New Texas Congressional Map Sets Up Four Toss-Up House Races in South Texas

Texas lawmakers passed a new congressional map during a special legislative session in August 2025. A lower court found the map raised constitutional concerns tied to race, but the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the state to use it for the 2026 midterm elections anyway. That decision left the underlying legal questions unresolved even as candidates campaign under the new lines.

The practical result: three South Texas congressional races are now genuinely competitive, a rarity in a region Democrats have dominated for decades. Both parties are pouring resources into districts that redistricting reshuffled.

The De La Cruz-Pulido Race

In the 15th District, which covers the Rio Grande Valley and parts of Central and Coastal Bend counties, Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz is seeking another term. She's held the seat since 2023 and has backed President Trump's legislative agenda, including votes for the SAVE Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Her challenger is Bobby Pulido, a Tejano singer running as a Democrat. Pulido has drawn scrutiny over his past association with a former band member who is a registered sex offender. He's campaigning as a moderate, opposing abortion personally while saying the decision belongs to individual women, and pledging to defend Medicare.

Two polls show De La Cruz ahead. One shows Pulido leading. The race remains unsettled with Election Day approaching.

Cuellar's Legal Baggage Meets a Tough Challenger

The 28th District, stretching from San Antonio's outskirts to the border towns of Laredo and Rio Grande City, features Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar defending a seat against Republican Tano Tijerina, a Webb County judge since 2015.

Cuellar's reelection bid carries real baggage. He and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were indicted in May 2024 on federal bribery, money laundering, and foreign influence charges. President Trump pardoned the couple in December 2025, closing the legal chapter but not erasing it from the campaign narrative.

Tijerina is campaigning on property tax cuts he says he delivered as county judge and an "America First" foreign policy platform. Polling as of July 20 shows him with an advantage over Cuellar, a notable sign for a district Democrats have long considered safe.

Cuellar was never convicted, and a pardon for an indicted-but-untried defendant is a legal outlier. Voters weighing his reelection are left to judge unproven federal charges rather than a jury verdict, which is exactly the kind of ambiguity a trial was supposed to resolve.

Gonzalez Faces a Former Federal Prosecutor

The 34th District, covering South Texas and the Gulf Coast including Brownsville and Harlingen, pits Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, in office since 2023, against Republican Eric Flores, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

Gonzalez voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill, putting him at odds with the same legislative package De La Cruz supported in the neighboring 15th District. That vote is likely to become a central point of contrast as Flores, drawing on his prosecutorial background, makes his case to voters.

The Redistricting Fight Isn't Over

The map itself remains legally contested. A lower court concluded the redrawn lines raised constitutional concerns related to race, a serious claim given the Voting Rights Act's history of policing exactly this kind of line-drawing in Texas. The Supreme Court's decision to let the map stand for 2026 was about timing and practicality ahead