Texas' 28th Congressional District

Texas' 28th Congressional District

Incumbent

Henry Cuellar

Assumed office: January 3, 2005

Texas' 28th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Henry Cuellar (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Texas representatives represented an average of 767,981 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 701,901 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2024

Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)

Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Jay Furman in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 28 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar (D)	52.8	125,490
		Jay Furman (R)	47.2	112,117

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 237,607
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bailey Cole (L)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 28

Jay Furman defeated Lazaro Garza Jr. in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 28 on May 28, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Furman	65.3	8,297
		Lazaro Garza Jr.	34.7	4,410

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,707
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar	100.0	35,550

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,550
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

Jay Furman and Lazaro Garza Jr. advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jose Sanz and Jimmy León in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Furman	44.8	12,036
✔		Lazaro Garza Jr.	27.1	7,283
		Jose Sanz	20.5	5,502
		Jimmy León	7.5	2,021

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,842
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kyle Sinclair (R)
• Maria Perez (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 28

Bailey Cole advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 23, 2024.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Bailey Cole (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Cassy Garcia in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 28 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar (D)	56.7	93,803
		Cassy Garcia (R)	43.3	71,778

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 165,581
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rafael Alcoser III (Independent)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Jessica Cisneros in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 28 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar	50.3	22,895
		Jessica Cisneros	49.7	22,614

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,509
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 28

Cassy Garcia defeated Sandra Whitten in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 28 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cassy Garcia	57.0	8,485
		Sandra Whitten	43.0	6,413

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,898
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros advanced to a runoff. They defeated Tannya Benavides in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar	48.7	23,988
✔		Jessica Cisneros	46.6	22,983
		Tannya Benavides	4.7	2,324

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,295
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cassy Garcia	23.5	5,923
✔		Sandra Whitten	18.0	4,534
		Steven Fowler	13.5	3,388
		Willie Vasquez Ng	13.3	3,358
		Ed Cabrera	13.3	3,343
		Eric Hohman	11.9	2,988
		Rolando Rodriguez	6.4	1,622

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,156
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2020

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Sandra Whitten and Bekah Congdon in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 28 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar (D)	58.3	137,494
		Sandra Whitten (R)	39.0	91,925
		Bekah Congdon (L)	2.7	6,425

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 235,844
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Jessica Cisneros in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar	51.8	38,834
		Jessica Cisneros	48.2	36,144

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 74,978
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

Sandra Whitten advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sandra Whitten	100.0	20,656

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,656
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 28

Bekah Congdon advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Bekah Congdon (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Arthur Thomas IV in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 28 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar (D)	84.4	117,494
		Arthur Thomas IV (L)	15.6	21,732

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 139,226
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28

Incumbent Henry Cuellar advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 28 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry Cuellar	100.0	39,221

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,221
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Henry Cuellar (D) defeated Zeffen Hardin (R) and Michael Cary (G) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Cuellar defeated William Hayward in the Democratic primary on March 1, 2016, while Hardin faced no opposition in the Republican primary.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar Incumbent	66.2%	122,086
	Republican	Zeffen Hardin	31.3%	57,740
	Green	Michael Cary	2.5%	4,616
Total Votes				184,442
Source: Texas Secretary of State

U.S. House, Texas District 28 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Henry Cuellar Incumbent	89.8%	49,993
William Hayward	10.2%	5,683
Total Votes		55,676
Source: Texas Secretary of State

2014

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 28th Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Henry Cuellar (D) defeated Will Aikens (L) and Michael Cary (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar Incumbent	82.1%	62,508
	Libertarian	Will Aikens	13.3%	10,153
	Green	Michael Cary	4.6%	3,475
Total Votes				76,136
Source: Texas Secretary of State

2012

See also: Texas' 28th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 28th Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, in which incumbent Henry Cuellar (D) won re-election. He defeated William Hayward (R), Patrick Hisel (L) and Michael Cary (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar Incumbent	67.9%	112,456
	Republican	William R. Hayward	29.8%	49,309
	Libertarian	Patrick Hisel	1.5%	2,473
	Green	Michael D. Cary	0.8%	1,407
Total Votes				165,645
Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Henry Cuellar won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bryan Underwood (R) and Stephen Kaat (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar incumbent	56.3%	62,773
	Republican	Bryan Underwood	42%	46,740
	Libertarian	Stephen Kaat	1.7%	1,889
Total Votes				111,402

2008
On November 4, 2008, Henry Cuellar won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Fish (R) and Ross Lynn Leone (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar incumbent	68.7%	123,494
	Republican	Jim Fish	29.2%	52,524
	Libertarian	Ross Lynn Leone	2.1%	3,722
Total Votes				179,740

2006
On November 7, 2006, Henry Cuellar won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Frank Enriquez (D) and Ron Avery (Conservative) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar incumbent	67.6%	52,574
	Republican	Frank Enriquez	20.3%	15,798
	Conservative	Ron Avery	12.1%	9,383
Total Votes				77,755

2004
On November 2, 2004, Henry Cuellar won election to the United States House. He defeated James Hopson (R) and Ken Ashby (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Henry Cuellar	59%	106,323
	Republican	James Hopson	38.6%	69,538
	Libertarian	Ken Ashby	2.4%	4,305
Total Votes				180,166

2002
On November 5, 2002, Ciro Rodriguez won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gabriel Perales, Jr. (R) and William Stallknecht (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ciro Rodriguez incumbent	71.1%	71,393
	Republican	Gabriel Perales, Jr.	26.9%	26,973
	Libertarian	William Stallknecht	2%	2,054
Total Votes				100,420

2000
On November 7, 2000, Ciro Rodriguez won re-election to the United States House. He defeated William Stallknecht (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ciro Rodriguez incumbent	89%	123,104
	Libertarian	William Stallknecht	11%	15,156
Total Votes				138,260

1998
On November 3, 1998, Ciro Rodriguez won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Edward Elmer (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ciro Rodriguez incumbent	90.5%	71,849
	Libertarian	Edward Elmer	9.5%	7,504
Total Votes				79,353

1996
On November 5, 1996, Frank Tejeda won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Mark Cude (R) and Clifford Finley (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Tejeda incumbent	75.4%	110,148
	Republican	Mark Cude	23.4%	34,191
	Natural Law	Clifford Finley	1.2%	1,796
Total Votes				146,135

1994
On November 8, 1994, Frank Tejeda won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David Slatter (R) and Stephen Rothstein (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Tejeda incumbent	70.9%	73,986
	Republican	David Slatter	27.6%	28,777
	Libertarian	Stephen Rothstein	1.5%	1,612
Total Votes				104,375

1992
On November 3, 1992, Frank Tejeda won election to the United States House. He defeated David Slatter (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 28 General Election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Tejeda	87.1%	122,457
	Libertarian	David Slatter	12.9%	18,128
Total Votes				140,585

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census

In August 2025, the Texas Legislature proposed a new congressional district map during special legislative sessions that prompted Democratic legislators to leave the state to prevent a quorum. Click here to read more about the 2025 Democratic walkout during mid-decade redistricting in Texas.

On August 20, 2025, the Texas House approved House Bill 4 containing a new congressional map by an 88-52 vote along party lines. On August 23, 2025, the Texas Senate approved the map by an 18-11 vote along party lines. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the new map into law on August 29, 2025. The bill text stated the new district boundaries would take effect for the 2026 elections.

Texas first enacted new congressional districts on October 25, 2021. The Senate released a proposed congressional map on September 27, 2021, and approved an amended version of the proposal on October 8, 2021. On October 13, 2021, the House Redistricting Committee approved an amended version of the congressional map, and both chambers of the legislature approved a finalized version of the map on October 18, 2021. The Senate approved the proposal in an 18-13 vote, and the House approved the bill in an 84-59 vote. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the map into law on October 25, 2021. This map took effect for Texas' 2022 congressional elections.

How does redistricting in Texas work? In Texas, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Texas State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.

If the state legislature is unable to approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines (the backup commission is not involved in congressional redistricting). This backup commission, established in 1948, comprises the following members:

1. Lieutenant governor
2. Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
3. Attorney general
4. State comptroller
5. Commissioner of the General Land Office

The Texas Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and "that they preserve whole counties when population mandates permit."

Texas District 28
before 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas District 28
after 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

The 28th Congressional District of Texas, prior to the 2010-2011 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2010 census

Following the 2010 United States Census, Texas gained four congressional seats. Texas' final congressional redistricting plan was approved by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Perry (R) in June 2013.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+2. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 28th the 209th most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 28th the 183rd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 52.9%-45.9%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 28th the 183rd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 52.9% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 45.9%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+9. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 9 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 28th Congressional District the 126th most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.11. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.11 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Texas
• Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2024
• Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2022
• Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2020
• Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack.us Texas's 28th Congressional District & Map

Footnotes

[show]

Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)