Republican · Texas's 15th District · 2026
Monica De La Cruz
De La Cruz was raised by her mother, Norma, in Brownsville and is the granddaughter of a Mexican farmworker.
Biography
Monica De La Cruz grew up in Brownsville with a single mother.1 She later made her home in Edinburg and is a mother of two herself.1 Her brother, Carlos, is also running for Congress in Texas this year.2 She worked her way through the University of Texas at San Antonio, studied business and later spent time studying Spanish in Mexico City.31
Her early career included an internship with Turner Entertainment and work in Atlanta before returning to the Valley and opening an insurance agency.3 She first ran for Congress in 2020, lost that race and then won in 2022, becoming the first Republican to represent the district.45
One concrete legislative result was her Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act, signed in September 2024, which required a federal study of how trafficking organizations finance synthetic drugs.6 Her work on agriculture includes a South Texas water group and pressure on Mexico to meet treaty deliveries, a central issue for farmers dependent on the Rio Grande.75
For another term, De La Cruz advocates lower taxes and federal spending, oil and gas development, more border infrastructure and immigration judges, and protections for Medicare and Social Security.8 Her opponent is Democrat Bobby Pulido, a Tejano musician and business owner, making the race a test of Republican strength in South Texas as well as competing approaches to immigration, water and household costs.59
Record and controversies
Divorce allegations
During her 2021 divorce, De La Cruz’s husband alleged mistreatment of his daughter; De La Cruz denied those claims in court.10 A September 2026 Dallas Express review, relying partly on a campaign response memorandum, said the materials it reviewed did not establish a final judicial finding of abuse.11 The temporary order during the divorce was not a final finding that the allegations were proven.11