Messy House primary in Texas becomes proxy war in broader Democratic identity fight

Tejano music star Bobby Pulido is a favorite of national Democrats this cycle, as he mounts an uphill battle to flip a deep-red Rio Grande Valley House seat that President Donald Trump won by 18 points in 2024.

But before he can take on Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) in the state’s 15th District, he must navigate the politics of a messy primary with emergency room doctor Ada Cuellar in a race that has turned increasingly personal — and mirrors the fight up the ticket for one of the state’s Senate seats.

The primary has emerged as somewhat of a proxy war in the high-profile Senate primary between Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who has backed Cuellar, and state Rep. James Talarico, who supports Pulido. Both contests have become emblematic of larger divides facing a party that is still going through growing pains after across-the-board losses to Republicans in 2024.

Pulido is running a race geared toward a general election with a Republican-leaning electorate. In an interview, he said he is “not trying to run a primary race,” but rather a “general campaign.” Cuellar, meanwhile, argues Pulido’s vision for the future of the party is out of touch with what’s on the ground.

Cuellar herself is facing a tough path to even reach November. Pulido’s name ID alone may be enough to get him through to the general. Even still, she has mounted repeated attacks on Pulido across the airwaves, arguing he is too conservative of a Democrat.

A few of them have landed. Pulido’s campaign has apologized for a past misogynistic comment directed toward Hillary Clinton. His opponents have also focused on past remarks in which he said he doesn’t live in Texas full time and used his friendship with a local judge to get out of a speeding ticket.

Cuellar said the strategy became necessary because party leaders in both Texas and Washington were putting their thumb on the scale for Pulido.

“The establishment has been misreading the moment,” she said in an interview. “This district wasn’t looking for a conservative Dem. They were looking for someone who is willing to fight someone with experience and someone who can actually solve problems.”

Meanwhile, Pulido’s campaign says it’s focused on the ground game, pointing to dozens of events Pulido has hosted in the district in recent weeks at taquerias and community centers. They have so far insisted that they don’t want to go negative in the campaign.

“It’s become personal one way only,” Pulido said. “I haven’t responded. We’ve been really focused on talking to voters.”

Pulido’s campaign insists he’ll cruise through the primary. An internal poll conducted by GBAO from Jan. 24-27 and shared with Blue Light News showed Pulido leading Cuellar by nearly 50 points — 68 percent to 19 percent. Thirteen percent of the 500 likely voters surveyed were undecided, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

While he says he’s not interested in responding publicly, there are still clear signs Pulido is trying to push back on Cuellar’s attacks. In his first campaign ad of the primary released late last week, Cuellar’s face is shown on the screen while Pulido says American politics has become focused on “lies that don’t lower grocery prices.”

Cuellar has navigated controversy of her own. She fired a consultant who was previously involved in Republican races as she worked to cast Pulido as too conservative for the district.

“Would I like for a primary to not be as contentious as it’s been? Yes, I wish it wasn’t,” Pulido said. “But it’s OK. It’s politics. I’m a big boy. But we’re trying to advance to face Monica De La Cruz.”

The sharp-elbowed campaign from Cuellar has worried some Pulido allies who are fearful these same types of attacks could prove potent in a general election. But Cuellar said her tactics are doing national Democrats a favor.

“We’re actually vetting the candidate,” Cuellar said. “The DCCC clearly didn’t vet him at all.”

A version of this article first appeared in Blue Light News Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to Blue Light News Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.