Texas's 15th congressional district explained

State:	Texas
District Number:	15
Image Name:	Texas US Congressional District 15 (since 2021).tif
Image Width:	400
Image Caption:	Texas's 15th congressional district - since January 3, 2023
Representative:	Monica De La Cruz
Party:	Republican
Residence:	Edinburg
Distribution Ref:	^[1]
Percent Urban:	86.67
Percent Rural:	13.33
Population:	799,844^[2]
Population Year:	2023
Median Income:	$59,068^[3]
Percent White:	15.3
Percent Black:	1.0
Percent Asian:	1.1
Percent More Than One Race:	0.8
Percent Hispanic:	81.4
Percent Other Race:	0.4
Cpvi:	R+1^[4]

Texas's 15th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes a thin section of the far south of the state of Texas. The district's current Representative is Republican Monica De La Cruz. Elected in 2022, De La Cruz is the first Republican and woman to represent the district.

Currently, the 15th Congressional District composes of a narrow strip of land running from western Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley northwards to eastern Guadalupe County, to the east of San Antonio. The district includes the entirety of Brooks, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Karnes, and Wilson counties between Hidalgo and Guadalupe counties.

The district has generally given its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; only eight people, seven Democrats and one Republican, have ever represented it. The district's best-known Representative was John Nance Garner, who represented the district from its creation in 1903 until 1933, and was Speaker of the House from 1931 to 1933. He ran with Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 and 1936 presidential campaigns, and was elected Vice President of the United States, serving from 1933 to 1941. The district was one of the first Latino-majority districts in the country, and has been represented by Latino congressmen since 1965.

Notably, this district narrowly voted more Republican in the House elections than the nation as a whole in 2020. Vincente Gonzalez won by 2.9 points while Democrats won the national vote by a combined 3.1 percentage points. It also voted more Republican than the national average while voting Democratic in the 2020 United States presidential election, and the difference between the national vote and the result was wider in the presidential election than the House. Due to redistricting, incumbent Gonzalez in the 2022 election ran in the 34th congressional district. The Republican nominee, former insurance agent Monica De La Cruz defeated the Democratic nominee, businesswoman Michelle Vallejo.

Election results from recent statewide races

Results under current lines (since 2023)^[5]

Year	Office	Result
2014	Senate	Cornyn 53 - 47%
	Governor	Abbott 50 - 50%
2016	President	Clinton 55 - 42%
2018	Senate	O’Rourke 56 - 44%
	Governor	Valdez 50 - 49%
	Lieutenant Governor	Collier 54 - 44%
	Attorney General	Nelson 55 - 43%
2020	President	Trump 51 - 48%
	Senate	Cornyn 51 - 46%
2022	Governor	Abbott 52 - 46%
	Lieutenant Governor	Patrick 52 - 45%
	Attorney General	Paxton 51 - 47% ^[6]

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	width=350px	Counties
District established March 4, 1903
John N. Garner	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1933		Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Resigned to become Vice President of the United States.	1903–1911
1911–1919
1919–1935
	Vacant		nowrap	March 4, 1933 – April 23, 1933
	Milton H. West	Democratic	April 23, 1933 – October 28, 1948		Elected to finish Garner's term. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Died.
1935–1959
	Vacant		nowrap	October 28, 1948 – December 4, 1948
	align=left	Lloyd Bentsen		Democratic	nowrap	December 4, 1948 – January 3, 1955		Elected to finish West's term. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Retired.
	Joe M. Kilgore	Democratic	January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1965		Elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Retired.
1959–1967
	Kika de la Garza	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1997		Elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired.
1967–1969
1969–1973
1973–1975
1975–1983
1983–1985
1985–1993
1993–2003 Bee, Brooks, De Witt, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Live Oak, San Patricio, and Willacy
	Rubén Hinojosa	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2017		Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired.
2003–2005 Bee, Brooks, Goliad, Hidalgo, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio
2005–2007 Bastrop, Bee, Brooks, Cameron, Colorado, De Witt, Fayette, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Lavaca, Refugio, and San Patricio
2007–2013 Bee, Brooks, Cameron, De Witt, Duval, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, Refugio, and San Patricio
2013–2023 Brooks, Duval, Guadalupe (part), Hidalgo (part), Jim Hogg, Karnes, Live Oak, and Wilson (part)^[7]
	align=left	Vicente Gonzalez		Democratic	nowrap	January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2023		Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Redistricted to the .
align=left	Monica De La Cruz		Republican	nowrap	January 3, 2023 – present		Elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2023–present Brooks, Guadalupe (part), Hidalgo (part), Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, and Wilson^[8]

Election results

align=center

1920 • 1922 • 1924 • 1926 • 1928 • 1930 • 1932 • 1934 • 1936 • 1938 • 1940 • 1942 • 1944 • 1946 • 1948 • 1950 • 1952 • 1954 • 1956 • 1958 • 1960 • 1962 • 1964 • 1966 • 1968 • 1970 • 1972 • 1974 • 1976 • 1978 • 1980 • 1982 • 1984 • 1986 • 1988 • 1990 • 1992 • 1994 • 1996 • 1998 • 2000 • 2002 • 2004 • 2006 (Special) • 2008 • 2010 • 2012 • 2014 • 2016 • 2018 • 2020 • 2022

2022

Historical district boundaries

See also

• List of United States congressional districts

References

Specific

General

• Book: Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. 1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York.
• Book: Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. 1982. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

27.75°N -98.2633°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based) . . April 2, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130402141525/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html . dead.
2. Web site: My Congressional District.
3. Web site: My Congressional District.
4. Web site: 2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List. 2023-01-10. Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022 . en.
5. Web site: 2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List . 2023-01-23 . Cook Political Report . July 12, 2022 . en.
6. Web site: TX 2022 Congressional . 2023-07-15 . Dave’s Redistricting App . en.
7. Web site: August 26, 2021 . District Population Analysis with County Subtotals CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS - PLANC2100 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220627201121/https://data.capitol.texas.gov/dataset/d76b111c-63a8-4868-b937-2f689d61060b/resource/42d93c3b-9571-45c2-9829-5bf491459fab/download/planc2100r100.pdf . June 27, 2022 . January 1, 2023 . Capitol Data Portal . Texas Legislative Council.
8. Web site: October 17, 2021 . District Population Analysis with County Subtotals CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS - PLANC2193 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221225103632/https://data.capitol.texas.gov/dataset/b806b39a-4bab-4103-a66a-9c99bcaba490/resource/494a6420-5004-4fcc-a7c6-a6d5a24e34a6/download/planc2193r100.pdf . December 25, 2022 . January 1, 2023 . Capitol Data Portal . Texas Legislative Council.