Two hotly contested, Rio Grande Valley-centric congressional elections are headed for recounts.
On Monday afternoon Ruben Ramirez, a moderate Democrat who ran against progressive Michelle Vallejo for the District 15 nomination, announced he would file a petition for a recount with the Texas Democratic Party on Tuesday.
To the west, progressive Jessica Cisneros announced she would file for a recount in the Democratic runoff for District 28, where she ran against the longtime incumbent, moderate Henry Cuellar.
The outcome of the races has been in the air since the May 24 runoff election.
The Texas Democratic Party on Monday finished canvassing and certifying the votes, triggering the petitions for recount in the tight Democratic runoffs.
In District 15, Ramirez lost to Vallejo by just 30 votes.
The election saw a wide field of candidates seeking to replace incumbent Vicente Gonzalez, with Ramirez and Vallejo coming out on top during the March primary and setting the stage for the runoff.
After redistricting this year, Gonzalez had his residence moved into District 34, which encompasses Cameron County.
In a statement, Ramirez said his campaign owes it to District 15 to ensure that every vote is accurately counted.
“From the start, our campaign has been about fighting for South Texans, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Ramirez said in the news release. “We will fight to ensure that every vote in the district is counted, and then take that fight for South Texas on to November.”
In District 28, Cuellar retained his position in Congress by 281 votes over Cisneros.
“Our community isn’t done fighting, we are filing for a recount,” Cisneros said in a news release. “With just under 0.6 percent of the vote symbolizing such stark differences for the future in South Texas, I owe it to our community to see this through the end.”
Recount aside, as of now, Vallejo, in District 15, is set to take on Monica De La Cruz, a Republican who nearly unseated Gonzalez, the incumbent, during the 2020 Election.
And in District 28, Cuellar is set to face off against Republican Cassy Garcia.
