South Texas is known for its moderates. A primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar could test

[TexasTowelie]

South Texas is known for its moderates. A primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar could test that.

by J. Edward Moreno, Texas Tribune


WASHINGTON — Not many people understand South Texas.

It's one of the handful of blue pockets in the state, but unlike the others, it's not clustered in an urban center. The congressional districts that represent it encompass small border cities and ranch lands alike. Like other heavily Hispanic areas, the number of young voters grows each election, and what that means for the Democratic Party is uncertain.

But a spirited primary campaign in the district long held by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from Laredo, could test if and how the politics of the area are changing. Cuellar, who has served in Congress since 2004, isn't too different from the other Democrats who represent the Rio Grande Valley in Washington and Austin. But now he’s facing a challenge from a former intern who is running on a progressive platform.

Jessica Cisneros, a 26-year-old immigration attorney, has pushed for proposals like "Medicare for All," gun control and the Green New Deal. Cuellar has argued that those ideas don’t align with the beliefs of the district and that the bulk of Cisneros’ support comes from people outside the region. The race has become one of the most closely watched in the country early in the primary season.

Texas’ 28th Congressional District spans from western Hidalgo County, right outside the McAllen city limits, and up north to Laredo and the eastern San Antonio suburbs. In 2016, it went to Hillary Clinton by 20 percentage points, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke won it by similar margins in the 2018 Senate election.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/11/21/henry-cuellar-and-jessica-cisneros-duke-it-out-texas-primary/

[Gothmog]

1. I will be donating to Cuellar

I am not a fan of Just Us Democrats

[LeftInTX]

2. I don't Cisneros has much of a chance against Cuellar

I keep hearing that Cuellar accepts money from the Koch Brothers and NRA. (I don't know if this is true)

He is very Blue Dog, but he's got family connections.

I do hope that Cisneros can nudge Cuellar to the left a bit. He represents what appears to be a fairly conservative part of San Antonio (where I live), but his big constituency is Laredo, which is very different demographically than the part of SA that he represents.

Universal City and Converse tend to be quite conservative and most areas outside loop 410 on the East and Southeast side are conservative.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_28th_congressional_district#/media/File:Texas_US_Congressional_District_28_(since_2013).tif