Democrat Julio Salinas won the Texas House District 41 race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, with over 68% of the vote, or 36,078 votes. Republican Gary Groves received 32%, or 16,942 votes.
Salinas is the youngest state House representative to serve Hidalgo County, and the youngest currently serving in the state House overall, according to the report. His win is also the largest winning percentage margin in a contested District 41 general election in more than three decades of election records.
Salinas is a former legislative director with the state House and the son of an immigrant farmworker. He said he plans to use his political experience to bring back pathways to opportunity in South Texas. "The future of the Rio Grande Valley is in our hands now," he said in his victory speech at his watch party at Cine El Rey in McAllen.