In Texas, a Tex-Mex singer wants to make the Democratic voice resonate in the midterms

In 2022, Bobby Pulido won his first Latino Grammy while Democrats lost a seat in South Texas. Today, it is this Tex-Mex singer who is trying to win him back during the American mid-term elections.

Born in the Rio Grande Valley, the 53-year-old artist, with a cowboy look, achieved success in 1995 with his song Desvelado. The “Golden Boy” of Tex-Mex music, who combines Mexican and country traditions, is running as a Democrat in the 15th district of Texas, which borders Mexico and where more than 80% of the population is Latino.

In 2022, Republican Monica De La Cruz won this seat from the Democrats and retained it in 2024. She is seeking a third term. In a context of high fuel prices and the anti-immigration offensive led by the Trump administration, polls show Bobby Pulido neck and neck with his rival, or even slightly in the lead.

“Let's send a clear message: stop picking on us. We are good people in the Rio Grande Valley. It's personal. My wife is Mexican,” he said on Sunday during a meeting where he sang in front of several thousand people with the Mexican group Los Tigres del Norte.

He affirms that it is possible to respond to the challenges of immigration “without destroying families”. “We need immigration reform and a secure border. We must support our border police, they are good people. But if we do not resolve the problem, our economy will continue to suffer,” he defends.

Joe Jimenez voted for Monica De La Cruz but says he will support Bobby Pulido this time. “He will do a good job not because he is a singer, but because he is from here, and he has experienced the same things as us,” he believes this forty-year-old.