Texas Border Races Test GOP Gains in Historically Democratic Stronghold
Several Texas districts along the Mexican border are poised for some of the country’s most heated congressional battles ahead of the U.S. election.
Most notably, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, a representative of the state’s 28th congressional district since 2005, is fighting to hold his seat in since a federal bribery indictment.
In May 2024, Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted on charges alleging that between 2014 and 2021, they accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani state-owned oil company and a Mexican bank.
Both Henry and Imelda Cuellar have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Newsweek has reached out to the office of Henry Cuellar via email for a comment.
Cuellar’s main challenger, Republican Jay Furman, a Navy veteran, has seized upon the scandal, running his campaign with anti-corruption and security as central themes.
Furman sees an opportunity to challenge a vulnerable incumbent.
“Henry Cuellar is leaving Congress one way or another—at the ballot box or in handcuffs,” he said.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, speaks during a hearing of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations on Capitol Hill, April 10, 2024, in Washington. Cuellar faces Republican Jay Furman in the 28th Congressional District amid bribery charges involving alleged payments from an Azerbaijani energy firm. Furman has focused his campaign on integrity, calling for a change in leadership.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File
De La Cruz’s Rematch in South Texas
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz is defending her 15th Congressional District seat against Democrat Michelle Vallejo.
De La Cruz won the district by eight points in 2022, marking a GOP milestone as the first Republican to represent the area. Her reelection campaign focuses on border security and conservative values, which she argues align with South Texas’ largely Latino, working-class communities.
She has made it clear in the past that she aligns closely with the border policies of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Texas border makes up about half the U. S.—Mexico border, stretching 1,254 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to El Paso. About 10 percent of Texas’ population resides within a Texas-Mexico border county.
Her opponent has reacted by prioritizing the defending of Medicare and Social Security, both popular issues of concern to an district containing almost 800,000 Texans.
Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, listens during a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Jul. 20, 2022. Flores, the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress, has gained GOP backing to expand on the GOP’s border gains, with Speaker Mike Johnson endorsing her campaign.
AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File
GOP Backs Immigration-Focused Flores
The GOP has pushed for another gain in the state’s 34th Congressional District.
They are rallying behind former Rep. Mayra Flores, who is vying to unseat Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in a rematch.
Flores previously made history as the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress, briefly holding the seat in a 2022 special election. House Speaker Mike Johnson has campaigned with Flores, calling her one of the GOP’s most promising candidates for the region.
Gonzalez, who defeated Flores in the November midterms of that year by more than eight points, remains a moderate Democrat in a district increasingly focused on border security. He advocates for compassionate immigration reform, calling the system “broken.”
Flores is banking on her conservative platform—she has been clear in her intentions to support even tighter controls on immigration.
At a Turning Point USA event in Brownsville, Flores stated earlier this year that DNA testing at the border should “100 percent” be brought back, even if this means detaining children for extended periods.
Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris embraces singer Beyoncé at a campaign rally on Oct. 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Harris is campaigning in Texas holding a rally supporting reproductive rights with recording artists Beyoncé and Willie Nelson. Former President Donald Trump has rallied supporters in Texas by criticizing current immigration policies, while Vice President Kamala Harris has campaigned with a focus on reproductive rights and social issues important to Democratic voters.
Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images
Trump and Harris’ Last-Ditch Texas Events
In the final days leading up Nov. 5, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump intensified their campaigns in Texas.
Vice President Harris held a significant rally at Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium, featuring performances by Beyoncé and Willie Nelson.
Harris criticized Trump’s influence on the Supreme Court‘s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We will not get distracted,” on the topic of women’s rights, she stated.
Like his congressional allies, Trump focused on border security and immigration, holding a rally in Austin.
He criticized Harris’s policies, stating that, as vice president, she had allowed “the greatest invasion in the world” and left a “trail of bloodshed and suffering” across the country.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press