DCCC chair: Cuellar, ahead by mere 177 votes, likely won South Texas primary runoff

[TexasTowelie]

WASHINGTON – With Laredo Rep. Henry Cuellar leading by a mere 177 votes after last week’s primary runoff, and challenger Jessica Cisneros – and independent analysts – still unwilling to call the race, the head of the party’s House campaign arm said Tuesday that the nine-term incumbent probably won.

“It appears that Congressman Cuellar has won again, and we want him coming back to Congress, if in fact, he’s our nominee,” Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, told The Dallas Morning News during a briefing with regional reporters.

“It’s my expectation that when the dust settles, he will be the Democratic nominee. And we are going to hold that seat,” he said.

Cuellar declared victory last week, insisting his razor-thin lead would hold.

He’s ahead by just 0.4 percentage points out of 45,211 ballots cast – close, though not as close as his 58-vote win in the 2004 primary, when he ousted incumbent Ciro Rodriguez.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/05/31/dccc-chair-henry-cuellar-ahead-by-mere-177-votes-won-south-texas-primary-runoff/

[The Magistrate]

1. Old Lyndon Baines Would Seem To Be His Spirit Animal, Sir

Sounds so like that first election to the Senate....

[Ford_Prefect]

2. Would there be a recount in the offing?

Cisneros has appealed to donors to raise $250,000 for a recount.

[in2herbs]

3. YEAH! The support by DCCC of an anti-abortion candidate and an NRA supporter. This is

why, when I donate, I only donate directly to candidate.

If Cisneros wasn't electable in that part of TX why is there only a 177 vote difference? Instead of supporting a candidate with beliefs that Ds claim to be theirs, the Ds threw millions of $$ behind Cuellar in the last weeks before election -- even after the Alioto draft leak. I'm gonna stick to donating to wildlife and animal organization only.

What has Cuellar said about the Uvalde massacre? The typical NRA line I would imagine.

[TexasTowelie]

4. I don't believe anyone thought that the race between Cuellar and Cisneros wouldn't be close.

The question is whether Cisneros could win the general election. After being raised in South Texas, I'm fully aware of the patriarchal attitudes of the voters in that part of the state. Cisneros being an immigration rights attorney is also a detriment in the general election in that part of the state where the migrants have been responsible for criminal activity (mostly property-related), although the public has also been endangered with high speed chases and vehicle bailouts.

Just as some progressives have stated that they will sit out the general election if Cuellar is the nominee, there is the same amount of gossip among non-Justice Democrats stating that if Cisneros is the nominee then they will sit out the election. I take those comments seriously because Cuellar's positions on political issues align more closely with the traditions and heritage of the voters than Cisneros, who has positions that align only with a subset of Democratic voters.

[LeftInTX]

6. I doubt if Cisnero's voters will sit out the election...

Just my opinion..

I could see Cuellar supporters voting for the R in the general though...

[TexasTowelie]

7. I'm in agreement about Cisneros voters and II hope that they remain loyal to the Democratic party.

I also can see where Cuellar supporters could vote Republican if they feel that their jobs are in jeopardy with Cisneros as the nominee, although some of them will decide not to vote in the race. The GOP would certainly exploit Cisneros as being "bad for business."

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Here are some updates

It looks like we are getting closer to final results

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Here is some more updates-Cuellar's lead is currently 192

Link to tweet

[TexasTowelie]

9. This doesn't bode well for Jessica raising $250,000 for a recount,

particularly when half of the donations go to the Justice Democrats. It looks like the Justice Democrats will gain one seat with Greg Casar in TX-35, but that will be the extent of their gains in Texas for 2022.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. I am on the Justice Democrats email feed

It is sad but amusing how many emails that I have received on this race. All of these emails talk about there being some split between Jessica and the Justice Democrats. These emails are really amusing because the Justice Dems really hate regular democrats in general and Nancy Pelosi in particular. The hatred in these emails really pesters me.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Congressman Cuellar's statement on election results

Link to tweet