Hidalgo County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 870,781, making it the ninth-most populous county in Texas, and the most populous county outside of the counties in the Texas Triangle. The county seat is Edinburg and the largest city is McAllen. The county is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who raised the call for Mexico's independence from Spain. It is located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. Hidalgo County is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission metropolitan statistical area, which itself is part of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission-Rio Grande City, Texas combined statistical area with neighboring Starr County.
Edinburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 100,243 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 104,294, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and the third-largest city in the larger Rio Grande Valley region.
Lopezville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,367 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town developed during the early 1960s as a trailer park. It is named for Francisco Solano López, a former president of Paraguay, a descendant of whom founded his namesake trailer park.
San Carlos is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hidalgo County, Texas. The population was 3,087 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Rubén Eloy Hinojosa is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 15th congressional district, from 1997 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretched from Seguin, to McAllen on the Mexican border. Much of the region was rural although Hidalgo County is part of the third-fastest-growing metropolitan statistical area in the country. Hinojosa served on the Financial Services and Education committees.
Solomon Porfirio Ortiz is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district, based in Corpus Christi, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2010, Ortiz was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger Blake Farenthold. Ortiz's son, Solomon Ortiz, Jr., is a former state representative.
Eligio "Kika" de la Garza II was an American lawyer, Korean War veteran, and politician who served 16 consecutive terms as the Democratic representative for the 15th congressional district of Texas from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1997.
Joaquin Castro is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who has represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. The district includes just over half of his native San Antonio. He currently serves on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Lionel Aron Peña, Jr., known as Aaron is an American attorney and politician who for 10 years represented House District 40 in the Texas House of Representatives, a seat he was first sworn into on January 14, 2003. On November 25, 2011, Rep. Aaron Peña announced that he would not seek re-election to a sixth term in office. He ended his tenure with the Texas House of Representatives on January 8, 2013 and returned to his work as an attorney and advisor in the private and public sectors. Currently Peña is employed with the Texas General Land Office, serving under the leadership of Land Commissioner George P. Bush.
Pete Peña Gallego is an American lawyer, politician, and higher education leader who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2013 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 68th district beginning in 1991. He was president of his alma mater, Sul Ross State University in Far West Texas, from 2020 through 2022 and continues to serve as president emeritus as he writes and speaks on issues related to college accessibility and affordability, particularly for first-generation students.
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization composed of members of the Texas House of Representatives committed to addressing issues of particular importance to Latinos across the state.
Pedro Cano was a Mexican-American World War II veteran who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat near Schevenhütte, Germany in December 1944.
Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 34th congressional district from 2013 until his resignation in 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Vela was also vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, having been nominated by President Joe Biden. In March 2022, Vela resigned in the middle of his term to work at Akin Gump.
Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia is an American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 29th congressional district since 2019. Her district covers much of eastern Houston. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 6th district in the Texas Senate.
Oscar Lee Longoria Jr. is an American attorney and Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 35th District. He was first elected to the Texas legislature in 2013.
Eugene Yuanzhi Wu is a Chinese-American lawyer and politician who is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, serving since 2013. He was formerly a prosecutor for Harris County.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas. It is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 after the consolidation of the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College and the University of Texas–Pan American.
José Tomás Canales was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician based in Texas. He served five terms in the State House, where he was the only Mexican-American representative at the time. He is best known for his work on behalf of Mexican-Americans and Tejanos in Texas, defending the civil rights of Hispanic Americans.
The 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election was held on June 14, 2022. The seat, which went to Democratic president Joe Biden by only four points in the 2020 United States presidential election after being solidly blue in the past, became vacant after Democratic incumbent representative Filemon Vela Jr. resigned on March 31, 2022, to work at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
District 40 is a district in the Texas House of Representatives. It has been represented by Democrat Terry Canales since 2013.
