LAREDO, Texas — A veteran Democratic congressional representative from South Texas is in one of the toughest fights of his political career. National Republicans are targeting Rep. Henry Cuellar as part of their effort to wrest control of the U.S. House from Democrats. Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, opposes abortion rights and favors some restrictions at the border, but his Republican opponent, Cassy Garcia, says that does not go far enough. 

What You Need To Know

  • Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat who embraces some conservative positions, is in a fight to hold on to his South Texas seat

  • Cuellar, who is seeking a 10th term, opposes abortion and favors some restrictions at the U.S.-Texas border 

  • Cuellar earlier this years narrowly defeated a progressive Democratic challenger and is now facing a November challenge from Republican Cassy Garcia

  • Cuellar's Texas home was searched by the FBI earlier this year, but he says he was not the subject of the search and did nothing wrong 

Just north of the Rio Grande one Saturday afternoon, the Zapata County sheriff hosted a barbecue for Cuellar as a show of support for the Laredo Democrat seeking a tenth term in Congress. Cuellar talked up his support of the border patrol, an effort helped by being the only Texas Democrat on the powerful House Committee on Appropriations. 

“This year, we’re adding monies for Border Patrol  — support staff, technology, equipment for Border Patrol, pay raises for Border Patrol, child care for Border Patrol, mental health for Border Patrol, and all the way up to making sure that they have what they need to do their work,” Cuellar told Spectrum News. 

With the border a major issue in this year’s election, it is a point Sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque emphasizes, too. Del Bosque presented Cuellar a plaque for his contributions to the region. 

“He supports all the working families who are here on the border, and provides a lot of resources to law enforcement, not only to law enforcement, but to education, to the highway department, to the water department,” Del Bosque said. 

But Garcia said the Democrats’ border policies upset her so much it inspired her to challenge Cuellar. Garcia mostly recently worked for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz as a deputy state director and was appointed by President Donald Trump as commissioner for the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative. 

Garcia’s husband is a Border Patrol agent. She supports the construction of the border wall, as well as the Trump-era policy which required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for the court date. She touts how the National Border Patrol Council now backs her after previously endorsing Cuellar.

“Every city in America is now a border community because of what we’re seeing on our southern border, and because the Joe Biden administration has done absolutely nothing. So the agents are frustrated, they’re overwhelmed, they’re overworked, they don’t have the resources to do their job,” Garcia told Spectrum News. 

Democrats have represented the 28th Congressional District — which includes San Antonio, Laredo and parts of the border — for more than a century. But the GOP sees an opportunity after President Donald Trump did better than expected with Hispanic voters in the region two years ago.

They are targeting residents like Frank Ramirez, who listened to Garcia at a Hispanic Heritage Month event held by the Republican National Committee in Laredo. Ramirez surprised Garcia with personalized gifts that showed her campaign logo. He said he used to support Cuellar, but not anymore.

“I have two boys, two sons, and I’m looking out for their, for their future. My grandkids also, I’m looking out for their future. Because if we keep on going the way it is right now, they’re the ones that are going to be hurting,” Ramirez said. 

It has been a tough year for Cuellar. Earlier this year, FBI agents searched his home and office, a fact his opponent has seized on and criticizes him for.

Cuellar and his lawyer maintain he is not the “target” of that investigation and it will show there was no “wrongdoing” on his part.  

Then Cuellar barely survived a primary challenge from the left, winning by just 289 votes. But the question is, will the conservative positions that nearly cost Cuellar his job then help him now?

The Texas Legislature redrew the lines of the 28th Congressional District so President Joe Biden would have won by 7 percentage points. 

“Trump was a force in itself. And he knew the issues to work on. He worked on strong border security, which is something I do. He talked about the importance of oil and gas, which is — I’m very strong on oil and gas, which is important. Those two issues are very important,” Cuellar said. 

Republicans bet that their criticism of the Democrats’ border policies will resonate with many Hispanic voters. They believe the forces that swung Zapata County to the GOP for the first time in a century in 2020 have not gone away.

“People are waking up, people are excited, they’re motivated. We talk about our values of faith, family and freedom and hard work. And I think people are resonating with that. The Democrat Party has left the Hispanic community. So it’s time,” Garcia said.

Garcia is in her first run for office in a race to unseat a longtime Democrat in communities united by a shared border but increasingly divided by politics.