Latest news with #MonicaDeLaCruz
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Tejano singer Bobby Pulido is considering running for Congress
Tejano singer Bobby Pulido is taking steps toward a congressional bid in South Texas to challenge Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz. On Thursday, Pulido announced that he is launching an exploratory committee to look at 'possibly' running as a Democrat for a U.S. Congress position in 2026. The 'Desvelado' singer took to social media to clarify his reasons for his shift away from music and toward politics. 'Many of you know me from my music career, so you know I'm not a career politician, but I've always had a desire to serve,' Pulido said in a Thursday Instagram video. 'I studied political science at St. Mary's University [in San Antonio] before I decided to launch a music career. And I've chosen to leave the stage to see if I can help make the future a little bit better for our kids and our community.' The Edinburg, Texas, native took aim at De La Cruz's management of the Lone Star State's 15th Congressional District. 'Like a lot of South Texans, I'm tired of watching these folks like Monica De La Cruz go to Washington and put her party before the people,' he said. 'She's made that choice every single time.' Pulido promised he would listen to the voices of 'everyday Texans' regardless of their political affiliations or professions, before saying he is prepping to host 'ranch halls' to meet and learn from potential constituents. The 54-year-old performer will face an uphill battle if his potential campaign takes off as Texas emergency physician Dr. Ada Cuellar launched her campaign as a Democrat for the same congressional seat on July 17. Pulido said he got the idea to pursue political office from Lorena Saenz Gonzalez, the wife of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). She told Pulido she was impressed with his political knowledge and nudged him to consider running for office. Gonzalez had previously served as the 15th District's representative but announced in October 2021 that he would run in the 34th District due to the statewide redistricting done by the Texas Legislature in fall 2021. The redistricting was criticized for leading to the dilution of the Latino vote in the region and upheld as a prime example of Republican gerrymandering. In 2022, De La Cruz became the district's first Republican representative following the restricting and was reelected in 2024. President Trump also became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the majority of votes in the district in decades during the 2020 election. Speaking on the redrawing of the 15th District, Pulido was very clear on where he stands. 'I'm not happy with the redistricting. I think it's cheating, and I don't think this is what democracy should be like,' he told The Times Friday afternoon. 'But at the end of the day, you can draw the lines, but you can't draw the people.' One way he aims to focus on the people of the district is through his emphasis on immigration policy. 'Nobody wants to fix it, everybody wants to campaign on it — we absolutely need comprehensive immigration reform,' Pulido said. 'We should not have to choose between let them all in or kick them all out. People on both sides have to have the will to actually do something about it.' He also expressed concern for the struggle of immigrants amid the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids happening nationwide. 'They're ripping people from families, and then, you know, they're taking even American citizens and detaining them just based on how they look, and so it has to stop,' Pulido said. We have to do something about it, we can't continue to ignore it, because people are not pawns and that's what I feel is happening.' Another major issue for the musician-turned-hopeful-politician is the struggling economy of the Rio Grande Valley. 'I feel the economy and tariffs need to be addressed,' Pulido said. 'By all the metrics that we're seeing, even on a national scale, [the economy] is not well. Inflation is going higher, and I don't think these [current] policies are what the people expected; it's not giving us good results.' Pulido also expressed concern for the state of healthcare in the district, noting that people often prefer to go across the border for medical services. 'We have a lot of people that go get their healthcare in Mexico because it's more affordable. I'm not talking about a little difference; it's an astronomical difference,' he said. 'It's just it's very sad that people have to go to another country to get the healthcare that they can afford, and I feel like special interests have really dug their claws into politicians and they don't do anything to help the people.' The 'Se Murió de Amor' musician acknowledged that the Democratic Party has failed the district, which has led to Republican gains. 'I feel like the party's been a little bit negligent and not really addressing the values that Latinos have,' Pulido explained. 'I don't think the Republicans have done anything special. I don't think that's the case, but nonetheless, I think a lot of people down there feel like their vote was taken for granted.' He explained that he wants to run an 'issues-based campaign,' making sure not to run on a platform of 'vote for me because I'm famous.' 'We have to really go work on issues that affect everyday people's lives,' Pulido said. 'So that's what I intend to do, if the people are accepting of me being as a candidate, and we'll find out with these with these ranch halls.' In November, Pulido announced that he would be leaving music behind after a 2025 farewell tour to pursue a career in politics. 'To be quite honest, I'm enjoying the most success I've ever had. But like the saying goes: All good things must come to an end,' Pulido said last year during a press conference. 'Today, I'm announcing my farewell tour for next year. It's not a decision I have hastily made. I've given it a lot of thought. I think my life has reached a full circle.' He added, 'Growing up, public service always intrigued me. I was a Texas Boy Stater in high school and studied political sciences because it was a passion of mine. In 2026, I will be running for office in an attempt to fulfill my lifelong dream: to serve my people.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tejano singer Bobby Pulido forms exploratory committee for South Texas congressional bid
Tejano superstar Bobby Pulido is forming an exploratory committee for a congressional bid in South Texas as he considers challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg. Pulido, a Democrat and Edinburg native, is a titan of the music genre that has its roots in South Texas. Thirty years after the release of his debut album, he plans to both retire from music and make a decision about pivoting to politics by the end of the year. Under the current map, De La Cruz is the only Texas Republican that Democrats are targeting in 2026. But the district boundaries could change in the coming weeks as the Texas Legislature pursues a new round of redistricting in the overtime special session that began Monday. Republicans are likely to redraw lines in the region to attempt to capture more seats in neighboring Democratic districts, changes that could affect the shape of De La Cruz's seat. If Pulido runs, he'll contend with a significant rightward shift among Latino voters in South Texas. Spanning from Hidalgo County along the border to Guadalupe County on the edge of San Antonio, Texas' 15th Congressional District elected De La Cruz, its first Republican representative, in 2022. Her margin of victory swelled from 8 percentage points that year to 14 in 2024, and both President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz won the district by over 10 points. As Democrats search for answers in South Texas after a disastrous showing in 2024, Pulido, a well-known figure in the region, thinks he could help depolarize the electorate and win back some of the recent GOP converts. 'I'm proud to be from the [Rio Grande Valley],' he said. 'And I'm proud to say that in the RGV, people vote for the person, not the party.' Pulido believes Democrats can improve their standing across the region by focusing on economic issues and leaning into religion. As industries across South Texas contend with tariffs, labor shortages and immigration raids, Pulido said he plans to discuss economic solutions — including changes to immigration policy — with voters as he considers whether to run. Latinos in the region are culturally conservative, he added, but the right Democrat could win them over. 'The further left we run on certain things, certain Latino voters are not in agreement with it — that's just a fact,' Pulido said. 'But I still believe that as a Democratic Party, we're a big tent, and we'll accept all kinds of people. I also think that you can have the right messengers.' Pulido plans to use the rest of the year to decide if he is the right candidate to take on De La Cruz. He's setting up 'ranch halls' beginning in August — a twist on traditional town halls — in which he will host backyard barbecues featuring both music and policy discussion. If he runs, he'll face a competitive primary. Ada Cuellar, an emergency physician in Harlingen, has already launched a bid. Pulido will have powerful allies if he launches a campaign. He says he was not recruited by anyone within the Democratic Party, but has had conversations with a number of current and former Latino Democrats in Congress, including Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, and former Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville. Pulido said he got the idea to run from Rep. Vicente Gonzalez's wife, Lorena. While spending a day on the campaign trail with Gonzalez, a moderate McAllen Democrat in the neighboring 34th Congressional District, Pulido said Lorena was impressed with his knowledge of politics and said he should consider running. Once the idea was planted, Pulido, who has always intentionally kept his politics to himself onstage, decided he was open to discussing it further. 'I don't consider myself an overly partisan person,' he said. 'I have opinions on who we are and what we need as representation.' The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmaker proposes beefing up temporary worker program to ease farm labor shortages
McALLEN — U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz filed legislation Monday that would revamp a temporary worker program to help ease farm labor shortages largely provoked by the Trump administration's ramped-up immigration raids targeting undocumented workers. De La Cruz, a Republican from Edinburg, introduced the Bracero Program 2.0 Act on Monday, a bill that makes changes to a temporary visa program for agriculture workers, known as H-2A visas. The proposal would streamline the application process for employers and launch a regional pilot program that would allow workers to change jobs within a state without having to reapply for a visa. "This will provide solutions desperately needed for hard-working immigrants. With workforce shortages challenging our communities, the Bracero Program 2.0 will bring stability and certainty for South Texas," De La Cruz said in a statement. However, the program would also lower wages for H-2A workers in Texas. All H-2A workers would have to be paid a wage that matches the minimum wage of the state they're employed in, plus $2 per hour. In Texas, with a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, that would be lower than the current rate paid to H-2A workers, which is $15.79 an hour. Farmworkers have been among those targeted by immigration enforcement officials since the Trump administration intensified deportation efforts. Following raids in California last month, farmers reported that between 30% to 60% of their workers stopped showing up to work amid fears they could be arrested next. Those fears are also pertinent in Hidalgo County — the majority of which lies in De La Cruz's district — where about 80% of workers are undocumented, according to a report by the National Center for Farmworker Health. Only two workers surveyed in the report had an H-2A visa. Amid rising concerns within the agricultural industry, President Donald Trump expressed support for reforming the H-2A program and announced a plan to streamline the issuance of temporary worker visas. De La Cruz's bill would create an online portal for agriculture employers to post job openings or file petitions to bring in temporary workers; extend H-2A visa worker contracts from 10 months to a year; and expand the program to include greenhouses and indoor farms as qualified employers. It would also launch a six-year pilot program allowing workers to freely move between jobs within the same state while their visa lasts. A worker under this program would be known as a portable H-2A worker. If their job ends, they would have 60 days to find another one with a registered agriculture employer or be required to leave the country. The law would require that no more than 10,000 portable H-2A visas are active at any given time. However, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security could further limit the number of visas if there aren't enough registered agriculture employers or job openings. Laramie Adams, government affairs director for the Texas Farm Bureau, said he supported a more streamlined application, saying the current process of matching up with H-2A workers is cumbersome. Employers have to submit paper applications and supporting documents. If a state or federal agency requires more information from an employer, the agencies often mail their requests rather than sending an email, leading to a lengthy back-and-forth, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And employers who need workers at different parts of a season must go through the entire process again. "The main thing that we advocate for is a strong, legal agriculture workforce, and it's been hard to navigate the current H-2A process to ensure that we have a reliable workforce," Adams said. "At the same time, we have a lot more Texans who are using the program because it's their only avenue to be able to get seasonal agricultural workers." The bill is named after a temporary labor program between the U.S. and Mexico that ran from 1942 until 1964. The Bracero program — meaning "arm man" or manual laborer in Spanish — was meant to provide a legal way to temporarily hire Mexican migrant farmworkers along the southern border. "For decades, the Bracero Program created new opportunities for millions and provided critical support for Texas agriculture," De La Cruz said in a statement. The program ended because of tensions with the farm labor unions, which accused agriculture employers of using bracero workers as cheap labor that put U.S. workers at a disadvantage, according to Mayra Avila, a lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She said labor shortages in the agriculture sector have existed for years, but recent immigration arrests targeting immigrant farmworkers have magnified the need for labor. But Avila questioned whether changes like those proposed in De La Cruz's bill would address the shortages, noting that the undocumented workers being arrested are not eligible for H-2A visas. "You have to have a clean record," Avila said. Lawmakers have repeatedly tried to reform the H-2A program over the years, including one attempt in 2021 that would have created a path to legal status for undocumented farmworkers. De La Cruz's bill contains no such provision. Though it's unclear whether De La Cruz's bill will garner strong support, the legislation signals a desire among Republicans to establish a framework to allow more migrant farmworkers to work in the country legally. "The reality is that you're getting rid of a lot of farmworker laborers, and farm work is very hard work," Avila said. She said the U.S. relies too heavily on farmworkers and that it would be difficult to fill those jobs with U.S. citizens. "As a U.S. citizen, you would rather get a job at McDonald's with air conditioning, or a Walmart with air conditioning, than go work in the fields where, in Texas, it's 90 degrees," she said. "Why would you do this to yourself? It's back-breaking." Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. Disclosure: Texas Farm Bureau has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Shape the future of Texas at the 15th annual , happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin! We bring together Texas' most inspiring thinkers, leaders and innovators to discuss the issues that matter to you. Get tickets now and join us this November. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. : An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Bracero 2.0 bill would raise wages for H-2A visa holders. The program would lower wages for participants in Texas. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harlingen doctor becomes first Democrat to enter race for South Texas congressional seat
Ada Cuellar, a Harlingen-based emergency physician, launched her campaign for Texas' 15th Congressional District on Thursday, becoming the first Democrat to run for the South Texas seat that her party is targeting in the 2026 midterms. Anchored in Hidalgo County along the border and running north to the edge of San Antonio, the district — represented by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg — has been emblematic of Democrats' recent struggles throughout the Rio Grande Valley and with Latino voters generally. De La Cruz first won office in 2022, becoming the first Republican to represent the district after it was redrawn to favor Republicans. The seat has been in Democrats' crosshairs ever since. But South Texas was the epicenter of a national rightward shift in 2024 among Latinos, who make up about three-quarters of the 15th District's eligible voting-age population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. President Donald Trump was the first Republican to win Hidalgo County in decades, improving from a 28% vote share in 2016 to 51% last year. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will likely face an uphill battle. De La Cruz won reelection by 14 points in 2024, despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other national groups targeting it as a potential pickup. The district leans Republican by a 7-point margin, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index. While Cuellar — who has no relation to Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo — is the first candidate to officially announce, Tejano music star Bobby Pulido has also been floated as a potential candidate. Pulido said he planned to enter politics in 2026, and he has been heavily recruited by Democrats, according to Politico. Cuellar lives outside the district boundary, in the district of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. She is from Weslaco and went to college in Edinburg. Members of Congress do not have to live in the district they represent, though residing outside the boundaries can open candidates to attacks from their opponents. De La Cruz is the only Texas Republican the DCCC currently lists among its 2026 targets. But the spectre of redistricting, which could put more seats in play and upend the state's political map, is hanging over both parties. South Texas is a key area where Republican map-drawers will likely try to draw friendlier seats by targeting De La Cruz's Democratic neighbors, meaning the contours of the 15th District could change. Under any new map, the district's population is likely to remain overwhelmingly Hispanic — meaning Democrats will need to reverse their recent slide to have any chance of recapturing the seat. Cuellar, a 43-year-old Rio Grande Valley native, believes Latino voters, in particular, were looking for change last cycle as they felt the bite of high costs fueled by inflation. She believes Democrats can position themselves as the party of change in 2026, especially on issues like health care, after Republicans including De La Cruz voted for Medicaid cuts as part of Trump's recently enacted megabill. 'People are frustrated with health care costs, inflation, the economy, how difficult it is to succeed,' Cuellar said. 'And I think a lot of frustrations were directed towards the Democratic Party.' Democrats flipped the U.S. House in 2018 — including through pickups in Texas — largely by talking about Republicans' efforts to quash the Affordable Care Act. Democrats hope to follow a similar playbook in 2026 by homing in on the Medicaid and ACA cuts in the megabill. Groups have been actively recruiting physicians like Cuellar to run for office as part of that pitch. During her campaign, Cuellar said she also plans to discuss the need for a county hospital and more doctors in the district, along with plans to make health care more affordable. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Harlingen doctor enters South Texas congressional race as Democrat Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congress celebrates impactful teachers: 'We certainly do appreciate them'
Lawmakers are celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week 2025 by paying tribute to the educators who helped them ascend to Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said his wife and mother-in-law, who were both educators, are his favorite teachers. Johnson added that his classroom teachers along the way positively influenced the "trajectory" of his life. "I credit so many of those people, in many ways, for being in the position I'm in now," Johnson told ABC News. "Teachers are one of the most underpaid professions, so we certainly do appreciate them," he said. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, had several teachers who greatly impacted her life, but she told ABC News that it was her high school music teacher who recognized her talents. "Not so much musical talent, but he saw the opportunity to sharpen my leadership skills and he honed in on that and allowed me to grow," De La Cruz said. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who has worked in the banking, finance and insurance industries, said his high school math teachers helped challenge him. "That was really the building blocks for me moving on to finance and college," Donalds said. "I always appreciate them." Freshman Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., a new member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said he's a "big fan" of teachers. He brought a teacher from his district in Washington to President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress because he said educators inspire "the next generation." Baumgartner, who comes from a family of educators, said he doesn't believe he would be where he is today without teachers. "I had nuns that taught me -- I went to a little Catholic school in a small rural community -- and I remember them making us do cursive [handwriting], which I hated, but it was kind of that discipline, that inspiration and just that love of learning that you developed, so it was great," Baumgartner told ABC News. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., praised the nation's teachers and said "the United States of America has to continue to celebrate and lift up our public schools, our educators and our capacity to make sure that people receive a first-rate education so that they have a pathway into the American dream." Several members of Jeffries' caucus are decorated educators, including Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., the 2016 National Teacher of the Year. Hayes launched the Congressional Teacher Caucus to start Teacher Appreciation Week 2025. She said the caucus aims to provide a dedicated platform for educators serving in Congress to find commonsense solutions to addressing the educational issues of today, according to a release from Hayes' office. But Hayes opposes the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. She is squarely focused on defending public educators from the threats to winnow down the agency and launched the caucus in response to them. "I believe deeply in public education, and I'll always advocate not only for students but for the profession," Hayes previously told ABC News. In the upper chamber, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a former teacher, launched the "Save Our Schools" campaign to investigate attempts to dismantle the Department of Education. "The federal government has invested in our public schools," Warren said last month in an exclusive interview with ABC News. "Taking that away from our kids so that a handful of billionaires can be even richer is just plain ugly, and I will fight it with everything I've got." Warren suggested she is working with students, teachers, parents and unions to "sound the alarm" nationwide. Prior to politics, Warren was inspired by her second grade teacher to join the education ranks. "Whenever someone asked about my future, I would stand a little taller and say, 'I'm going to be a teacher,'" Warren recalled. "It guided my entire life." Dismantling and defunding teacher preparation programs will ultimately hurt the profession, according to Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. Horsford credited his high school teacher Mr. Ware for motivating him to become the first person in his family to attain higher education. "He said he saw something in me and that I needed to believe in myself," Horsford told ABC News. "Now, to be here in Congress, and achieve some of the things that I have been able to achieve, I wouldn't have been able to do that without that education, that investment in myself, by getting my college degree," he said. Congress celebrates impactful teachers: 'We certainly do appreciate them' originally appeared on
