Source: Politics<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 and mirrors the fight up the ticket for one of the state\u2019s Senate seats.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Pulido is running a race geared toward a general election with a Republican-leaning electorate. In an interview, he said he is \u201cnot trying to run a primary race,\u201d but rather a \u201cgeneral campaign.\u201d Cuellar, meanwhile, argues Pulido\u2019s vision for the future of the party is out of touch with what\u2019s on the ground.<\/p>\n
Cuellar herself is facing a tough path to even reach November. Pulido\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
A few of them have landed. Pulido\u2019s campaign has apologized for a past misogynistic comment directed toward Hillary Clinton<\/a>. His opponents have also focused on past remarks in which he said he doesn\u2019t live in Texas full time<\/a> and used his friendship with a local judge<\/a> to get out of a speeding ticket.<\/p>\n Cuellar said the strategy became necessary because party leaders in both Texas and Washington were putting their thumb on the scale for Pulido.<\/p>\n \u201cThe establishment has been misreading the moment,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Pulido\u2019s campaign says it\u2019s 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\u2019t want to go negative in the campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s become personal one way only,\u201d Pulido said. \u201cI haven\u2019t responded. We\u2019ve been really focused on talking to voters.\u201d<\/p>\n Pulido\u2019s campaign insists he\u2019ll cruise through the primary. An internal poll conducted by GBAO from Jan. 24-27 and shared with POLITICO showed Pulido leading Cuellar by nearly 50 points \u2014 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.<\/p>\n While he says he\u2019s not interested in responding publicly, there are still clear signs Pulido is trying to push back on Cuellar\u2019s attacks. In his first campaign ad of the primary<\/a> released late last week, Cuellar\u2019s face is shown on the screen while Pulido says American politics has become focused on \u201clies that don\u2019t lower grocery prices.\u201d<\/p>\n