Abortion reveals Democratic fault lines in too-close-to-call Texas
rematch
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[May 25, 2022] By
Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Centrist U.S.
Representative Henry Cuellar was clinging to a razor-thin lead early on
Wednesday against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros in a
high-profile south Texas Democratic primary battle that illustrated
sharp dividing lines over immigration and abortion rights.
The election on Tuesday in a district along the U.S.-Mexico border was
the third contest between Cuellar, who has held the seat since 2005, and
Cisneros, a 28-year-old attorney who failed to unseat him in 2020 but
forced him to a runoff in the state's March primary this year.
A tally by Edison Research showed Cuellar up by just 177 votes with 92%
of the estimated vote counted. Major media outlets held off on calling
the race.
Despite the slim margin, Cuellar declared victory. Cisneros, however,
declined to concede, saying every ballot needed to be counted.
The race took on new urgency in recent weeks after a leaked Supreme
Court opinion indicated that it could overturn a 1973 ruling that
legalized abortion nationwide.
Cuellar, 66, is the lone House Democrat to oppose abortion rights, and
abortion-rights groups have spent at least $160,000 to bolster
Cisneros's campaign.
Cuellar has said Cisneros would risk public safety and hurt the local
economy by cutting law enforcement funding in a district where many
voters work for border patrol agencies.
Cisneros has since distanced herself from her previous call to eliminate
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Political analysts have said a Cisneros win could threaten Democrats'
chances to hold the seat in the Nov. 8 election, when Republicans hope
to win control of the House of Representatives.
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Democrat Jessica Cisneros, who is campaigning for a House seat,
speaks during her watch party in Laredo, Texas, U.S. March 3, 2020.
REUTERS/Veronica Cardenas/File Photo
But Cuellar's strength in the general election should
not be a foregone conclusion, said Joshua Blank, research director
of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas in Austin.
"The reality is that Cisneros has come very close to unseating
Cuellar twice at this point," Blank said. "If he can't defeat
Cisneros, then I think the logic underlying that should come into
question."
Cisneros has benefited from increased name recognition and an FBI
investigation that saw raids on Cuellar's home and office.
Financial disclosures on Friday showed she has out-raised him by
almost $1.4 million, and has around $400,000 more cash on hand than
Cuellar.
The race is one of several midterm primary battles between incumbent
House Democrats and progressive challengers.
In Oregon, Jamie McLeod-Skinner looks set to oust moderate incumbent
Kurt Schrader, while in Pennsylvania progressive Summer Lee has a
slight lead over Steve Irwin. Other progressive challengers like
Nina Turner in Ohio have lost.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Additional reporting by
Jason Lange and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Alistair Bell
and Edmund Klamann)
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