Republican Monica De La Cruz and Democrat Ruben Ramirez led their primary competitors in the race for Congressional District 15 Tuesday evening, and although a Democratic runoff seems inevitable, it was not entirely clear as of press time who will be in it.
De La Cruz, on the other hand, does have a significant lead, with about 56% of the Republican vote in her favor.
That number was 67.14% in De La Cruz’s home county of Hidalgo.
She was in high spirits Tuesday, and said her supporters were seeing the fruits of a political battle she’s waged since the 2020 election.
“Look, what we’ve been able to do is educate people that the Republican Party stands for faith, family and freedom,” she said. “And that we’re about protecting our borders; we are against the Biden administration, the inflation policy. Their destructive national policy and foreign policy, and these things resonated with the people of Texas 15.”
De La Cruz said she’s confident that message will be able to win over the traditionally blue district she’s competing for.
“It will be the total vote of all of those counties that will push us over the needed percentage for November,” she said. “Look, we have made remarkable strides in Hidalgo, doubling the Republican vote and the increases that we have seen in voter turnout for this election.”
De La Cruz said she expects turnout to be strong in the fall and thinks sticking to core Republican values will carry her through the November election.
Ramirez, the top vote-getter on the Democrat side, was also surrounded by supporters Tuesday.
A veteran and former educator, Ramirez says he thinks his resume played a large role in putting him ahead of the nine-person Democratic pool.
“It’s a continued showing of commitment to this amazing community and our country, and I want to continue that and continue to fight with the same honor and distinction in Washington D.C. for all those issues, pressing issues, that are facing our community,” he said.
Moderation was Ramirez’s lodestone for the evening. He said he is a South Texas Democrat — not an overly partisan New York Democrat or California Democrat — and he said that moderation will defeat any runoff challenger, along with any Republican challenger.
“That’s what a South Texas Democrat is,” he said. “It’s a moderate Democrat. And if you look at tonight’s results, that’s a message that we’ve been promoting, and it resonated very strongly and we’re very proud of our first place finish.”
Two Democratic candidates finished relatively closely behind Ramirez: John Villarreal Rigney and Michelle Vallejo.
Both of them had about 20% of the vote as of press time Tuesday.
“I am thankful for everyone who took the time to come out and vote today, and everyone who stood at the polls long after 7pm to make their voices heard,” a statement from Villarreal Rigney read. “We still have results coming in this evening, and I look forward to being able to update our supporters tomorrow. Congratulations to all of the Democrats who worked hard to earn the support of our community this evening.”
Vallejo’s campaign also issued a statement.
“From the beginning of this campaign, Michelle has been focused on serving the pressing needs of people of South Texas. Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of supporters, we are proud of the grassroots movement we have built,” campaign manager Kirby Chandler wrote. “We owe it to every single Texan who showed up at the polls today to make sure that each voice is heard and every vote is counted.”