Rep. Henry Cuellar, the anti-abortion Texas Democrat seeking a 10th term in Congress, continues his re-election bid after primary challenger Jessica Cisneros conceded the race Tuesday.
“The results of the #TX28 runoff are not what we had fought for,” tweeted Cisneros, who was endorsed by major players in the progressive movement, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Cuellar, who represents Texas’ 28th Congressional District, and Cisneros were forced into a runoff after neither secured over 50% of the vote in the primary election on March 1. An electronic recount of the May 24 runoff found Cuellar defeated Cisneros by 289 votes, the Texas Democratic Party announced.
NBC News did not previously project a winner because the race was too close to call.
Cuellar’s triumph was far from certain. The congressman has been beleaguered by controversy in recent months. In January, the FBI raided his home and campaign office, reportedly stemming from an investigation into Azerbaijan business interests. Cuellar has advocated for Azerbaijani interests in Congress. He has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to cooperate with the FBI’s investigation. His attorney said last month that Cuellar is not the target of a probe.
On top of that, Cuellar’s anti-abortion stance has put him at odds with most people in his party at a time when reproductive rights are under greater threat than ever in modern history. He’s voted against shoring up federal abortion rights multiple times. And with Republican-led states instituting oppressive abortion restrictions, and a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting conservative justices are preparing to overturn federal abortion rights, Cisneros made reproductive rights a focus of her campaign.
“With the House majority on the line, he could very much be the deciding vote on the future of our reproductive rights and we cannot afford to take that risk,” Cisneros said in a statement in May.
Despite opposing abortion rights, which Democratic Party leadership tout as essential, Cuellar was still backed by establishment Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Some may have viewed the race between Cuellar and Cisneros as a proxy for where the Democratic Party stands under current leadership — whether the old guard retains its grip over the party and its policy priorities or, perhaps, new leaders are primed to dislodge them.
Cuellar’s victory is a disappointment to people pulling for the latter.
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Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.