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Two of the most closely watched races in the state will be decided during Tuesday’s primary runoff election, in part, by voters in the Rio Grande Valley.
Following early voting last week, Tuesday will be the final opportunity voters will have to choose between two sides of the Democratic spectrum in the race for Texas’ 15th Congressional District, which is pitting progressive Michelle Vallejo against moderate Ruben Ramirez, and Texas’ 28th Congressional District in which progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros is challenging conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar.
Vallejo and Ramirez are running to be the next representative for District 15, which is a top target for Republicans who are in a strong position to flip the district in November.
Monica De La Cruz, the Republican candidate this year, came close to defeating current U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez with more than 49% of the votes when she ran in 2020.
Since then, the district only became more favorable to Republicans after the district maps were redrawn last year.
When the new district maps were finalized, Gonzalez announced he would not be seeking reelection to District 15 but would instead be running in the safer District 34, which includes Cameron County and portions of eastern Hidalgo County.
Ramirez and Vallejo were the top two vote-getters in the March Democratic primary from a field of six candidates. Ramirez received 28% of the votes, while Vallejo received 20%.
Whichever candidate wins Tuesday’s runoff will face an uphill battle against De La Cruz to prevent the district from turning red for the first time in its history.
In District 28, races for both the Democratic and the Republican nomination went into a runoff.
The Democratic race is a rematch between Cuellar and Cisneros, who came within four percentage points of defeating Cuellar in the 2020 Democratic primary election.
This year, Cuellar was unable to secure more than 50% of the votes for an outright win during the primary, receiving 48.6% of the votes, while Cisneros received 46.6%.
Cuellar is also a more vulnerable candidate this time given that in January, FBI agents were seen searching his home and office in Laredo.
He’s also faced increased scrutiny as the threat to abortion rights has grown over the last several weeks. After a leaked draft opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito suggested the court was preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, Cuellar was again criticized for being the lone Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against codifying abortion rights.
Still, Cuellar has retained support from top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.
In the Republican runoff for District 28, Sandra Whitten, who was the Republican nominee in 2020, is facing off against Cassy Garcia, a former staff member for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
The two advanced to the runoff from a field of six Republican candidates who ran in the March primary.
Garcia received the most votes with 23.5% of the votes, while Whitten received 18% of the votes.
Both candidates support the use of border walls, though Garcia, who received the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council, said congressional leaders should consult with Border Patrol to determine where a wall or the use of technology should be employed.
Garcia also supports creating a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, stating that American industries would benefit from an increase in work visas.
On the other hand, Whitten opposed citizenship for such immigrants, also known as “Dreamers,” believing such a pathway is part of “open border” policies.
Hidalgo County will have 28 polling locations open on Tuesday for the runoff elections, while Starr County will have four polling locations available.
The sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
