In one of the most competitive races on the U.S. House map this year, both Democrats and Republicans are headed to a May 26 runoff.
The new 35th Congressional District is ground zero in the Trump administration’s effort to squeeze more Republican lawmakers out of Texas in 2026, turning a solidly blue Austin-to-San Antonio district into a potential GOP pickup on San Antonio’s Southeast side.
The GOP-led legislature drew the district for state Rep. John Lujan (R-San Antonio), 63, who flipped a blue Texas House district that’s entirely within TX35’s boundaries.
But at the last minute, his dominance in an 11-way Republican primary was upended by President Donald Trump endorsing a different candidate, Carlos De La Cruz, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran whose sister is U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Edinburg).
“We’ve had multiple conversations with the White House and D.C. leadership, [and] we laid out our case … [that] I was the one to be able to get us past a general election against whoever the Democrat is,” De La Cruz said in an interview Tuesday. “I don’t like to say anything disparaging about my my potential opponents, but the bottom line is, they put us side by side, and they made the decision that they made.”
De La Cruz took 26.8% in the GOP primary, to Lujan’s 32.98%.
Gathered with family at his campaign headquarters on Tuesday, Lujan said he still believes he’s the better candidate.
“I have a tough race. It’s a new district,” he told the Report. “I’m the first and only Republican to ever win this [state House] seat in the history of Texas. And then I won the reelection, which was even tougher. And then now this new district, so I’m used to being in tough races.”
An upset in the Democratic primary?
Democrats originally wrote off this district, which under new boundaries would have supported Trump by more than 10 percentage points in 2024.
One of their largest PACs published a report saying it’s out of reach for this election cycle, and efforts to recruit a high-profile candidate fell short.
But House Democrats’ campaign arm has since named the race a top battleground for 2026, and national party leaders are excited about longtime Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Garcia, who got to attend a recent Democratic National Committee fundraiser as a guest of DNC Chair Ken Martin.
When the final votes were counted, however, Garcia was headed to a runoff in May.
Maureen Galindo, a family, marriage and sex therapist who ran unsuccessfully for a San Antonio City Council seat in 2025, was in first place with 29.2% of the vote. Garcia had 27.02%.
Despite raising little money, Galindo waged a spirited campaign after developers planned to raze her apartment complex to build a Minor League Baseball stadium.
“This runoff is simple,” she said in a statement Tuesday night. “Do we send a Democrat to Congress who understands and responds to the needs of the people of District 35? Or one who was bought to puppet a corporate-owned America?”
Leading up to Tuesday, a number of local Democratic groups had rallied behind Marine Corps veteran and former federal employee John Lira, who was taking 20.76% in a four-way race.
In an interview at his watch party at the Deco Ballroom, Lira credited Galindo for getting her message out in an overall low-information election.
“She’s basically been a one-person show with a social media following, and seems to be surging,” Lira said as the early results were coming in. “We’ll see where the final dust settles. But she’s over-performed so far. So that’s significant.”
Leaders at the Blue Dog Action PAC, which is helping Garcia, have already said they plan to keep spending to get him through the runoff.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Garcia said that his campaign is generating plenty of grassroots support, in addition to the outside groups that have put their confidence in him.
“We’ve gained both local and national endorsements because people believe in our campaign. We need the right candidate who can build a growing coalition, raise money and lead Democrats to victory this November,” Garcia said. “We’re not slowing down — we’re running through the finish line and we’re gonna show Republicans what South Texas is made of.”
A tough November race
Much of the confusion in this race stems from district boundaries confirmed at the last minute, leaving 43% of Bexar County residents a new district this year. The district also includes Karnes, Guadalupe and Wilson counties as well.
“None of these candidates are very well-known by the primary electorate,” said Phil Gardner, a senior adviser at Blue Dog Action PAC, which ran TV ads for Garcia in the Democratic primary. “That can lead to all sorts of almost random outcomes.”
On Tuesday De La Cruz acknowledged that his campaign was also still coming together at the last minute, and that he hadn’t had much time to introduce himself to voters.
The Trump endorsement came the day before early voting started, and he was still putting signs up as the first votes were being cast.
Despite having a sister in Congress, De La Cruz said he didn’t have much of a political background, nor does he have a long history with local party leaders. He opened a boxing gym in San Antonio in 2018, but has since sold it.
“My wife and I are very fortunate to be in a position where I don’t have to work, but I do it because I want to,” De La Cruz told the Report. “I was actually working for the Defense Health Agency for a little while, doing some contract work on their security side of the house, and so I was at Fort Sam, and now here I am.”
Given the choice between him and Lujan, who flipped a tough state House district, Democrats are eager to run against the newcomer.
“Lujan flipped a seat that Biden won, he has some history of crossover appeal … However, Donald Trump has endorsed Monica De La Cruz’s brother,” said Gardner. “I’m not quite sure how that came to be …. [but] I think we would prefer to have De La Cruz be the Republican nominee.”
