Henry Cuellar isn't apologizing for being a reasonable – The Texas Tribune

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WASHINGTON — It’s been a tricky yr for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar. In January, the Laredo Democrat’s dwelling was raided by the FBI weeks earlier than his main. Then, the overturning of Roe v. Wade this summer season cemented his standing as a pariah with many in his social gathering, for being the one Democrat to vote earlier within the yr in opposition to a invoice to guard abortion entry.

However heading into November, Cuellar isn’t working scared. He’s sporting the label of a reasonable like a badge of honor. And he doesn’t seem like any worse for the wear and tear.

“I feel individuals need us to manipulate from the middle, whether or not we’re Democrats or Republicans,” Cuellar stated in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “I feel individuals are getting bored with the acute left and the acute proper.”

Cuellar faces off in opposition to Cassy Garcia, a former staffer of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and member of the Trump administration, for Congressional District 28 in South Texas — one of many few aggressive races left within the state after redistricting final yr modified the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts.

Cuellar’s standing as one of many few remaining “reasonable” Democrats can also be paying dividends for his fundraising, as he took in nearly $4.9 million as of the top of June, smashing his ordinary tempo for earlier years. At that time in his final race in opposition to Republican Sandra Whitten, he had raised $2.4 million. In 2018, he had raised simply $1.3 million. The subsequent fundraising disclosure deadline is Oct. 15.

On account of redistricting, nonetheless, this is among the best basic election races the longtime congressman has had in years, boosting the necessity for stronger fundraising.

A number of the latest and largest donors to his marketing campaign are political motion committees that primarily contribute to Republican candidates and assist conservative causes. This contains $4,000 from the Justice, Liberty and Freedom PAC, affiliated with former U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble; $3,000 from a lobbying agency that has contributed to GOP Sens. Marco Rubio and Chuck Grassley and $2,900 from Construct Our Future PAC, which has given handsomely to the political motion committee for John Bolton, Trump’s nationwide safety adviser.

“He’s now just about alone as a conservative Democrat in the home,” stated David Wasserman, one of many nation’s prime election forecasters at Cook dinner Political Report. “His marketing campaign committee is a secure place for company PACs to donate to show they’re bipartisan with out being antithetical to their views.”

Cuellar characterizes his place on abortion entry as reasonable, saying abortion ought to be “uncommon, authorized and secure.”

However he was the lone Democrat within the Home to vote in opposition to the Ladies’s Well being Safety Act of 2022 in July, which aimed to protect entry to abortion care on the federal degree. That invoice by no means superior within the Senate.

Whereas opposing abortion, Cuellar has been important of Texas’ regulation handed final yr that restricted abortions after roughly six weeks of being pregnant. He was particularly important of the regulation’s enforcement mechanism that inspired and rewarded common residents to implement the regulation by civil litigation. After Texas banned practically all abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned, he voted in assist of a invoice that will defend the correct for a lady to cross state borders to hunt the process the place it’s nonetheless authorized.

“That’s a place that I’ve had, however now we see that the Democrats have gone one explicit route and Republicans have gone a unique route,” Cuellar stated. “In some ways, my place has not modified from after I was within the state Legislature.”

Cuellar’s outlier stance on abortion is particularly notable provided that so many Democrats heading into the midterms are counting on a lift of enthusiasm associated to anger over the Supreme Courtroom’s motion. However Cuellar’s South Texas district, which is predominantly Hispanic, might have extra socially conservative Democrats.

“The abortion problem is sophisticated right here as a result of it’s a closely Catholic district,” Wasserman stated. “Cuellar is nearer to the median voter on this district on this problem.”

Sylvia Bruni, chair of Webb County Democrats, is a Catholic who doesn’t consider in abortion but in addition doesn’t assist authorities bans in opposition to it. Whereas she stated she has seen “palpable anger” in voters over the overturning of Roe v. Wade, she additionally thinks the default stance on Cuellar for a lot of is that this: He’s higher than the choice.

“Proper now something Republican for me is an absolute hazard sign,” Bruni stated. “Typically talking, one other Republican in Congress can be disastrous for us.”

Throughout his contentious main in opposition to challenger Jessica Cisneros, progressives hammered Cuellar after Politico reported the leak of the Supreme Courtroom’s plans to overturn the constitutional safety safety for abortions. Left-wing heavyweights like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York went scorched earth on the Democratic incumbent.

“The actual fact is those that fail their communities need to lose,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about Cuellar in Might. “They don’t want rescuing from highly effective leaders who state they battle for gun security, the correct to decide on, and extra.”

Ocasio-Cortez was referencing the heavy-handed assist of Home Democratic management that Cullar obtained in his main. Within the thick of the shut battle, influential social gathering figures, together with Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, endorsed the longtime congressman. And Home Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina traveled to Texas after the bombshell report of Roe v. Wade’s demise to marketing campaign for Cuellar, saying the social gathering shouldn’t shun abortion opponents.

Maybe boosted by his win within the main — nonetheless slim it was — Cuellar turned extra vocal this summer season about his political convictions.

“After all I’ve a spot within the Democratic Get together. The query is, do these individuals have a spot within the Democratic Get together?” Cuellar said of Ocasio-Cortez to Axios in June. “Let me be me and I’ll preserve this seat as a Democrat.”

In public appearances this summer season, Cuellar has additional leaned into his popularity for crossing the aisle. In two Fox Information interviews in June, he railed in opposition to the document variety of border crossings in Texas — echoing many conservatives — and scorched the “far left” of his social gathering that “doesn’t perceive actuality.”

Cuellar made one other Fox Information look in September by which he lambasted the Biden administration’s border insurance policies, saying he desires extra deportations.

“They’re making it very onerous for Democrats, the place the Republicans are pouncing on Democrats, saying they’re not for safe borders,” Cuellar stated.

However Republicans don’t suppose Cuellar is conservative sufficient, and they’re throwing thousands and thousands of {dollars} behind Garcia, who says she really embodies the values of the South Texas district.

“The rationale why I’m working for Congress is to defend religion, household and freedom,” Garcia stated on Tucker Carlson’s Fox Information present in July. “The present incumbent Henry Cuellar, who says all the correct issues, has achieved completely nothing to safe our southern border.”

Home Republican management will spend round $4 million on Garcia this cycle. Her marketing campaign raised over $1.1 million within the third quarter of the yr alone, it introduced this week.

She has hammered Cuellar over the FBI raid on his Laredo dwelling and marketing campaign workplace, an ominous cloud over the Congressman’s reelection bid. No prices have been filed and Cuellar’s lawyer has stated that the congressman is just not the goal of the investigation.

Whereas the main points of the raid haven’t formally been launched, ABC News reported shortly after the raid {that a} grand jury sought information associated to Cuellar, his spouse and one in all his marketing campaign staffers over connections to Azerbaijan. Cuellar is a member of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and infrequently speaks out advocating for the oil-rich nation. The Associated Press confirmed the report.

“The incumbent can not choose up the cellphone and ask the DOJ [Department of Justice] to prosecute gangs and cartels when he’s afraid they’ll inform him, ‘Hey, Henry, now that we’ve got you on the road, let’s speak about our ongoing legal investigation in opposition to you,’” Garcia stated in an interview with The Texas Tribune.

Cuellar has remained steadfast that he’s not the goal of a legal investigation and stated the investigation will in the end clear him of any wrongdoing.

“As my lawyer has stated, I’m not a goal of the investigation. We’ll cooperate with regulation enforcement,” Cuellar stated. “On the finish of the day, we are going to see that there was no wrongdoing.”

Cuellar’s main opponent Cisneros, who misplaced by lower than 300 votes, cautioned that Cuellar’s reasonable popularity is downright conservative at occasions.

The final time Cuellar was a member in a GOP-controlled Home, proper after the election of former President Donald Trump, Cuellar voted in opposition to a majority of Home Democrats nearly 17% of the time, one of many highest charges in Congress.

“He was the one Democrat to vote in opposition to the Ladies’s Well being Safety Act, he was one in all a handful of Democrats to vote in opposition to gun reform after the Uvalde taking pictures that occurred on election day,” Cisneros stated. “I imply I made a decision to leap into the race as a result of in the course of the Trump administration he was voting with Donald Trump 70 p.c of the time.”

Irrespective of who wins the bulk this fall, Cuellar stated it received’t have an effect on how he does his job.

“I choose a Home managed by a Democrat majority, however even prior to now when the Republicans have been in management, I used to be nonetheless capable of get my job achieved,” Cuellar stated. “I don’t elevate a purple flag with Republicans, I’m able to sit down with them. I’ve been profitable regardless of if it’s a Democratic or Republican Congress.”

Disclosure: Politico has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full list of them here.