Back in 2004, Henry Cuellar was running for Congress after a failed bid two years before, waging a bitter primary battle against San Antonio incumbent Ciro Rodriguez. By election night, it looked like the incumbent had narrowly held on and that Cuellar’s political career might be over. But after a contested recount, Cuellar ultimately prevailed by the razor-thin margin of 58 votes.
For the next 16 years, Cuellar ruled the roost of the Laredo-based 28th Congressional District as one of the most prominent conservative, anti-abortion, pro-business Democrats in the House. Then in 2020, he narrowly escaped a primary challenge from progressive attorney Jessica Cisneros.
Two years later, Cuellar found himself in another extremely tight rematch with Cisneros. His challenger’s campaign got off to a slower start than in 2020, when she quickly rallied support and funding from national progressives. Then, in late January, the FBI showed up at Cuellar’s Laredo home and campaign headquarters to confiscate property, reportedly as part of a sweeping investigation into Azerbaijani foreign influence-peddling.
