Latin Grammy winner Bobby Pulido wins Texas seat
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- Tejano singer Bobby Pulido defeated Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, winning 62% of the vote and flipping a seat Democrats had lost.
- The victory came after a Republican redistricting effort aimed at weakening Latino voting power backfired.
Bobby Pulido is graduating from quinceañera gigs to the Capitol. The Tejano singer pulled off a historic victory when he flipped a Texas congressional seat back to blue during the U.S. midterm elections.
On Tuesday, the Latin Grammy-winning artist defeated Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz in Congressional District 15, a narrow geographical area that extends east of San Antonio down to Rio Grande Valley.
The singer’s win comes after President Trump pushed Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts last year, with the intent to weaken the state’s Democratic strongholds by diluting the Latino vote in the region.
However, attempts to overhaul district seats in favor of a GOP candidate backfired; in fact, Texas Republicans now will have one less seat in the House come January.
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Tuesday night, as poll results began trickling in in favor of Pulido — and other Democratic victors in the state including U.S. Senator-elect James Talarico and Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa — he took to X to share his disbelief in a Spanish expletive similar to “Holy s— !”
On Wednesday morning, after major polls confirmed that Pulido won 62% of the total vote, he shared a video message to all his supporters on Instagram: “I give you my word tonight that I will never forget where I came from.”
The clip was from a speech he made during his final concert on Oct. 17, titled “La Última Desvelada” (The Last Restless Night), in his hometown of Edinburg, Texas, per TejanoNation.
“I did music for me, but I’m running for Congress for you,” Pulido stated in the Instagram video. “Because I’m not going to Washington to serve a political party, I’m going to serve you.”
In July 2025, Pulido announced his political interests in Congress via Instagram, which came after he got a nudge from Lorena Saenz Gonzalez, the wife of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas).
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In an interview with The Times in July 2025, he explained that he wanted to run an “issues-based campaign” focused on immigration, the economy and healthcare. He stressed that he would not run on a platform of “vote for me because I’m famous.”
Still, it didn’t stop De La Cruz from targeting his musical background. In March, she referred to Pulido as a “scandal-plagued celebrity,” adding that “this election isn’t about who you want performing at your niece’s quinceañera,” according to the Texas Tribune.
The commentary on the traditional cultural celebration prompted Pulido to put out an open call for invitations to perform at quinceañeras across the Congressional District, aiding his popularity in the region.
“In South Texas, a quinceañera isn’t just a pachanga. It’s a rite of passage that brings family and neighbors together,” said Pulido in a TikTok clip uploaded on March 10. “And honestly, that’s exactly what this campaign is about. We want to bring people together, not tear them apart.”
Born in Edinburg, Texas, Pulido comes from a famous musical family. His dad, Roberto Pulido, is credited with the modernization of Tejano music through added brass instrumentation that helped bridge the separate camps of Tejano and Conjunto music.
In 1995, Pulido launched his own independent singing career during the golden age of Tejano music, defined by acts such as Patsy Torres, Little Joe y La Familia and Selena Quintanilla.
The singer is best known for his smash hit “Desvelado,” a 1995 cumbia-tinged track off his debut album by the same name. While many fans have speculated that the song was about Selena, who was killed in March 1995, Pulido has said it is not. Although he did admit to having a crush on the “Como La Flor” singer when they were young, “but to be fair, who didn’t,” he shared with Mitú earlier this year.
Early hits like “Se Murió de Amor,” “Le Pediré” and “Enséñame” also helped cement the crooner’s legacy as a Tejano legend with a cumbia edge, not only making his lyrics relatable for the yearning community, but also danceable.
In January, when U.S. Representative-elect Pulido takes office, he will be the first congressman to have two Latin Grammy Awards, which he won in 2022 and 2025 in the Tejano album category for “Para Que Baile Mi Pueblo” and “Bobby Pulido & Friends Una Tuya y Una Mía (Vol.1/En Vivo),” respectively.
Although, he could have a total of three gramophone trophies by the time January rolls around. His latest album, “Bobby Pulido & Friends Una Tuya y Una Mía (Vol.2/En Vivo),” is nominated in the Tejano album category at the Latin Grammy Awards, which will take place Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.
Staff writer Carlos De Loera contributed to this report.
