McALLEN, Texas — Republican Monica De La Cruz is the winner in Texas' 15th Congressional District race, NBC News projects, defeating Democrat Michelle Vallejo in an open South Texas district that had once been solidly blue.
Her win means Republicans flipped a traditionally Democratic seat in the predominantly Latino Rio Grande Valley. Cruz is the first Hispanic woman elected to represent the district.
"Praise God!" De La Cruz said amid cheers at the Radisson Hotel McAllen, where about 200 to 300 supporters had gathered, anxiously waiting for election results.
"My win is not just a win for Republicans. It is a win for all South Texas," De La Cruz said.
She said later in her speech, "Tonight is a victory for every woman that has to go to Mexico for a mammogram because after 119 years of one party's control we still have entire counties here without a doctor."
Jose Lucio, 24, who was in attendance, had worked as an intern for De La Cruz in her first campaign for the district in 2020, which she lost by a narrow margin. The district was later redrawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature to favor Republicans.
Lucio said he remembers driving around the district in 2020 and being shocked to see a De La Cruz campaign sign that said “conservative Republican,” which was not a common sight in the Rio Grande Valley at the time.
“It goes to show change can happen,” Lucio said.
De La Cruz outraised Vallejo, a progressive, by $4.2 million to $1.9 million, according to the campaign finance tracking site Open Secrets. Democrats chose not to spend on television ads late in the race.
De La Cruz, a businesswoman, was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. She has said she wants to finish what Trump started on the border wall and has called for more funding for border and law enforcement.
De La Cruz said she was running against socialism, which she defined as government overreach, including government handouts that “pay for things for people.” Her remarks were the focus of attention, because she had received thousands of dollars in government-funded pandemic relief for her businesses.
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