The fate of the Cuellar clan hangs in the balance Tuesday as South Texas residents head to the polls to determine if the embattled Democratic family deserves another shot in public office.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is seeking an 11th term as a federal lawmaker representing the Laredo area on the U.S.-Mexico border, but he could be the only one of his siblings to move forward to November after the others failed to secure at least half of primary voters in March. The congressman won his primary election by default earlier this spring because no one challenged him.
The incumbent, his sister Rosie Cuellar, and his brother Martin Cuellar are long-standing members of the community who have seen support dwindle as the FBI investigates the family’s business dealings.
The FBI raided Henry Cuellar’s house and campaign headquarters in Laredo in January 2022 as part of an “ongoing investigation.”
Earlier this month, Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were indicted on 14 charges each by the federal government for allegedly accepting approximately $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan government-controlled oil and gas company, as well as a bank in Mexico.
The indictments, filed just weeks before the runoffs for his sister and brother, have put the family in a bind to convince voters to elect them amid serious allegations of corruption and abuse leveled by the U.S. attorney’s office and in media reports.
Henry Cuellar rose to power in the state House in the 1980s and launched his federal House bid in the early 2000s. In his first congressional election, he lost in the first vote count and demanded a recount, in which officials found 500 more ballots that put him on top by 58 votes.
In 2008, Martin Cuellar was voted Webb County sheriff by a mere 50 votes. The Cuellar sheriff has fended off challengers throughout the years, but staff members have alleged that he forced them to donate money and campaign on the clock for the congressman during election years.
Last year, the FBI searched the sheriff’s office, according to local media reports, though no charges have been filed.
Former Webb County Sheriff’s Department employee Wayo Ruiz is challenging Martin Cuellar on Tuesday.
Rosie Cuellar was a tax assessor for Webb County from 2019 to 2020. She was sworn in as judge in the Rio Bravo early last year, though an investigation by NOTUS concluded she has never heard a case and that the work she has done in the role remains unclear.
She is now in a runoff for state House District 80, which includes nearby Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in May 2022.
The Laredo region has benefited from Henry Cuellar’s post in Congress. Henry Cuellar sits on the House Appropriations Committee, in which he has been able to bring millions of dollars in federal funding to projects in his district, where 1 in 5 residents lives below the poverty line, according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data.
Henry Cuellar will learn by Tuesday evening who his Republican challenger will be ahead of the November election. Former naval officer Jay Furman and rancher Lazaro Garza are vying for the GOP nomination.
The congressman defended his record amid the federal investigation and charges last week and called the charges as having a “difficult” impact on his family.
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“I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” the congressman said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.
“These allegations have been difficult on my family. But, with your prayers, we will overcome,” Cuellar continued. “As the son of migrant workers, I was taught to wake up early and work hard. That’s exactly what I’ve always done for the people of South Texas. I’ve devoted my life’s work to creating jobs here, improving education, and securing our border. Let me be clear, I’m running for re-election and will win this November.”
