TX-35 spurred competitive primaries on both sides, with two Democrats and two Republicans advancing to runoffs in their respective races after no one received 50% of the vote in either March primary.
On the Republican side, state Rep. John Lujan is hoping to overcome President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his opponent, Carlos De La Cruz, by winning over voters in the subset of the district he already represents in the Texas House. For Democrats, Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia is pitching himself as an “old-school, common-sense, law-and-order Democrat,” which he said is needed to win against a Republican. He’s up against housing reform activist Maureen Galindo, who finished ahead of Garcia in March despite a meager fundraising haul of under $10,000.
The seat’s new boundaries take in less than 10% of its current constituency. The new 35th covers parts of San Antonio and Guadalupe, Wilson and Karnes counties to the east. If the updated lines had existed in 2024, Trump would have won the seat by about 10 points.
