U.S. House race · November 3, 2026
U.S. Representative, Texas District 28
Represents the district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which writes federal laws, approves the federal budget and taxes, and oversees the executive branch.
2-year term. Under the 2026 map (enacted in 2025), the district is based in Laredo and Webb County and stretches south to McAllen in Hidalgo County and north to Atascosa County near San Antonio. Three candidates are on the general-election ballot: Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar, Republican Tano Tijerina and Green Party nominee Marlón Durán.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Henry Cuellar
U.S. Representative, Texas District 28 (since 2005)Henry Cuellar is a Laredo attorney and former Texas secretary of state who has represented the 28th District since 2005 and is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. His campaign centers on border security, lowering costs including tariff relief, health care and federal funding for South Texas.
Marlón Durán
Community organizer and translatorMarlón Durán is a McAllen community organizer and translator who came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child and became a citizen as a teenager. His campaign focuses on immigration enforcement, climate change, the cost of living and wages.
Tano Tijerina
Webb County Judge (since 2015)Tano Tijerina is the Webb County judge and a former minor league baseball player from Laredo; he was first elected county judge as a Democrat and switched to the Republican Party in December 2024. His campaign focuses on border security, lower taxes and less federal regulation, and economic development for South Texas, including technology and crypto.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Henry Cuellar Democratic | Marlón Durán Green | Tano Tijerina Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration | Says securing the border and deporting violent criminals is "common sense" but opposes spending billions to detain children and separate families; voted for the January 2026 Homeland Security funding bill (H.R. 7147), saying it did not add money for ICE. | Opposes current immigration enforcement by ICE, DHS and CBP, which he says harms his community. | Supports securing the border, enforcing the law and stopping illegal crossings, along with bipartisan reform that respects families who immigrated legally. |
| Economy & Jobs | No public position found yet | Says wages have not kept up with rising prices and blames billionaires and corporations for hoarding wealth. | Wants to build South Texas into a hub for technology, artificial intelligence and logistics around Laredo's inland port, and supports clear crypto regulations that keep the industry in the U.S. |
| Energy & Environment | No public position found yet | Says rising Valley temperatures hurt outdoor workers and water supplies and that families should not pay for the fossil fuel industry's profits. | Says data center projects should not burden local water, land and ratepayers and calls for full transparency before they move forward. |
| Foreign Policy | No public position found yet | Calls for a free Palestine, and his campaign website includes a section opposing AIPAC. | Backs an America First approach of peace through strength, including standing with allies such as Israel and securing ports and critical infrastructure. |
| Taxes | Calls tariffs hidden taxes that raise prices on groceries, fuel and household goods; sponsors the American Consumer Tariff Rebate Act to send money back to families. | No public position found yet | Pledges to lower taxes for working families and small businesses, cut federal regulations and reduce federal spending. |
| Abortion | Opposes abortion, according to The Texas Tribune; in 2021 he was the only House Democrat to vote against the Women's Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755), which would have protected abortion access nationwide. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Guns | Voted against the 2022 House bill to ban assault weapons (H.R. 1808). | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Social Security & Medicare | Says he helped pass the Social Security Fairness Act restoring full benefits for teachers, first responders and other public workers, and co-sponsored a bill on Medicare coverage of multi-cancer early detection tests. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |