By james art 
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrat Henry Cuellar of Texas faced his first election Tuesday after bribery chargeone of three closely watched races along the U.S.-Mexico border, where Republicans are trying to expand their reach in the predominantly Hispanic region.
It’s the election another test for the Democrats in a region that has historically been a stronghold and a recurring backdrop in the national immigration debate.
Cuellar and his wife have pleaded not guilty to charges related to the couple’s ties to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. Republicans launched an aggressive campaign in 2022 to unseat Cuellar, one of his party’s most outspoken moderates, but lost by double digits and withdrew from the district this year despite the impeachment.
House districts are extremely competitive in Texas, where Republicans have complete control of the legislature and a Democrat hasn’t held statewide office in more than 30 years.
The congressman is under indictment
Cuellar is running against Republican Jay Furman, a political newcomer and Navy veteran who is the incumbent’s first challenger since he was indicted on bribery charges in May.
Cuellar and his wife are accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. The charges gave Furman an opportunity to make his case in the 28th Congressional District, where Cuellar first took office in 2005.
However, the seat has attracted less GOP attention this cycle than it did in 2022, when a multimillion-dollar challenge still ended in a landslide victory for Cuellar.
Rematch in a new Texas neighborhood
Republican Rep. Monica de la Cruz is again trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Michelle Vallejo after winning by 8 percentage points in 2022.
De La Cruz was the first Republican to win a congressional race in South Texas. The 15th Congressional District was one of two new seats awarded to Texas after the 2020 census, dictated by the state’s burgeoning Hispanic population and drawn by Republican mapmakers to give them an edge.
Vallejo’s campaign has focused on protecting Social Security and Medicare, which are popular programs among her largely Hispanic and working-class base. De La Cruz has touted his support for tougher border security policies, including those championed by former President Donald Trump.
Republicans are perfecting the Rio Grande Valley
Republicans are targeting Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in a rematch with former Rep. Mayra Flores, who Republicans see as a rising star on the southern border.
Of the three Texas border races, Republicans have thrown the bulk of their ranks behind their campaign to unseat Gonzalez, a moderate Democrat who defeated Flores by more than 8 percentage points in 2022.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned for Flores, who was the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress and beat Gonzalez in a race that is one of the GOP’s biggest targets nationally. Flores previously held the seat after winning a special election earlier in 2022 on a map that was more favorable to Republicans.
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Changes in South Texas
Counties were made along the Texas-Mexico border significant changes in 2020 to Trump. The shift to the right represents a changing political landscape along the US-Mexico border, where border security has become a key issue for voters. President Biden won Hidalgo County, a decidedly blue county, by less than half the margin Hillary Clinton did in 2016. In rural Zapata, Trump completely flipped the district after Clinton won it by 33 percentage points four years ago.
The gains prompted Republicans to pour millions of dollars into once-dark blue districts.
However, Democrats closed the gap in the state in 2020, when Trump won Texas by less than 6 percentage points. It was the closest victory for a GOP presidential candidate in Texas in decades.