With more than 100 candidates on the ballots in the Democratic and Republican primaries on Tuesday, voters in the Rio Grande Valley will have much to decide on.

From races deciding district clerks, county commissioners and county judges, to Texas House and Senate seats as well as the red-hot congressional candidacies, not to mention high-profile judicial posts, hopefuls’ platforms have largely focused on improving health care, education, the economy, law enforcement and infrastructure. 

In an effort to condense all that has already circulated in voter’s guides, campaign ads and news stories this election cycle, The Monitor has broken things down to three of the most hotly contested races that Valley residents are faced with deciding.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 15

The race for Texas’ Congressional District 15 has the most crowded field of candidates on both the Democratic and Republican side.

There are six Democratic candidates who are Michelle Vallejo, Eliza Alvarado, Julio Garza, John Villarreal Rigney, Vanessa Stephanie Tijerina and Ruben Ramirez.

Ramirez received the endorsement of the current incumbent, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez who instead of running for reelection to District 15, is running for neighboring District 34 due to redistricting.

An attorney and military veteran, Ramirez is on the moderate end of the field, stating during a candidate forum that a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers — or residents from other nations who were brought to the U.S. as children — would have to be achieved through bipartisanship.

He doesn’t see building a border wall as a viable solution to securing the border but also said the country couldn’t have “open borders.”

Villarreal Rigney, a business owner, is also more on the moderate end, and preferred using technology such as electronic surveillance for border security efforts as opposed to a physical border wall.

He and Ramirez have spent the most among the Democratic candidates, both reporting more than $76,000 in disbursements.

On the left end of the group is Vallejo, an entrepreneur and co-owner of Pulga Los Portales in Alton who was recruited by LUPE Votes to run on a progressive platform.

Vallejo’s platform includes support for Medicare For All, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and eliminating student debt. She said the border wall had torn families apart and opposed the hyper-militarization of the border.

Alvarado, a program director at Region One Education Service Center, previously worked for Gonzalez’s predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa.

While she was against a brick-and-mortar border wall, she said consulting with Border Patrol about the best way to secure the border and investing in technology to build a “smart wall” was the “way to go.”

Additionally, Alvarado cites her years working in public policy among her qualifications and said she would aim to address workforce shortages, lack of childcare, a healthcare crisis, a broken immigration system and threats to fundamental rights like voting.

The nine Republican candidates include Monica De La Cruz who also ran for the seat in 2020, coming close to defeating Gonzalez in the general election.

This time, she has received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump over the other eight Republican candidates.

De La Cruz has also spent the most of all candidates — both Democrat and Republican — reporting more than $1.4 million in disbursements.

The other candidates seeking the Republican nomination are Sara Canady, Aizar Cavazos, Vangela Churchill, Mauro Garza, Angela Juarez, Ryan Krause, John C. Lerma, and Steve Schmuker Jr.

Garza, a business owner, reported spending just over $558,000.

He markets himself as an anti-establishment candidate and as a “pro-Trump patriot” who would take on “the Washington swamp.”

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 28

Although incumbent U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is running against a familiar challenger in Jessica Cisneros for the Democratic nomination in District 28, the race suddenly became an uphill battle for the nine-term incumbent after the FBI conducted a probe of his Laredo home and campaign headquarters last month, drawing scrutiny from both the right and the left.

Though the FBI did not disclose the reason behind their presence at Cuellar’s home or office, Cuellar issued a statement saying he would cooperate with any investigation.

Still, Cuellar’s campaign has charged on and reported spending nearly $2.3 million in the race.

By comparison, Cisneros, an immigration attorney running on progressive values, reported spending $1.1 million in the race.

When she last faced Cuellar in the 2020 Democratic Primary, Cisneros came within four percentage points of defeating Cuellar and in her second attempt has, again, amassed a slew of endorsements from prominent U.S. senators and representatives in Congress including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, Katie Porter, D-CA, and Ayanna Pressley, D-MA.

The third candidate in the race is Tannya Benavides, an activist and teacher also from Laredo who holds similar positions to Cisneros on immigration reform — opposing the construction of a border all and favoring a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” — the international trade agreement, gun control and health care.

Among the Republicans, Ed Cabrera, a businessman and rancher, has outspent his primary opponents with nearly $171,000 in disbursements.

Cabrera, a pro-Trump Republican, has said he’s running to combat government “over-regulation” and “over-taxation.”

His opponents include Cassy Garcia, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz who was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council, and Sandra Whitten, the Republican nominee who faced Cuellar in the general election in November 2020. 

Both supported construction of a border wall, though Garcia said lawmakers should consult with Border Patrol on where a wall would be needed and where the use of technology would be most appropriate.

Garcia also supports a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” while Whitten does not.

The other candidates in the race include Steven Fowler, Eric Hohman, Willie Vasquez Ng, and Rolando Rodriguez.

HIDALGO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Two candidates are in a bitter fight to be the Democratic nominee in the race for Hidalgo County District Attorney — Toribio “Terry” Palacios and Nereida Lopez-Singleterry.

Palacios, an attorney and former Edinburg municipal judge, announced his plans to run for the office shortly after his nephew, current DA Ricardo Rodriguez Jr., announced he would not seek reelection.

He said he wants to carry the torch that Rodriguez will be leaving behind and keep the district attorney’s office in the same direction. He said he’d do so by treating everyone fairly and with respect.

Palacios has spent about $728,000 on the campaign since December, outspending Lopez-Singleterry who reported spending about $470,000 on her campaign.

Lopez-Singleterry, a San Juan municipal judge and former associate judge of Hidalgo County Master Court 1, said in her campaign announcement that she also wants to build on Rodriguez’s legacy. She added she wanted to ensure that justice prevailed in all cases and pledged to be an advocate for victims and survivors of crimes.

Juan Tijerina, an attorney, is the only candidate running for district attorney on the Republican side.

UNOFFICIAL EARLY VOTING TALLY

The Hidalgo County turnout during a 12-day early voting period this month amassed 42,313 total ballots between in-person and mail-in voting, according to the county’s unofficial results. Through 11 days in 2018, the last gubernatorial election year, the county’s early voting turnout totaled 39,037.

The county’s breakdown by party shows 29,795 early ballots cast in-person for the Democratic primary this year compared to the 32,703 in 2018, nearly a 9% drop in voter participation. Combined with mail-ins, this year’s Democratic showing during early voting amassed 31,938 to 2018’s 34,780, an 8% overall decline.

Republicans performed far better, with 10,222 in-person ballots cast during early voting in the county compared to the 3,846 in 2018, a whopping 165% jump in turnout for the GOP, which over the last two years has made strides trying to flip the historically blue Rio Grande Valley.

With mail-in ballots added to the overall tally, Republicans made for a 143% increase at the early voting polls with 10,375 ballots cast this year over the 4,257 in 2018.

Election Day is on Tuesday and registered voters in Hidalgo County will be able to vote at any voting location throughout the county. Poll will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.