US House · TX-28

Federal

Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar defends a district that leans Republican under the 2025 map, yet Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both rate it Lean Democratic after Trump's December 2025 pardon ended the federal bribery case against him. His challenger is Tano Tijerina, a Democrat-turned-Republican Webb County judge who won the GOP primary decisively.

Incumbent: Henry Cuellar(D)

Primary, Mar 3, 2026

Represents Laredo and South Texas in Congress, one of the most competitive House seats in Texas and a national bellwether for Latino voter alignment.

US House · TX-28

Primary Results

Called

Republican Primary

Tano Tijerina wins

Tano Tijerina

74.4%

Early returns

Eileen Day

25.6%

Early returns

Democratic Primary

Henry Cuellar wins

Henry Cuellar(i)

58.1%

39,133 votes

Ricardo Villarreal

37.0%

24,908 votes

Andrew Vantine

5.0%

3,360 votes

Updated Mar 15, 7:01 PM CT·TX SOS·Called by AP

November General Election

Nov 3, 2026

Rated Lean DemocraticCook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball

Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both rate this Lean Democratic after Trump's December 2025 pardon of Henry Cuellar removed the bribery prosecution hanging over his reelection. Inside Elections rates it Tilt Democratic, seeing Cuellar as only narrowly favored in a district Trump won by 10 points under the new map.

Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball