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correction
An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that MP Henry Cuéllar won by less than 200 votes. The Associated Press updated its count and won by 289 votes. The article has been corrected.
Texas Rep. Henry Cuéllar will narrowly get the Democratic nomination for the 28th District of Texas Congress after a controversial re-election battle against attorney Jessica Cisneros.
A count of the results of the second round of May 24 found that Cuéllar defeated Cisneros by 289 votes. The Associated Press called the race for Cuéllar on Tuesday.
Although Cuéllar had already proclaimed victory after the May 24 election, the AP abstained from calling the election, explaining that the results were too tight. Cisneros then demanded a count, which was overseen by the state Democratic Party and paid for by his campaign.
In a statement on Tuesday, Cuéllar said the count showed what he had already announced: that he would run in the November general election.
“As I said on election night, ‘the margin will be maintained,’ and not only has it been maintained, but it has grown,” Cuéllar said.
This is not the first time Cuellar has narrowly defeated Cisneros in a battle for the 28th District of Texas. Cisneros was close to defeating his former boss – he did a boarding school for him in 2014 – in 2020. He lost that race by 1,700 votes.
Cuellar, the only anti-abortion Democrat in the United States House, had the support of top Democrats like President Nancy Pelosi of California, while Cisneros received the support of a new generation of more liberal Democrats. including Deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (NY). District 28 will be competitive in the fall. Cuéllar will now face Republican candidate Cassy Garcia, a former deputy director of Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).
In his statement Tuesday, Cuéllar appeared to acknowledge the rift between his views and those of most Democrats in the House.
“While we may differ on certain positions, we share one thing in common on many issues to improve our communities and strengthen families,” Cuellar said. “I will continue to fight for Texas values and not let coastal elites bring their failed agenda to our communities.”
Cisneros conceded the race on Tuesday, saying in a statement that “he always knew this was a difficult battle.”
“We were facing a corrupt political machine,” Cisneros said, accusing Cuéllar of being funded by various conservative groups, such as Republican-funded Super PAC, the Koch brothers … [and] the Chamber of Commerce “as well as” almost the entire Democratic Party establishment in Washington. “
“We still refused to back down,” Cisneros said. “With that margin closed, it’s clear that without their aggressive interference in the lives of South Texas families, we would have won.”
Texas Democratic Party President Gilberto Hinojosa congratulated Cuéllar on his victory in a statement.
“We are grateful to Jessica Cisneros for her positive campaign, illustrating the issues that are really affecting South Texas,” Hinojosa added. “We all know he will continue to fight for the South Texans as we unite behind our candidate, Henry Cuellar.”
Arelis R. Hernández contributed to this report.