Democrat Bobby Pulido flips crucial South Texas district, defeating Rep. Monica De La Cruz

Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated incumbent Rep. Monica De La Cruz, CBS News projects, flipping the crucial South Texas district that Democrats had heavily targeted after the region had swung toward Republicans in 2024.

De La Cruz, an ally of President Trump's, was first elected in 2022, flipping one of the Democratic strongholds in the largely Hispanic Rio Grande Valley. Mr. Trump won her district and two other Democratic-held districts in the region in 2024, and Republicans used that success to redraw the Congressional districts in the state. 

But that left De La Cruz with 75% of her district being unknown voters. And with a weak economy and hardline immigration policies, Mr. Trump has faced declining popularity with Latino voters. 

Democrats recruited Pulido, a Latin Grammy-winning Tejano singer, to run in the newly redrawn district, which includes parts of Corpus Christi and run south to the border. 

Pulido garnered national headlines as he continued to perform at quinceaneras while on the campaign trail after De La Cruz posted a video in May "this isn't about who you would want to perform at your niece's quinceanera." Pulido used the remark as a campaign opportunity, saying in late September that he had performed at 75 quinceaneras while on the trail.