Monica De La Cruz, a Hispanic Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump, will handily move on to the general election in Texas’s 15th Congressional District after securing her party’s nomination, according to the Associated Press, who called the race early Wednesday at 12:27 a.m. ET.
De La Cruz, backed by Trump, will head to the general election in November, hoping to be elected as the first Republican, Hispanic woman to represent the seat in Congress.
I am proud to be your Republican Nominee for District 15!🇺🇲 #TX15 pic.twitter.com/bULplgHBUy
— Monica De La Cruz for Congress (@monica4congress) March 2, 2022
De La Cruz was initially eyeing a rematch against embattled Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) after he barely won in 2020, when he only secured 50.5 percent of the vote to the Republican’s 47.6 percent — about a 6,000 vote difference.
Nevertheless, Gonzalez announced last October his decision to ditch the congressional seat and to abandon the constituents he currently represents — where De La Cruz just won the Republican nomination, and what would have been a more competitive race — to run in what he thought would have been a safer Democrat seat, Texas’s 34th Congressional District, in order to have a higher chance of winning. However, earlier this year, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics moved the new seat Gonzalez is running in from a “Safe Democratic” district to a “Likely Democratic” district.
As the final exit results are still being counted, part of the reason the seat has become “more competitive,” and partly what helped De La Cruz is the “permanent realignment” in South Texas with the Hispanic voter base.
Since 2016, there have been “Republican uprisings” happening across the country, according to the Washington Post. Everyday voters, especially Hispanic voters, have turned to the Republican party after becoming frustrated with one-party Democrat rule in Washington, DC. As the New York Times wrote, voters and candidates in South Texas claimed that “Democrats are destroying a Latino culture built around God, family, and patriotism” and noted that Republican candidates have been building on the party’s history of economic, religious, and cultural sentiment over the last decade.
De La Cruz, again looking to be the first Republican to represent the district in its 120 years of existence, told Breitbart News Saturday last year, “There is an awakening happening in South Texas among the Hispanic culture” after the Democrats have shown how far towards socialism they’ve moved.
“They’re awakening to see my values of faith, family, and freedom, no longer aligned with the Democrat Party,” De La Cruz. “I think what President Trump did is he shook up the establishment. He shook up the people to say, ‘pay attention to what is happening.’ … that’s what Hispanics are doing.”
Republican organizations that helped De La Cruz-Hernandez in the primary rejoiced over having her clinch the nomination.
The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House Republican-aligned campaign arm, said he he can’t wait to see De La Cruz defeat the Democrat she will face in November.
“Congratulations to Monica De La Cruz on her primary victory. In 2020, Monica showed that Republicans can compete in South Texas and this cycle, she’s going to finish the job,” stated NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer. “I look forward to Monica defeating the Democrat nominee and helping Republicans retake the House.
”Additionally, the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), another House Republican-aligned group, that spent nearly $185,000 supporting the Republican added that the Republican would be a “prime pickup opportunity” for the party in the November election.
“Monica De La Cruz’s life is a testament to what is possible in the American Dream,” said CLF President Dan Conston. “Monica’s victory ensures this district will be a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans in the fall. I congratulate her on her impressive win and am confident she will flip this seat red in November.”
The general election is on November 8.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.