U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar secures another term as criminal trial looms

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U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar secured an 11th term representing his South Texas congressional district early Wednesday despite a federal indictment accusing him of a litany of corruption allegations.

Cuellar defeated Republican Jay Furman, a political newcomer, according to The Associated Press.

Cuellar is one of Texas’ longest serving Democrats in Congress, and has served the 28th Congressional District since 2005. He and his family are synonymous with political power in Laredo, whose airport has a terminal that bears his name. One of the most conservative members of the Democratic caucus, he often breaks from his party and sides with Republicans. He is known for close friendships with Republicans and is the last pro-life Democrat in Congress.

Cuellar faces a criminal trial after the Justice Department indicted him on a series of charges alleging bribery, money laundering and working on behalf of the Azerbaijani government and a Mexican bank. The charges spanned years of Cuellar’s service in government. The specter of that upcoming trial cast a pall over his reelection campaign.

Cuellar denied any wrongdoing and expressed confidence immediately after the indictment went public that he would still be reelected.

“These allegations have been difficult on my family. But, with your prayers, we will overcome,” Cuellar said in a statement at the time. “Let me be clear, I’m running for re-election and will win this November.”

Republicans were not planning on putting up a serious fight in the Laredo-based district. After a crushing, 13-point defeat in 2022 with millions of dollars invested, Republicans decided to focus their attention elsewhere. Their primary offensive opportunity in Texas this cycle was in the 34th Congressional District against Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.

Furman secured the Republican nomination in a May runoff election. Shortly after, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced it was once again making the district a target. Furman has no formal political experience. He previously served in the Navy in Sub-Saharan Africa and launched his campaign as a grassroots, far-right effort.

But there was no repeat of the investment of 2022 when they recruited, trained and spent heavily on their candidate, Cassy Garcia.

This year, the NRCC and the Congressional Leadership Fund never announced major ad buys in Laredo, the district’s population center, despite spending over $8 million in 2022. Furman failed to raise a competitive sum of money, relying heavily on personal loans. Furman raised a mere $323,000 this cycle as of mid-October, including over $181,000 in debts. Cuellar had raised over $2.3 million with no loans.

Cuellar’s pending criminal trial was pushed in June until after the election, sparing him from a highly visible legal drama. He also did not face the same backlash from his peers as other indicted lawmakers such as U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York or Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. House Democratic leaders maintained their endorsements of him.

Still, the legal fees pulled on his campaign funds, and he was barred from traveling beyond South and West Texas except to go to Washington for congressional work.

Cuellar fended off a competitive primary challenge by immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros in 2020 and 2022. In 2022, Cisneros lost by less than a percentage point. Cuellar was particularly vulnerable that year after the FBI searched his house in a highly public raid. The raid was later revealed to be in connection with this year’s indictment.

His 2022 Republican challenge from Garcia was part of a larger Republican foray into the traditional Democratic stronghold of South Texas. Republicans spent millions in the neighboring 15th and 34th districts, securing a victory in the McAllen-based 15th district with U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz.

Republicans were not as well funded as Democrats this year, compelling them to be choosier in their investments. The NRCC dedicated the lionshare of its resources in the 34th district, where former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores challenged Gonzalez.

Furman entered the race before Cuellar’s indictment and his political inexperience and hard-right platform made him an unconventional pick for Republicans. Furman said shortly after launching his campaign that he picked the 28th district “to provide a national platform to promote President Trump because he is going to be the one and singular person who can save us from this moment.”

Furman had secured the endorsements of several former Trump administration officials and far-right members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Chip Roy of Austin and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.