U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar secures one other time period as legal trial looms

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U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar secured an eleventh time period representing his South Texas congressional district early Wednesday regardless of a federal indictment accusing him of a litany of corruption allegations.

Cuellar defeated Republican Jay Furman, a political newcomer, in keeping with The Related Press.

Cuellar is certainly one of Texas’ longest serving Democrats in Congress, and has served the twenty eighth Congressional District since 2005. He and his household are synonymous with political energy in Laredo, whose airport has a terminal that bears his title. One of the vital conservative members of the Democratic caucus, he usually breaks from his social gathering and sides with Republicans. He’s identified for shut friendships with Republicans and is the final pro-life Democrat in Congress.

Cuellar faces a legal trial after the Justice Division indicted him on a collection of prices alleging bribery, cash laundering and dealing on behalf of the Azerbaijani authorities and a Mexican financial institution. The fees spanned years of Cuellar’s service in authorities. The specter of that upcoming trial forged a pall over his reelection marketing campaign.

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

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

Republicans weren’t planning on placing up a critical combat within the Laredo-based district. After a crushing, 13-point defeat in 2022 with tens of millions of {dollars} invested, Republicans determined to focus their consideration elsewhere. Their main offensive alternative in Texas this cycle was within the thirty fourth Congressional District in opposition to Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.

Furman secured the Republican nomination in a Could runoff election. Shortly after, the Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee introduced it was as soon as once more making the district a goal. Furman has no formal political expertise. He beforehand served within the Navy in Sub-Saharan Africa and launched his marketing campaign as a grassroots, far-right effort.

However there was no repeat of the funding of 2022 once they recruited, skilled and spent closely on their candidate, Cassy Garcia.

This 12 months, the NRCC and the Congressional Management Fund by no means introduced main advert buys in Laredo, the district’s inhabitants middle, regardless of spending over $8 million in 2022. Furman failed to boost a aggressive sum of cash, relying closely on private loans. Furman raised a mere $323,000 this cycle as of mid-October, together with over $181,000 in money owed. Cuellar had raised over $2.3 million with no loans.

Cuellar’s pending legal trial was pushed in June till after the election, sparing him from a extremely seen authorized drama. He additionally didn’t face the identical backlash from his friends as different indicted lawmakers akin to U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York or Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Home Democratic leaders maintained their endorsements of him.

Nonetheless, the authorized charges pulled on his marketing campaign funds, and he was barred from touring past South and West Texas besides to go to Washington for congressional work.

Cuellar fended off a aggressive main problem by immigration legal professional Jessica Cisneros in 2020 and 2022. In 2022, Cisneros misplaced by lower than a proportion level. Cuellar was notably weak that 12 months after the FBI searched his home in a extremely public raid. The raid was later revealed to be in reference to this 12 months’s indictment.

His 2022 Republican problem from Garcia was half of a bigger Republican foray into the standard Democratic stronghold of South Texas. Republicans spent tens of millions within the neighboring fifteenth and thirty fourth districts, securing a victory within the McAllen-based fifteenth district with U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz.

Republicans weren’t as nicely funded as Democrats this 12 months, compelling them to be choosier of their investments. The NRCC devoted the lionshare of its sources within the thirty fourth district, the place former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores challenged Gonzalez.

Furman entered the race earlier than Cuellar’s indictment and his political inexperience and hard-right platform made him an unconventional choose for Republicans. Furman mentioned shortly after launching his marketing campaign that he picked the twenty eighth 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 a number of former Trump administration officers and far-right members of Congress, together with U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Chip Roy of Austin and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.