TEXAS — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, will be running against a former staffer for his seat in Congress.

Jose Sanz this week announced his run for representative of Texas' 28th district, an area accounting for much of the South Texas border, from San Antonio to a portion of the Rio Grande Valley. He is running as a Republican. 

What You Need To Know

  • Jose Sanz, a former staffer of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, announced this week that he will run against his old boss

  • Sanz, who is to the right of the moderate Cuellar, will run as a Republican

  • Sanz was born in Mexico and came with his family to the U.S. in order to escape violence 

  • Sanz said that among his priorities is border security 

Sanz was born in Mexico City and came to the U.S. with his family to flee violence. He grew up in the Houston suburbs. In his campaign announcement, he outlined his political priotities, which emphasize border security.

“Now is the time to stand up and fight for the values most South Texans share,” said Sanz. “We must secure our border with Mexico, stop human trafficking and the influx of drugs into the United States and cut off the flow of illegal weapons from the United States across the Southern border.”

Records on Legistorm show that Sanz worked for Cuellar for two years, starting in 2021 as a district director and press secretary. He seemed to have stopped working for Cuellar in June of this year.

In his campaign announcement, Sanz is described as "a pro-business, pro-oil and gas, pro-fiscal responsibility Republican, who will work to improve quality of life in Texas and across the country while defending our core conservative values such as the right to life, the second amendment and true freedom of speech."

Of his experience working for Cuellar, Sanz said it was "unparalelled."

“However, over time it became clear that my values and beliefs did not align with those of the office," Sanz continued. "I had to make a change so I could fight for what matters to me most … my conservative ideals and the ability to represent the family values of the people of District 28 in Washington, D.C.”

The Cuellar campaign responded to Sanz's announcement with confidence.

“For the second cycle in a row, we welcome another Republican candidate to the race that has no experience and is not from the 28th Congressional District of Texas. We will win again, decisively," its statement reads. 

Though he's a member of the Democratic Party, Cuellar has often been criticized in the past for supporting abortion restrictions. In 2022, he was the only member of his party to vote against protecting access to safe and legalized abortion.

This isn't the first time Cuellar has been challenged by his former staff. Back in 2020 and 2022, Jessica Cisneros — a former intern for Cuellar's office — ran against Cuellar in the primary and the runoff election and was defeated both times. Cisneros is a Democrat and Laredo, Texas, native. Her politics lean to the left, with values like raising the federal minimum wage, abortion rights and universal health care.

With Cuellar's views being more moderate, it seems that he's now facing a different challenge as he goes up against a more conservative candidate.

Cuellar is currently serving his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has represented District 28 since 2005.