Rep. Henry Cuellar narrowly defeated progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros in a closely watched primary runoff election. Cisneros conceded to Cuellar on Tuesday, four weeks after the razor-thin runoff election.
The race and the stakes:
Cuellar is a top Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the most conservative Democrats in the House. He's an immigration and border security hawk, a supporter of gun rights, a close ally of the oil and gas industry, and the last anti-abortion Democrat left in Congress.
Cuellar has served in elected office in Texas for most of the last 35 years, representing the 28th District since 2005. The district is majority-Hispanic and stretches from the San Antonio area to the Rio Grande Valley.
House Democratic leadership rallied around Cuellar and continued to support him in the lead-up to the runoff.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn traveled to the district to stump for Cuellar and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued to defend him despite his anti-abortion stance in the wake of a leaked draft opinion showing that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"While we're proud to have backed Jessica since the very beginning, I am furious with the Democratic Party leadership in DC," Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, a group that supported Cisneros, said in a statement.
"In a healthy Democratic Party, a bright young star like Jessica would have been welcomed with open arms, but Speaker Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, AIPAC, and others supported an extreme anti-choice and pro-NRA incumbent while working overtime to stop Jessica's candidacy," Rojas added.
Cisneros, a 28-year-old immigration attorney went up against Cuellar in 2020, but lost by less than four percentage points.
The 28th Congressional District has since been redrawn to include a more blue region of San Antonio, helping Cisneros. When the two faced off in March, Cuellar bested Cisneros by two percentage points, but couldn't bring in the 50% of the vote needed to avoid a runoff due to a third candidate, Tannya Benavides, taking nearly 5% of the vote.
Cisneros ran on a platform that includes a $15 minimum wage, implementing the Green New Deal, overhauling the US immigration system, and promoting reproductive rights. She's received endorsements from progressive powerhouses Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She's also supported by NARAL Pro-Choice Action, EMILY's List, and Planned Parenthood Action.
So far this cycle, Cuellar has raised over $3 million, spent $3.6 million, and has $1 million in cash on hand while Cisneros has raised $4.5 million, spent $3 million, and has a little over $1.4 million in cash on hand.
