Meet Rep-elect Monica De La Cruz: First-ever GOP woman to represent Texas border district

Monica De La Cruz, 48, was elected by an 8.5 percent margin to become the first woman and Republican to represent Texas’ 15th congressional district since the establishment of the southern border district in the 1902 election cycle .

The incoming representative, who is still recovering from a broken ankle due to a gym injury, will serve as one of at least 45 Latina and Latina legislators in the record-breaking 118th Congress.

The single mother of two and granddaughter of Mexican immigrants spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com to discuss her hopes of bringing her small business ownership experience and passion for securing the southern border to Congress next month.

LIFE BEFORE THE PUBLIC OFFICE

De La Cruz grew up in and still resides in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, which is the most popular crossing destination for migrants seeking asylum in the US.

He graduated from James Pace Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The congresswoman-elect has more than two decades of insurance and banking experience and is a small business owner.

Because of his background in business and banking, De La Cruz hopes to serve on the Financial Services Committee when he receives panel assignments when Republicans win a majority in the House next month.

Other committees that pique his interest are the Agriculture Committee because of the large ranching community in Texas 15 and the Homeland Security Committee so he can help give a voice to Border Patrol agents whom he calls neighbors.

De La Cruz was married twice and has two children: daughter Sophia, 15, and son Daniel, 16.

FAILED BID OF CONGRESS 2020

In the 2020 election, De La Cruz decided to run for the House with no political background or experience.

He lost his first attempt to represent Texas’ 15th congressional district against the Democratic congressman at the time, Vicente González. He has now served three terms in the district.

Remarkably, De La Cruz lost by just 2.9 percentage points as a Republican and political newcomer in a district that has always elected Democrats to represent the voters in the US House of Representatives.

“In 2020, I had no political background, my family was not in politics,” De La Cruz explained. “I was a hardworking, small business owner, single mom who focused on those two areas: my business, I put food on the table, and my family.”

“So in 2020 we really made great strides to start getting our name out there,” he added.

Now, De La Cruz will serve with González in the 118th Congress, something the Democratic lawmaker called “tragic,” but the representative-elect said she hopes they can have productive bipartisan discussions for the betterment of Texas and the nation.

2022 HOUSE ELECTIONS

Congressional lines were redrawn at Texas 15 to sway the slightly more conservative district after the 2020 census.

The 15th congressional district is an oblong area that stretches from the eastern suburbs of San Antonio, Texas, to almost the southern tip of the state. There is only one other district, Texas 34, which encompasses the entire southern tip of the border with Mexico.

Rep. Gonzalez fled Texas’ 15th congressional district to run in the 2022 midterm elections in the 34th district, which leaned significantly more Democratic with the redrawn lines. Republican Mayra Flores, who won a special election in 2021 to become the first Mexican-born female representative in the House, was defeated by González.

De La Cruz chose to stay in the 15th district and made his second run for the House in the 2022 midterms after district lines swayed the Republican lean by just 2 percent. Her victory over Democrat Michelle Vallejo was by 8.5 percentage points.

“I’m sure if the district hadn’t been redrawn we would still have gained significantly,” De La Cruz told DailyMail.com.

The congresswoman-elect noted that her margin of victory was outside of the small clout that redistricting created for the Republican Party.

Ahead of the midterms, he also won the once-coveted endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his second run.

SOUTHERN BORDER PRIORITIES

De La Cruz spoke at length about growing up and living among Border Patrol agents in his community and how that influenced his decision to run for public office.

Around the 2019-2020 time frame, De La Cruz really started to take notice of the media coverage and the Democratic perspective towards the massive border crisis that is emerging and said it is one of the main reasons why he wanted to run for Congress first.

“When I saw the unfair portrayal of our Customs and Border Patrol agents by the Democratic Party, seeing how they were portrayed on television and nationally really concerned me,” he said.

“Here in my district, Texas 15, we house one of the largest sectors of Border Patrol in the entire nation,” added De La Cruz. “So down here, the Customs and Border Patrol agents, they are our friends, they are our family, they are our neighbors. These are good men and women that we have barbecues with, attend Quinceañeras with.’

“I really felt that the way they were being portrayed and their portrayal work on a national scale was very daunting. And these are the people who are on the front lines of our national border and protecting us.’

De La Cruz is highly critical of the Biden administration’s immigration and border policies, calling its latest proposals a “joke.”