<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654544588945,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-3108-d928-a77f-73ccd2e60000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654544588945,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-3108-d928-a77f-73ccd2e60000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54544582", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1025264"} }); ","_id":"00000181-3a8a-dedf-ad93-bfebd75f0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedRep. Henry Cuellar won the Democratic nomination in his South Texas district, beating back a primary challenge from immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros in a race that became a referendum of sorts on whether an anti-abortion lawmaker still has a place in the Democratic Party.
The Associated Press called the close race for Cuellar on Tuesday after a recount.
The Democratic nomination fight in Texas’s 28th Congressional District played out as a battle for a newly drawn seat that Republicans are eyeing in November, building on recent successes with Latino voters near the U.S.-Mexico border. The GOP is targeting several districts held by Democrats in southern Texas, hoping to capitalize on frustration with the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border, economic problems, and cultural conservatism among Hispanics in the region.
HOUSE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS CHAIRWOMAN SPURNS INCUMBENT DEMOCRAT FOR LEFT-WING RIVAL
The race was called in Cuellar’s favor Tuesday evening after the Texas Democratic Party said a recount showed he led with 289 votes, bringing an end to a weekslong race that garnered nationwide attention. Cuellar’s victory also deals a blow to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party that rallied behind Cisneros, including members of the “Squad.” The final numbers were 22,901 votes to 22,612.
Cuellar declared victory before the race was called after his campaign announced that a recount of the votes showed the incumbent leading with 290 votes over Cisneros. The challenger had requested a recount in early June after initial projections showed she was fewer than 200 votes behind Cuellar. The rules in Texas don’t require an automatic recount.
The incumbent had already declared victory days after the primary election, along with several other high-profile Democrats who urged Cisneros to concede.
Cuellar, a 17-year incumbent, faced an uphill battle in the last few weeks leading up to last month’s runoff because abortion rights became a central tenet in Cisneros’s campaign to unseat the incumbent. In the March 1 primary, Cisneros kept Cuellar under 50% of the vote, forcing a runoff election on May 26.
Cuellar is the only House Democrat to oppose abortion rights. Democrats were split on whom to support in the race, with party leaders throwing their support behind the incumbent and several far-left lawmakers backing Cisneros.
The runoff election had taken center stage after a leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion indicating the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. Cisneros seized on the leaked report as fodder to use in her campaign. She targeted Cuellar for being the lone House Democrat to vote against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified abortion access at the federal level.
Cuellar’s reelection bid was thrown into question earlier this year after an FBI raid of his home and campaign office connected to a federal investigation into the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and U.S. businessmen with ties to the country. The incident had raised questions about the incumbent’s electability in the once-safe seat that Republicans are targeting to flip in November.
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Cisneros faced off against Cuellar in 2020 and lost by 4 percentage points.
Cuellar will face Republican nominee Cassy Garcia, who clinched the GOP nomination during a runoff election on May 26.
