Michelle Vallejo defeated Ruben Ramirez in the Democratic Party primary runoff on May 24, 2022 for Texas' 15th Congressional District. The results of a recount completed on June 17 affirmed Vallejo's victory by 35 votes.^[1]

Ramirez announced he would request a recount on June 6.^[2] The Texas Democratic Party approved the recount request on June 9, and the recount was expected to begin on June 15.^[3] Under state law, candidates may request a recount if the margin of victory is less than 10%. To learn more about how recounts work in Texas, click here.

Ramirez worked as an attorney and is an Army veteran and former teacher who previously ran for election in the 15th District in 2012 and 2016.^[4] His top campaign priorities were healthcare, national security, and education. Ramirez said he would "continue to fight for my fellow veterans and district. Like all challenges I have faced, I will not back down and I promise to uphold our values and our Constitution” if elected.^[5]

Vallejo was a business owner and co-founder of two advocacy groups, New Leaders Council STX Frontera chapter and Hustle + Socialize.^[6] Her platform included supporting Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and an anti-war foreign policy.^[7] “I think traditionally these races are based on who has the most purchasing power when it comes to mailers, signs, and media, and I’m so grateful that for my campaign that’s not the only thing we’re focusing on, and I love that it started with the energy of having a ground game,” Vallejo said.

Healthcare was one of the contested issues in the race. Vallejo said she supported a single-payer univeresal healthcare system because it "would extend Medicare to cover dental, hearing, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, long-term and disability care, and reproductive and maternity care."^[8] Ramirez said he would preserve the Affordable Care Act, and said, "Rising costs are making it harder for South Texas families to make ends meet, but Michelle Vallejo supports ending the Affordable Care Act and your employer-sponsored health insurance, and raising taxes on the middle class to pay for her new program."^[9]

According to The Texas Tribune, Texas' 15th Congressional District became more favorable to Republicans as a result of redistricting. Joe Biden (D) won the district by two percentage points in the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump (R) would have won the new district by three percentage points.^[10] The Cook Political Report and other outlets rated the 15th district Solid Democratic in 2020 but rated it Lean Republican in 2022.

Click here for coverage of the March 1, 2022, Democratic primary.

Michelle Vallejo (D) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

This page focuses on Texas' 15th Congressional District Democratic primary runoff. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary, Republican primary, and the general election, see the following pages:

Election news

This section includes a timeline of events leading up to the election. The timeline is updated regularly as polling, debates, and other noteworthy events occur.

The most recent events are shown first. Click the banner below to see a full timeline.

June 17, 2022: The Texas Democratic Party announced the results of the recount, with Vallejo defeating Ramirez by 35 votes.^[1]
June 9, 2022: The Texas Democratic Party approved the recount request, and the recount was expected to begin on June 15.^[11]
June 6, 2022: Ramirez said he would request a recount.^[12]

Click to expand a timeline of earlier election updates
- June 1, 2022: Vallejo declared victory in the runoff election after unofficial results showed her leading Ramirez by 33 votes. Ramirez did not concede, saying the election was still too close to call. Counties must submit final vote totals by the end of the day on June 2.^[13]
- May 4, 2022: The Federal Election Commission released new campaign finance data.
- April 8, 2022: EMILY's List endorsed endorsed Vallejo.
- March 30, 2022: Communications Workers of America (CWA) endorsed Vallejo.
- March 20, 2022: State Reps. Armando Martinez (D) and Terry Canales (D) endorsed Vallejo.
- March 11, 2022: Former Democratic primary candidate for Texas’ 15th Congressional District, Eliza Alvarado (D) endorsed Vallejo.
- March 1, 2022: Ramirez and Vallejo were the top two finishers in the Democratic Party on March 1, 2022. primary election.

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 15

Michelle Vallejo defeated Ruben Ramirez in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 15 on May 24, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michelle Vallejo	50.1	6,079
	Ruben Ramirez	49.9	6,049

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 12,128
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.^[14]

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Ruben Ramirez

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Ramirez completed a bachelor's in business administration in international business and a minor in biology from the University of Texas-Pan American. He served in the Army and worked as an attorney and educator. Ramirez ran for election in Texas' 15th Congressional District in 2012 and 2016.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Ramirez said he would "continue to fight for my fellow veterans and district. Like all challenges I have faced, I will not back down and I promise to uphold our values and our Constitution.”

Ramirez said that because of his experience as "a teacher on the frontlines, and a husband who is married to an educator" he understood "the unique concerns of our parents, teachers, and students. I know the effects underfunding has on learning, as well as the impact of bureaucracy on teachers and administrators."

Ramirez said he was "passionate about the safety and security of our country and that of my fellow Americans" and that he had "firsthand knowledge of how the decisions in Washington D.C. affect our soldiers and their families."

Show sources

Sources: Ruben Ramirez for Congress, "About," accessed February 8, 2022; The Monitor, "Bronze Star recipient Ruben Ramirez to make congressional bid," October 25, 2021

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Texas District 15 in 2022.

Michelle Vallejo

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "My name is Michelle Vallejo, and I am running for Congress to represent Texas district 15. I come from a big family of farm workers, immigrants, and entrepreneurs. My parents did a little bit of everything, but running Pulga Los Portales is what has profoundly defined our family values and work ethic to this day. In 2010, during my sophomore year at Columbia University in New York City, my life would change forever. After years of fighting multiple sclerosis, my mother took her last breath at just 46 years old. It was this moment that would mark a new chapter in my life, one in which I realized that the best way to honor her legacy is to fight for a better future for my family and for all of us. So I returned to the Rio Grande Valley and got to work. I stepped up to help my dad run our family-owned Pulga Los Portales. I co-founded two organizations to support community leaders and minority women in business. I’ve volunteered with immigrants’ rights organizations. And now, I was nominated to run for Congress by LUPE Votes. I want us to build stronger and healthier neighborhoods. I have a plan to make this happen, and it starts with fighting for medicare for all and raising the minimum wage to $15. We’re at a critical moment for the future of our district. I’m ready to fight our pueblo in Congress. "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Affordable Healthcare

A living wage

Access to higher education

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Texas District 15 in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Michelle Vallejo (D)

Affordable Healthcare

A living wage

Access to higher education

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Michelle Vallejo (D)

We need medicare for all because our moms, dads, tios, y abuelos deserve to get the health care they need. Going to Mexico for medicine or selling chicken plates to cover hospital bills is not a dignified way to protect our loved ones, and health care is a human right.

We need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour because $7.25 is not enough to pay rent and bills in South Texas (or anywhere in the country). Even though South Texas has one of the lowest unemployment rates, our region has one of the highest poverty rates. It’s time to raise the unlivable low wages that hurt the vast majority of us and only benefit greedy corporations.

We need free public college and trade school, and we need to forgive all student debt once and for all. Sky-rocketing tuition costs have made college and trade school inaccessible for many South Texans. For those who graduate, student debt crushes opportunities, especially for low-income, first-generation, people of color.

And we need to embrace the border as a welcoming place where people of all backgrounds and walks of life can come together and thrive. The border and the river are parts of us that we should honor because they give us our culture and way of life. Militarization, walls, and violence don’t represent who we are. We need to welcome newcomers with dignity, restore and improve our asylum system, and give a pathway to Citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Ruben Ramirez

Have a link to Ruben Ramirez's campaign ads on YouTube? Email us.

Facebook

Satellite ads

This section includes a selection of campaign advertisements released by satellite groups. If you are aware of other satellite ads that should be included, please email us.

Democratic Majority for Israel

Democratic Majority for Israel released an ad supporting Ramirez on May 6:^[15]

DMFI - Ramirez

Michelle Vallejo

December 15, 2022

View more ads here:

News and conflicts in this primary

This race was featured in The Heart of the Primaries, a newsletter capturing stories related to conflicts within each major party. Click here to read more about conflict in this and other 2022 Democratic U.S. House primaries. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Heart of the Primaries 2022, Democrats-Issue 18 (April 14, 2022)

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

Democratic primary endorsements
Endorser	Ruben Ramirez	Michelle Vallejo
Government officials
Nanette Barragán (D) ^source	✔
Salud Carbajal (D) ^source	✔
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D) ^source		✔
Terry Canales (D)		✔
Armando Martinez (D)		✔
Individuals
Eliza Alvarado		✔
Frmr. State Sen. Wendy Davis ^source		✔
John Villarreal Rigney		✔
Organizations
Communications Workers of America-COPE Political Contributions Committee ^source		✔
Democratic Majority for Israel PAC	✔
Democrats Serve ^source	✔
Elect Democratic Women ^source		✔
EMILY's List ^source		✔
LUPE Votes ^source		✔
New Politics ^source	✔
Texas Working Families Party ^source		✔
United Farm Workers ^source		✔
United Farm Workers of America ^source		✔
Vote Vets ^source	✔

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[16]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Race ratings: Texas' 15th Congressional District election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.^[20] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.^[21] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report	Close of books	Filing deadline
Year-end 2021	12/31/2021	1/31/2022
April quarterly	3/31/2022	4/15/2022
July quarterly	6/30/2022	7/15/2022
October quarterly	9/30/2022	10/15/2022
Pre-general	10/19/2022	10/27/2022
Post-general	11/28/2022	12/08/2022
Year-end 2022	12/31/2022	1/31/2023

Name

Party

Receipts*

Disbursements**

Cash on hand

Date

Ruben Ramirez

Democratic Party

$493,222

$0

As of September 30, 2022

Michelle Vallejo

Democratic Party

$2,346,631

$2,334,914

$11,717

As of December 31, 2022

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[22]^[23]^[24]

If available, links to satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. Any satellite spending reported in other resources is displayed in a table. This table may not represent the actual total amount spent by satellite groups in the election. Satellite spending for which specific amounts, dates, or purposes are not reported are marked "N/A." To help us complete this information, or to notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.

By candidate	By election
Ruben Ramirez Michelle Vallejo	OpenSecrets- Texas' 15th Congressional District election, 2022 Federal Election Commission - Texas' 15th Congressional District election, 2022

Election context

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2016.

2020

See also: Texas' 15th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 15

Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. defeated Monica De La Cruz and Ross Lynn Leone in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 15 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D)	50.5	115,605
	Monica De La Cruz (R)	47.6	109,017
	Ross Lynn Leone (L)	1.9	4,295

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 228,917
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Carlos Fabara (G)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 15

Monica De La Cruz defeated Ryan Krause in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 15 on July 14, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Monica De La Cruz	76.0	7,423
	Ryan Krause	24.0	2,350

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,773 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 15

Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 15 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vicente Gonzalez Jr.	100.0	43,689

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,689
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 15

Monica De La Cruz and Ryan Krause advanced to a runoff. They defeated Tim Westley in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 15 on March 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Monica De La Cruz	43.0	11,330
✔	Ryan Krause	39.7	10,441
	Tim Westley	17.3	4,550

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,321
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Carl Spandau (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 15

Ross Lynn Leone advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 15 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Ross Lynn Leone (L)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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