Morning Digest: His opponent dissed his music. Now everyone wants to party with him.

The next quinceañera in South Texas might just celebrate with a Latin Grammy-winning star

Leading Off

TX-15

After his Republican opponent denigrated his musical career, Democrat Bobby Pulido fired back by offering to perform at quinceañeras in his district—and, according to his campaign, huge numbers are already clamoring for him to celebrate with them.

“This election isn’t about who you want performing at your niece’s quinceañera,” said Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in an online video attacking Pulido. “It’s about who you trust with your family’s future.”

Before running for office, Pulido earned widespread acclaim and adoration as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist during a 30-year career playing Tejano music—a uniquely Texan genre that merges traditional Mexican folk styles with Central European and American influences. (“Tejano” simply means “Texan” in Spanish.)

Two months after launching his campaign for Texas’ 15th District, Pulido won his second Latin Grammy, earning the award for Best Tejano Album of the year—a feat he also accomplished in 2022—and cementing his reputation as one of the genre’s top stars.

Evidently sensing an opportunity after De La Cruz’s broadside, Pulido responded with videos of his own, in both English and Spanish. (De La Cruz appeared to post hers only in English.)

“Look, my corrupt opponent tried to take a shot at me the other day. And she said the only place I belong is playing quinceañeras,” he began. “But you know what? I’m proud of that. Because in South Texas, a quinceañera isn’t just a pachanga. It’s a rite of passage that brings family and neighbors together.” (“Pachanga” is slang for “party.”)

“And honestly, that’s exactly what this campaign is about. We want to bring people together, not tear them apart,” he continued. “So if you or a member of your family is turning 15 and is planning a quinceañera in my district, I’d be honored to stop by and celebrate with you. Send us a DM and let’s talk.”

The quinceañera, or “quince,” is a traditional coming-of-age rite celebrated widely in Latin communities throughout the Western Hemisphere, marking a girl’s 15th birthday. (The honoree herself is also known as a quinceañera.)

They often involve a Catholic Mass with special prayers, followed by a party featuring formal dress and choreographed dancing. They’re frequently likened to a bat mitzvah or sweet sixteen and can be as elaborate as a wedding.

Music is always central at these events, making Pulido’s offer especially appealing. In a subsequent tweet, he posted a link to a request form, and according to his campaign, he’d already received nearly a thousand invitations in under a day.

So just how many quinces could Pulido play? According to a back-of-the-envelope estimate by a member of The Downballot community, somewhere around 4,000 girls in the district should turn 15 between now and Election Day, the vast majority of them Latina.

That reflects the makeup of the 15th District, which stretches more than 250 miles, from the Mexico border to south-central Texas and is more than 80% Latino. While it voted for Donald Trump by a 59-41 margin in 2024, Democrats are hopeful that Pulido’s star power, combined with growing hostility among many Latino voters toward Trump and the GOP, will help put this race in play.

A few unforgettable quinceañeras won’t hurt, either.

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The Downballot Podcast

Dems notch 10th special election flip

On Tuesday night in New Hampshire, Democrats won yet another Republican seat in a special election—marking their 10th flip of Donald Trump’s second term. On this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, we unpack that race, then dive into a ton of others, including Steve Daines’ attempt to hand off his Senate seat to a preferred successor, Darrell Issa’s last-second dropout, runoff drama in Texas, upcoming primaries in Illinois, and more!

Senate

OK-Sen, OK-01

Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern announced on Wednesday that he would run for the seat held by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who was nominated to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary by Donald Trump last week.

Hern, who’s represented the Tulsa-area 1st District since winning the race to succeed fellow Republican Jim Bridenstine in 2018, is the first prominent candidate to enter the June 16 GOP primary. Immediately after the news of Mullin’s appointment broke, NOTUS reported that he would loan his Senate campaign $5 million, which he can add to the $2.2 million already in his House account.

The candidate most likely to join Hern looks to be Rep. Stephanie Bice, who said last week that she was “carefully considering” a bid. A large number of other notable names could run as well, though they don’t have much time to decide, since Oklahoma’s filing deadline is on April 3.

Hern’s decision will also set off a battle for his congressional district, which backed Trump by a 60-38 margin in 2024. One hopeful, state Rep. Mark Tedford, jumped in the very same day Hern kicked off his Senate bid, saying he’d already loaned his campaign $500,000. Several others have also expressed interest.

With Hern’s announcement, 36 House Republicans are not seeking reelection this year, a pace that outstrips even that of the 2018 midterms. By mid-March of 2018, 35 Republicans were no longer running for another term, en route to a record-setting total of 41 for the cycle.

TX-Sen

The jockeying for Donald Trump’s blessing sank to strange new depths on Wednesday when Texas Sen. John Cornyn abandoned his opposition to nuking the filibuster and wrote in an op-ed in the New York Post that he would “support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to pass the SAVE America Act.

Cornyn had long resisted the idea, but he was boxed in when his opponent in the May 26 Republican runoff, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, said last week that he “would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act.”

Paxton’s comments came in response to a social media post from Trump, who said the day after last week’s primary that he would issue an endorsement “soon”—and added that he would ask “the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”

Reports swiftly emerged that Trump planned to back Cornyn, but Paxton appears to have succeeded in getting Trump to hold his fire by predicating the fate of the runoff on the fate of the SAVE America Act—a harsh set of voting restrictions that Trump has grown obsessed with.

Though the bill passed the House last month, it stands no chance in the Senate thanks to the filibuster, which Majority Leader John Thune has steadfastly defended, saying the GOP caucus lacks the votes to alter it.

Cornyn did not appear eager to discuss his change of heart. After his op-ed came out, NBC reporter Brennan Leach asked the senator how he’d respond “to those who say you changed your mind to win the president’s endorsement.” Cornyn responded by covering Leach’s camera with his hand and telling her, “Go away.”

Governors

VT-Gov

Economist Amanda Janoo, who also chairs a network of advocacy groups, on Wednesday became the first Vermont Democrat to launch a campaign for governor.

It’s not yet clear, though, whether Republican Gov. Phil Scott will seek a sixth two-year term, though he likely won’t announce one way or the other until the legislature wraps up its current session in May.

Due to Scott’s uncommon popularity, Democrats have struggled to land a prominent challenger. Seven Days reports that two possible contenders, Attorney General Charity Clark and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, are both “expected to seek reelection” and adds that state Treasurer Mike Pieciak is “leaning toward” doing the same, despite earlier signs that he was gearing up to run.

However, Aly Richards, who chairs the board of the University of Vermont Medical Center, told the outlet that she’s considering a bid and would make a decision “in the coming weeks.”

House

FL-16

A spokesperson for Sydney Gruters confirmed on Wednesday that she was considering a bid for Florida’s open 16th District but, contrary to a report by a conservative website, had not yet decided to run.

Gruters, the executive director of the New College of Florida Foundation and the wife of RNC chair Joe Gruters, was mentioned as a possible candidate for the solidly red district represented by retiring GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan last month.

However, she had not spoken publicly until The Floridian, a site run by conservative publisher Javier Manjarres, wrote on Wednesday that Gruters was “said to be locked into running,” according to an unnamed source.

In a statement shared with Florida Politics, a consultant said that Gruters “is listening closely” to supporters urging her to run but added that “no announcement will be made at this time.” So far, the only notable Republican to launch a bid is Christian charter school founder Eddie Speir, as most Republicans appear to be waiting on either Gruters or her husband, who’s also been floated.

MD-05

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has endorsed former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn’s bid for the district held by Rep. Steny Hoyer—a move that puts her at odds with her former No. 2.

Hoyer, who, like Pelosi, is retiring after a long career in Congress, previously backed Del. Adrian Boafo—his former campaign manager—to succeed him in Maryland’s 5th District.

Pelosi, though, stuck with Dunn, who became a prominent figure after protecting the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots. In a statement, she called him “a true American hero” who “bravely defended our democracy from Donald Trump’s violent MAGA mob.”

Last cycle, Pelosi endorsed Dunn during his unsuccessful campaign for the neighboring 3rd District.

NY-12

LGBTQ rights activist Mathew Shurka dropped his bid for New York’s open 12th District on Wednesday and instead endorsed Assemblyman Alex Bores in the still-crowded Democratic primary.

PA-03

314 Action, a progressive group that backs candidates with STEM backgrounds, is preparing a $1.4 million ad campaign to boost pediatric surgeon Ala Stanford in the race for Pennsylvania’s open 3rd District, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

As the Inquirer notes, the move represents the first major ad spending ahead of the May 19 Democratic primary, though copies of any ads were not immediately available. A large number of Democrats are seeking this safely blue seat in Philadelphia, including three state lawmakers: Sen. Sharif Street and Reps. Morgan Cephas and Chris Rabb.

PA-08

Freshman Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who has spent much of his brief career in Congress facing questions about his frequent stock trades, appeared to contradict his previous claims that he doesn’t discuss his investments with his financial advisors in a radio interview unearthed by Politico’s Daniel Lippman.

Bresnahan, who narrowly flipped Pennsylvania’s 8th District in 2024, has said multiple times that he does not talk about his stock portfolio with the advisors who manage his money.

“I honestly have no idea what’s inside of the portfolio that I own,” he said at one town hall last year. “I do not have any dialogues with my financial advisers.”

But last April, Bresnahan told conservative radio host Bob Cordaro, “I mean, I meet with my financial adviser. We talk about, you know, what different positions are coming up.” (Cordaro is a former Lackawanna County commissioner who served eight years in prison on corruption charges.)

A Bresnahan spokesperson said in a statement that the congressman was “referring to 30,000 foot investment strategy and not about stock trades, and that is clear in the surrounding context of the interview.”

However, one expert who spoke with Lippman pointed out that even if Bresnahan’s conversations don’t involve specific stocks, “just sharing thoughts on themes in the market and the economy could be problematic politically since members of Congress have information that the average public is not privy to.”

Bresnahan’s likely Democratic opponent in November, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, slammed the incumbent at a Wednesday press conference after his interview with Cordaro came out.

“The congressman is spending his time and energy trading stocks, instead of focusing on the people in northeastern Pennsylvania,” she said.

SC-06

Longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, who has been keeping South Carolina politicos guessing as to whether he plans to seek an 18th term this fall, issued a press release on Wednesday saying he’d make a “campaign announcement” on Thursday morning.

VA-07

Attorney Dorothy McAuliffe, who is the wife of former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, announced on Wednesday that she would run for the proposed 7th District should voters approve a new Democratic-drawn map in an April 21 special election.

Last month, multiple publications reported that McAuliffe was “likely” to run for the 7th, a lobster-shaped district that would link Northern Virginia with regions well to the west and south. The district would have favored Kamala Harris by a 53-45 margin.

McAuliffe has not run for office before, but she considered a bid for the 10th District against Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock almost a decade ago before ultimately passing.

She joins a Democratic primary that includes Del. Dan Helmer and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney. The representative for the current 7th District, Democrat Eugene Vindman, has said he would run in the redrawn 1st should the new map pass.