Texas border district Dem Cuellar beats back primary challengers
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, easily defeated a primary challenger Tuesday in Texas’ 28th Congressional District, securing his party's renomination in the southern border seat he has long represented.
The win sets up a November matchup with President Donald Trump-endorsed South Texas Judge Tano Tijerina.
Cuellar, one of the last remaining "blue dog" conservative Democrats in the House, beat challenger Ricardo Villarreal with 58.1% of the vote to 36.9% — a margin of more than 21 percentage points with 97% of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press. Andrew Vantine was in third place with 5%.
TRUMP'S PARDON OF HOUSE DEM CUELLAR BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS HIS BROTHER FACES INDICTMENT
Cuellar’s primary challenge came amid renewed scrutiny over his federal indictment last year and continued tensions within his party over border policy, though he ultimately secured renomination by a comfortable margin.
He had been highly critical of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and border security. He was later indicted by the Justice Department on federal bribery charges, which he denied.
Cuellar and his allies have characterized the case as politically motivated. He later received an unconditional pardon from Trump, who also said the charges were politically driven. Speculation swirled that Cuellar might switch parties after the pardon, but he dismissed those rumors and said he would remain a Democrat.
Cuellar served in the Texas House from 1987 to 2001 and briefly as Texas Secretary of State in 2001, making him the most recent Democrat to hold statewide office in Texas. He was first elected to Congress in 2004 after defeating incumbent Ciro Rodriguez in a primary and is known as one of the House’s more conservative Democrats. He has since won reelection comfortably, though he has faced competitive primaries in recent cycles.
Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Tijerina in the GOP race and criticized Cuellar ahead of the primary for running.
Tijerina went on to win the Republican nomination, setting up a November matchup to represent a district that stretches from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley.
The judge, who switched to the Republican Party in December 2024, saying the Democratic Party no longer aligned with his values, won the GOP primary with 74.3% of the vote to Eileen Day’s 25.7%, according to the AP.
Tijerina's win was decisive, with a margin of nearly 49 percentage points after 91% of ballots were counted.
He responded to the outpouring of congratulations on social media shortly after the race was called.
"Amen! Let’s work," he wrote in …
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, easily defeated a primary challenger Tuesday in Texas’ 28th Congressional District, securing his party's renomination in the southern border seat he has long represented.
The win sets up a November matchup with President Donald Trump-endorsed South Texas Judge Tano Tijerina.
Cuellar, one of the last remaining "blue dog" conservative Democrats in the House, beat challenger Ricardo Villarreal with 58.1% of the vote to 36.9% — a margin of more than 21 percentage points with 97% of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press. Andrew Vantine was in third place with 5%.
TRUMP'S PARDON OF HOUSE DEM CUELLAR BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS HIS BROTHER FACES INDICTMENT
Cuellar’s primary challenge came amid renewed scrutiny over his federal indictment last year and continued tensions within his party over border policy, though he ultimately secured renomination by a comfortable margin.
He had been highly critical of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and border security. He was later indicted by the Justice Department on federal bribery charges, which he denied.
Cuellar and his allies have characterized the case as politically motivated. He later received an unconditional pardon from Trump, who also said the charges were politically driven. Speculation swirled that Cuellar might switch parties after the pardon, but he dismissed those rumors and said he would remain a Democrat.
Cuellar served in the Texas House from 1987 to 2001 and briefly as Texas Secretary of State in 2001, making him the most recent Democrat to hold statewide office in Texas. He was first elected to Congress in 2004 after defeating incumbent Ciro Rodriguez in a primary and is known as one of the House’s more conservative Democrats. He has since won reelection comfortably, though he has faced competitive primaries in recent cycles.
Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Tijerina in the GOP race and criticized Cuellar ahead of the primary for running.
Tijerina went on to win the Republican nomination, setting up a November matchup to represent a district that stretches from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley.
The judge, who switched to the Republican Party in December 2024, saying the Democratic Party no longer aligned with his values, won the GOP primary with 74.3% of the vote to Eileen Day’s 25.7%, according to the AP.
Tijerina's win was decisive, with a margin of nearly 49 percentage points after 91% of ballots were counted.
He responded to the outpouring of congratulations on social media shortly after the race was called.
"Amen! Let’s work," he wrote in …
Texas border district Dem Cuellar beats back primary challengers
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, easily defeated a primary challenger Tuesday in Texas’ 28th Congressional District, securing his party's renomination in the southern border seat he has long represented.
The win sets up a November matchup with President Donald Trump-endorsed South Texas Judge Tano Tijerina.
Cuellar, one of the last remaining "blue dog" conservative Democrats in the House, beat challenger Ricardo Villarreal with 58.1% of the vote to 36.9% — a margin of more than 21 percentage points with 97% of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press. Andrew Vantine was in third place with 5%.
TRUMP'S PARDON OF HOUSE DEM CUELLAR BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS HIS BROTHER FACES INDICTMENT
Cuellar’s primary challenge came amid renewed scrutiny over his federal indictment last year and continued tensions within his party over border policy, though he ultimately secured renomination by a comfortable margin.
He had been highly critical of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and border security. He was later indicted by the Justice Department on federal bribery charges, which he denied.
Cuellar and his allies have characterized the case as politically motivated. He later received an unconditional pardon from Trump, who also said the charges were politically driven. Speculation swirled that Cuellar might switch parties after the pardon, but he dismissed those rumors and said he would remain a Democrat.
Cuellar served in the Texas House from 1987 to 2001 and briefly as Texas Secretary of State in 2001, making him the most recent Democrat to hold statewide office in Texas. He was first elected to Congress in 2004 after defeating incumbent Ciro Rodriguez in a primary and is known as one of the House’s more conservative Democrats. He has since won reelection comfortably, though he has faced competitive primaries in recent cycles.
Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Tijerina in the GOP race and criticized Cuellar ahead of the primary for running.
Tijerina went on to win the Republican nomination, setting up a November matchup to represent a district that stretches from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley.
The judge, who switched to the Republican Party in December 2024, saying the Democratic Party no longer aligned with his values, won the GOP primary with 74.3% of the vote to Eileen Day’s 25.7%, according to the AP.
Tijerina's win was decisive, with a margin of nearly 49 percentage points after 91% of ballots were counted.
He responded to the outpouring of congratulations on social media shortly after the race was called.
"Amen! Let’s work," he wrote in …
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