Texas Democratic candidates unite in the Rio Grande Valley to court Latino voters

WESLACO —  In a joint Democratic rally in South Texas, U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico and Tejano music star Bobby Pulido, who is running for Congress, endorsed each other, forming an early alliance this election cycle and solidifying Talarico’s intentions of wooing Latino voters.

Pulido and Talarico praised each other’s desire to look beyond party lines as they both hope to gain the support of Latinos who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

“We refuse to be confined to our party,” said Talarico, a state representative from Austin. “We’re speaking to something deeper in this state and in this country, and I think you’re already seeing it in Bobby’s campaign. He is bringing people together across the political spectrum.”

Pulido, who is running to be the nominee in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, said he’d been a fan of Talarico since before he gained popularity online from his interviews or his speeches on the floor of the Texas House.

“He resonated with me a long time ago,” Pulido said.

The duo rallied voters in the Rio Grande Valley who were excited at the prospect of two candidates who could have bipartisan reach. 

“I feel like he’s really speaking to both sides,” Genesis Ponce, a 30-year-old social worker from Brownsville, said about Talarico.

“Ever since I was in high school, we heard about the blue wave in Texas that never came, so I’m like, this feels like the moment,” Ponce added. “I mean, it’s felt like the moment since Beto O’Rourke but, I don’t know, I’m just like an optimist, so I hope this is the moment.”

Thursday’s event marked Talarico’s second visit to the Valley since he announced his Senate bid in September. He told the crowd he would be making more campaign stops here in the lead-up to the March primary election.

Talarico’s courting of Latino voters in the Rio Grande Valley comes as his opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, has faced scrutiny over comments she made in Vanity Fair last year.

“The immigration thing has always been something that has perplexed me about this community. It’s basically like, I fought to get here, but I left y’all where I left y’all,” she told Vanity Fair, later adding that it reminded her of “slave mentality.”

On Dec. 9 in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Crockett defended her comments, telling Tapper she didn’t say that every Latino who voted for Trump has a slave mentality.

She also issued a statement to Spectrum News 1’s Capital Tonight, clarifying her past comments.

“My point  then — and now — is to highlight the shared struggle between Black and Brown communities,” she said.

Talarico and Pulido are each facing competition in their respective races. For Talarico, in particular, his bid for the Democratic nomination has turned into an uphill battle since he last visited the Valley in October. 

Currently, Talarico is trailing Crockett, who entered the race on Dec. 8, by 8 percentage points, according to a new statewide poll conducted by Texas Southern University.

During Thursday’s rally, Talarico noted the poll showed he had a lower name recognition, an obstacle he plans to overcome as he meets with more voters across the state.

Pulido is running in hopes of flipping Texas’ 15th Congressional District back into the Democratic fold.

Stretching from the border town of Hidalgo up to Central Texas, Republicans triumphantly flipped the Latino-dominated district with the election of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Edinburg in 2022.

De La Cruz’s election followed congressional redistricting in 2021 that made the district more favorable to Republicans, but also as Latino voters in the Valley began to gravitate more toward the Republican ticket.

Despite large Republican gains in the region, Democrats are strongly targeting the district as a possible flip in November.

Before Pulido can face De La Cruz directly, he must win the Democratic nomination over his competitor Ada Cuellar, a doctor from Harlingen.

Cuellar — who has no relation to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, the Democrat from Laredo — jumped into the race in July and has since focused her campaign on advocating for increased wages, affordable health care and investments in education.

In November, Cuellar launched a digital ad promoting herself as the only candidate in the race fighting for women’s health care and in favor of codifying Roe v. Wade.

Pulido has described himself as pro-life but ultimately believes abortion is a matter of personal responsibility.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination is expected to face a tough battle against De La Cruz who comfortably won reelection by 14 points in 2024.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.