U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz has invited state Rep. Terry Canales and his wife to be her guests next Tuesday at the State of the Union address in Washington D.C.
De La Cruz is the first Republican and first woman elected to represent District 15 in Congress while Canales, an Edinburg Democrat, was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012.
“I did in fact invite Texas Representative Terry Canales and his lovely wife to be my guests for the State of the Union this Tuesday,” De La Cruz said in a statement to The Monitor. “At the end of the day our state and federal legislators from both sides of the aisle need to work together to serve our fellow Texans first.
“That is what we are elected to do, and this is just one way of how my office will continue to collaborate with other elected officials.”
Canales said that he and his wife are honored by De La Cruz’s invitation.
“My wife and I are honored by the Congresswoman’s invitation, but moreover, her gesture restores my faith in what oftentimes feels like a broken political system,” Canales said in a statement to The Monitor. “South Texas has many challenges and if I have learned anything while serving in the legislature for over a decade, it is that the greatest strides are made when both sides work together.”
Canales said the people of South Texas elected him and De La Cruz to move the region forward and not to get hung up on partisan rhetoric.
“The invitation tells me the Congresswoman knows the election is over and it’s time to get to work by working together,” Canales said. “Attending the State of the Union is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I am more moved by the possibility of what we can accomplish for our region by working together and leading by example.”
President Joe Biden will address a joint session of Congress next Tuesday for the State of the Union address.
