High-profile race between South Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and progressive rival too close to call

After Tuesday’s runoff vote, one of the nation’s most-watched primary races remains too close to call.

Nine-term U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, declared victory just before midnight in his tight rematch against progressive Jessica Cisneros. But, trailing by just 177 votes with all counties reporting, Cisneros fired back that she’s not ready to concede.

“This election is still too close to call, and we are still waiting for every ballot and eligible vote to be counted,” the immigration attorney said in a tweet following Cuellar’s statement.

The contested 28th Congressional District stretches from Laredo all the way to a swath of East San Antonio.

Cisneros came within four points of grabbing the Democratic nomination from Cuellar in 2020. This time around, she’s been aided by endorsements from progressive heavyweights including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The runoff grabbed even more national attention after news broke that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade. Cisneros aggressively seized on Cuellar’s status as the last anti-abortion Democrat in the U.S. House in a major TV ad buy.

Cuellar’s reelection bid has also been complicated by an FBI raid on his Laredo home and office shortly before the primary. Cuellar has insisted that he’s not the subject of the federal probe, which reportedly focuses on allegations of influence peddling by the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. 

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This article appears in May 18-31, 2022.