Cuellar, Cisneros in Dead Heat in Texas 28 (Live Updates)

[JRCF29 7,922]

Cuellar 50.5%

Cisneros 49.5%

Live Results

Update (12:22am): Cuellar is currently leading by roughly 200 votes. Neither candidate has declared victory.

Update (11:50pm): After briefly giving up a razor-thin lead, Cisneros has inched back in front of Cuellar, with less than 500 votes separating the pair. Under Texas law, candidates can request a recount if the final margin is within 10% of all votes cast.

U.S. Rep Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) overtook primary opponent Jessica Cisneros for the first time since right after polls closed in the 28th district's contentious primary runoff. 

Cisneros, an immigration attorney and progressive activist, unsuccessfully ran for this seat in 2020 and launched a second campaign last year. Neither her nor Cuellar, the House's last remaining anti-abortion Democrat, secured a majority of votes in the March primary, leading to a May rematch that drew national attention, significant spending, and prominent politicians from across the spectrum. 

Cuellar's allies in the House, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have vocally backed him in the runoff and influential moderates have spent large sums of money to defend him, with his supporters standing by him even during an FBI raid of his house. (Rep. Cuellar has not been charged with any crime). 

Cisneros has the backing of progressive figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). She has ramped up attacks over Cuellar's pro-life voting record and statements in the wake of the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. 

 

Edited May 25 by JRCF29

[StarstruckIllusion 34,543]

The way Nancy Pelosi thinks progressive Dems are worse than losing abortion rights… sigh. 

[Emvee 6,254]

If Cuellar wins in the midst of this roe v wade crisis, it’ll be the most blatant display of hypocrisy from democrats yet - especially from Nancy Pelosi who endorsed him. 

[JRCF29 7,922]

13 minutes ago, Emvee said:

If Cuellar wins in the midst of this roe v wade crisis, it’ll be the most blatant display of hypocrisy from democrats yet - especially from Nancy Pelosi who endorsed him. 

It wasn't just Pelosi. The entire Democratic leadership arm was behind him, and House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) showed up in person for a rally over the weekend. 

Cuellar's district is one of the most Catholic in the country, so his abortion stance is almost certainly more consistent with the district overall than is Cisneros'. Whoever the nominee is will be facing Cassy Garcia, a pro-life candidate, in the general; Cuellar's allies will argue (and have been arguing) that a pro-choice activist with close ties to AOC is a poor fit for the district in a competitive climate. The abortion issue in this district does not appear to be playing the way many progressives expected.

[gabeoz 7,145]

I really hope Cisneros wins. she had such a big advantage in the first round. hope it translates to her win (she won against a guy I used to talk to )

[JRCF29 7,922]

18 minutes ago, Emvee said:

If Cuellar wins in the midst of this roe v wade crisis, it’ll be the most blatant display of hypocrisy from democrats yet - especially from Nancy Pelosi who endorsed him. 

For comparison, Cisneros received a similar number of votes (as of right now, with almost all ballots in) in the first-round of voting (pre-leak). 

[JRCF29 7,922]

5 minutes ago, gabeoz said:

I really hope Cisneros wins. she had such a big advantage in the first round. hope it translates to her win (she won against a guy I used to talk to )

Henry Cuellar won the first round by a little over a percentage point

[gabeoz 7,145]

7 minutes ago, JRCF29 said:

Henry Cuellar won the first round by a little over a percentage point

Honestly I’m a little surprised, I closely follow a lot of congressional races but not my own district  I knew the first primary was close but not beating her close. But then again, I live in north San Antonio and I’ve heard only about her. 

[JRCF29 7,922]

31 minutes ago, gabeoz said:

Honestly I’m a little surprised, I closely follow a lot of congressional races but not my own district  I knew the first primary was close but not beating her close. But then again, I live in north San Antonio and I’ve heard only about her. 

Cisneros is strong in San Antonio, but there doesn't appear to be any indication that the Roe leak expanded her support. beyond its borders. She has almost exactly the same number of votes in the runoff as she did in the first round--that's not indicative of people rallying to her, former Cuellar voters or otherwise

[gabeoz 7,145]

10 minutes ago, JRCF29 said:

Cisneros is strong in San Antonio, but there doesn't appear to be any indication that the Roe leak expanded her support. beyond its borders. She has almost exactly the same number of votes in the runoff as she did in the first round--that's not indicative of people rallying to her, former Cuellar voters or otherwise

You are right, she does have over 80% support here it seems. But To be fair, the big wave we would expect to see regarding abortion really won’t come until roe is actually overturned, officially. But I agree, abortion isn’t currently the biggest issue in the district. I’m a bartender as well, working in a predominately wealthy, white area of the district in San Antonio. I have heard more talk about the texas school shooting and how something needs to be done about it, today, in a single shift, than the issue of abortion the entire time Ive worked here. 
Dems struggle so hard on messaging, and it really shows during times like this.

Edited May 25 by gabeoz

[Nemo 3,363]

177-vote gap as of this post

Cuellar declared victory, but it's obviously recount territory. I'm not sure how many votes are outstanding.

[JRCF29 7,922]

6 hours ago, Nemo said:

177-vote gap as of this post

Cuellar declared victory, but it's obviously recount territory. I'm not sure how many votes are outstanding.

No change in the results as of today. Cisneros can petition for a recount, but would have to do so soon under Texas law.