Bobby Pulido’s bid for Congress is turning a final concert in his Texas hometown into a test of whether Democrats can win back culturally conservative Latino voters in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Tejano singer performed to a packed arena in Edinburg on Saturday night, where fans in red campaign hats watched him take the stage in leather and a black cowboy hat. The event, billed as “La Ultima Desvelada”, marked what Pulido said would be his final concert in the city after three decades as a musician.
Pulido, who has won multiple Latin Grammys, is challenging Republican representative Monica De La Cruz in Texas’s 15th Congressional District. With early voting due to begin on Monday, the race is being closely watched as one of the country’s most competitive contests.
The district has moved steadily away from the Democrats over the past decade. Donald Trump won it by 18 points in 2024, while Republicans redrew its boundaries last year. De La Cruz secured the seat for the party in 2022.
Polling has left Pulido and De La Cruz in a dead heat, according to the campaign’s assessment with just over two weeks remaining. A Pulido victory could give Democrats a seat that may help determine control of the House, while providing the party with a prominent voice in a region where its support has weakened.
“Mexican-American men haven’t really felt like they have a home,” Pulido said. “It almost feels like the Latino man wants to be that provider, and he can’t fulfill that right now.”
His campaign has focused on the cost of living, opposition to Donald Trump’s tariffs, the war with Iran and the influence of large corporations in political campaigns. But Pulido has also embraced the social conservatism that remains influential in South Texas, describing himself as “chapado a la antigua” – old-school or traditional.
“Those traditions of how [Latino men] were raised are going away, and I think there’s a lot of frustration,” he said. “They want somebody to talk to them in the language of, ‘Let me go out there and work, right? So I can provide for my family.’”
Bobby Pulido’s Texas campaign tests Democratic appeal
Pulido’s appeal rests heavily on his connection to the area. He was born in Edinburg, while his father, Roberto Pulido, is also a well-known Tejano singer and joined him on stage during the concert. His uncle is a former county judge, and Pulido’s 1990s hits became a defining soundtrack for many people across the Rio Grande Valley.
His supporters included people who arrived on horseback from nearby roads, reflecting the singer’s unusual level of recognition in the district. Democrats have made him one of their leading recruits, backing his campaign through organisations including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Blue Dog-aligned group The Bench.
Democratic strategists also see Pulido as a possible national surrogate. Ruben Gallego, the Democratic senator from Arizona, said the party had lacked a figure who combined a moderate political outlook with major popular appeal.
“What we haven’t had is someone like Bobby Pulido, who’s going to come from the moderate wing of the party, that is going to be a rock star,” Mr Gallego said.
Pulido said the party needed to reach beyond its progressive strongholds and speak to voters in the political centre. “We’re not going to agree on everything,” he said, adding that Democratic policies had to “resonate inside the middle of the heartland”.
The stakes extend beyond the congressional race. Democrats are looking to rebuild support among Latino voters before the 2028 presidential contest, while Mexican-American voters could prove important in early-voting states including New Mexico and Nevada.
The Rio Grande Valley was once regarded as reliably Democratic, but its working-class voters have increasingly responded to Republican economic populism and socially conservative positions. Pulido has argued that Democrats failed to offer a convincing economic message in 2024 and did not adequately address concerns about the border.
“Bobby’s politics are different from the way that we have branded ourselves nationally as a party, but I think that’s a good thing,” said Melissa Morales of Somos PAC, which has invested millions of dollars in the race.
Pulido’s campaign has nevertheless faced controversy. He has been criticised over crude social media posts about women and gay people, and apologised for remarks that caused offence.
His Republican opponent has also attacked his past association with Frankie Caballero, a former bandmate who was convicted as a child sex offender in 2014 and later returned to performing with Pulido. Pulido said he had not known about Caballero’s history while the musician was working as a contractor for the band and that no background check had been carried out.
De La Cruz’s campaign has made the association a central line of attack. Pulido has given differing accounts of what he knew about the case, but said: “I apologize for everything that I’ve ever joked about that offended anybody. But I can’t continue to revisit every single one.”
The allegations did not appear to have changed the views of voters attending Saturday’s concert. Joe Barrera, an independent musician from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo area, said he had heard the claims but was still undecided between Pulido and De La Cruz.
“It’s unfortunate, but I’m not gonna hold it against Bobby,” Mr Barrera said, adding that he believed “it’s time for a change”.
For others at the arena, the economy and immigration were more pressing concerns. Frank Trevino, a Democrat from Edinburg, said the cost of living had become “re pe caro” – extremely expensive. Felix Sandoval, another local voter, said he had known Pulido’s mother and remembered the singer as a child.
Saturday’s concert lasted almost two hours and revisited songs from Pulido’s 30-year career. Confetti fell at the end of the performance, which became a talking point across Edinburg, from nearby hotels to a late-night stop at Whataburger.
“Of course I’m emotional, but I’m leaving with no regrets,” Pulido told the crowd. He is also in contention for another Latin Grammy this year.
Although his campaign has used “Make Quinceñeras Great Again” hats as a play on Trump’s signature slogan, Pulido rejects comparisons with the former president, whom he described as “full of shit”.
His closing message is that the contest is not about party loyalty but about representing the place where he grew up.
“I want to give something back to the place that’s given me so much,” Pulido said. “And if you give me the honor of representing you in Congress, I give you my word that I’ll never forget where I came from.”
