Progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros admitted Representative Henry Cuellaro After a recount on Texas Tuesday and a repeat of their 2020 matchup, Cuellar made Democratic nominee for November As he wants 10th Congress term.
The race was decided by less than 300 votes.
“We always knew it was an uphill battle. We were a corrupt political machine, Republican-funded Super PACs, the Koch brothers, private prisons, Big Oil, the Chamber of Commerce, black money groups, Big Pharma, and almost a whole lot in Washington. We’re against the founding of the Democratic Party – and we still refuse to back down,” Cisneros said in an outrageous concession statement. “With this close to a gap, it is clear that without their aggressive intervention in the lives of South Texas families, we would have won.”
Cuellar issued a statement on Tuesday declaring victory.
“Now is the time to come together and win the general election in November. I am an American, Texan, then a Democrat—in that order—and I will continue to fight for the values of Texas and not let the coastal elite bring their failed agenda to our communities,” Cuellar said.
“I will continue to represent my values in South Texas and fight for your priorities: securing the border, reducing taxes, supporting police and border patrol, and fighting to protect oil and gas jobs. “
Kueller, a moderate Democrat representing the 28th Congressional District, was forced into a runoff with Cisneros, as neither candidate won the 50 percent needed to secure the nomination. 1 March during the primary, He had defeated him in the same primary two years ago.
This time around Cuellar’s victory at Cisneros. comes after filed for recount in May 24 primary runoff The Texas Democratic Party said earlier this month that fewer than 300 votes separated the two candidates.
According to a count of results, as of Tuesday, Kueller was leading by 289 votes in the May 24 primary election. NBC NewsWhich presented Kueller as the winner.
In March, Cisneros Received 46.6 percent Kueller received 48.7 percent of the vote. Cisneros, who came within 2,700 votes of Culler, lost in 2020, winning the primary with 52 percent of the vote.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, is aiming to overthrow the 28th Congressional District in November. The NRCC listed the district, which is 78.2 percent Latino, as one of more than a dozen new mid-term targets.
In the final weeks of the campaign, the re-match between Cuellar and Cisneros was largely reworked as a test of whether Democrats would continue to support candidates who oppose abortion rights, as the Supreme After a draft opinion of the court was leaked, Roe v. Wade can be reversed. Heat. Cisneros, 29, had cast Kueller, 66, as being out of step with the rest of the party on the issue.
In September, Kueller was the only House Democrat to vote against legislation intended to codify protections under Roe. Texas legislates banning most abortions, Cisneros, who had garnered support from national progressive and abortion rights groups, later demanded that Democratic congressional leaders withdraw their support for Kueller. The current Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, had already garnered support from prominent House leaders, including D-California. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, DS.C., appeared with Kueller at a campaign rally in San Antonio earlier this month.
Kueller defended his abortion stance, citing his Catholic faith, but said in a Statement That he opposed the outright ban on the procedure, stating that “exceptions should be made in case of rape, incest and threat to the life of the mother.”
Meanwhile, Cisneros received support from Progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Reps Jamal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayana Pressley of Massachusetts. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., promoted With Cisneros at a rally in May.
Both candidates also sparred over immigration, specifically whether the Biden administration should end a Trump-era policy known as Title 42 that severely barred asylum seekers from entering the US because of the pandemic. limits from. Cisneros has criticized the policy, while Cuellar has warned against lifting it.
Cisneros, who called Cuellar “anti-immigrant” in the final days of the primary campaign, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who obtained citizenship through a 1986 immigration law. Cuellar was born in Laredo, Texas, to migrant farm workers. He is one of eight children.
Earlier this year, FBI raids Kueller’s home and campaign office As part of an investigation into the relationship of American merchants with Azerbaijan. Kueller has denied any wrongdoing and said an FBI investigation would acquit him.