In the fight for control of the U.S. House this fall, Democrats are targeting two San Antonio-area districts that are considered quite red.
Texas’ 35th Congressional District was bright blue before Republicans redrew it this summer to create a GOP pickup opportunity on San Antonio’s Southeast side.
Now it’s a new seat that would have supported President Donald Trump by more than 10 percentage points under its new boundaries and neither party will know who their nominee for November is until after the May 26 primary runoffs.
Another surprising opportunity, Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, hasn’t been on Democrats’ target map since redistricting added Republican voters after the 2020 Census.
Texas redistricting map: How the GOP could increase its stronghold
It supported Trump by nearly 15 percentage points in 2024, but U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) just resigned from the seat, and Democrats are feeling optimistic about their chances against the new Republican nominee Brandon Herrera.
The 30-year-old gun content creator’s social media posts range from entertaining to shocking, and Democrats hope they can capitalize on it in a November race against child welfare attorney Katy Padilla Stout.
“Brandon Herrera’s nomination is a gift to Democrats and a full-blown crisis for Republican leadership,” said Katarina Flicker, a spokeswoman for the pro-Democrat House Majority PAC. “His candidacy puts TX-23 firmly on the House battlefield.”
Democrats spending big
Nationwide, Democrats only need to flip a handful of seats to upend a narrow GOP House majority.
But they believe a wave election could be coming, and are now spending in quite a few races so uphill that party leaders typically wouldn’t include them in a target list like House Majority PAC is doing.
The pro-Democrat PAC currently has 48 congressional targets nationwide, including districts in Alaska, Montana, Florida and Tennessee that Trump carried by more than 10 percentage points.
They’re also on offense in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Monica De La Cruz (R-Edinburg) is up against Democrat Bobby Pulido, the famous Tejano signer. De La Cruz’s district supported Trump by nearly 18 percentage points under its new boundaries.
This week the House Majority PAC laid down a total of $272 million in television and digital advertising reservations for the fall.
About $6.1 million of that is in San Antonio for TX23 and TX35, where the group’s leaders believe they can capitalize on Hispanic voters leaving the GOP.
Meanwhile the pro-Republican Congressional Leadership Fund has reserved $153 million in ads for its targets nationwide, none of which went to media markets near San Antonio.
The PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the San Antonio-area races.
Republicans on offense elsewhere in South Texas
As it stands, Republicans just reconfigured San Antonio’s congressional districts to pick up seats in this area in 2026 — not lose them.
They still consider both TX35 and TX23 safely in their column, and as a result, haven’t made them top priorities for spending this November.
New maps could make San Antonio’s congressional delegation more red than blue
Instead, when both parties’ national super PACs laid out their initial ad reservations this week, the GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund chose to target two incumbent Democrats whose districts are further south.
The PAC is planning to spend money in TX28, represented by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), and TX34, represented by U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-McAllen).
Such investments come as Republicans have tried to knock off Cuellar in the past and failed, but this year redrew his district to remove the Bexar County parts, ostensibly making it easier for his Republican opponent, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina.
After redistricting, 43% of Bexar County residents are in a new congressional district
Gonzalez, meanwhile, faces a challenge from a former prosecutor, Republican Eric Flores, who has Trump’s support.
Democrats’ congressional super PAC reserved ad time in both districts to help defend Cuellar and Gonzalez.
