Gilbert Garcia: If Cuellar survives Democratic runoff, it’ll be because Republicans saved him

A few days ago, a Laredo woman went to a polling site to vote in the Texas primary runoff and asked a poll worker for a Republican ballot. After she finished voting, the woman went back to the poll worker and asked for another ballot, because she also wanted to vote in the Democratic runoff for Henry Cuellar. The poll worker regretfully informed the woman that you’re only allowed to vote once — and you have to pick a party. It’s a story that Sylvia Bruni, the Webb County Democratic Party chairwoman, cites to illustrate her point that Cuellar, the nine-term Laredo congressman pushed to the edge of political extinction by progressive immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros, got a boost from Republicans determined to cross over and lift him to victory. “We know that a bunch of Republicans voted Democratic because they’re very, very close to the congressman,” Bruni said. “I have a number of friends who are Republicans who will tell me that they voted for him.” Tuesday night, with all nine counties in U.S. District 28 providing complete returns, Cuellar clung to a thin lead over Cisneros. Just before midnight, he claimed victory.

Cisneros did not concede. “This election is still too close to call, and we are still waiting for every ballot and eligible vote to be counted,” she tweeted. It’s often said that South Texas border politics is different; that its Democrats tend to be socially conservative, pro-business and inclined to show solidarity with law enforcement. Nonetheless, it’s stunning to consider these facts about Cuellar’s election performance: On the very day that a gunman killed 19 elementary-school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Democratic runoff voters in Laredo were backing a congressman who opposes an assault-weapons ban. Three weeks after news broke that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down legalized abortion, Democratic runoff voters in Laredo were backing the House’s lone anti-choice Democrat. At a time when workers are asserting their power in the labor market, Democratic runoff voters in Laredo were backing the lone House Democrat who voted against the 2021 Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. As Bruni suggested, those Webb County numbers were padded by Republicans. Then again, Cuellar has always depended on the kindness — or at least the back scratching — of Republicans. In December 2000, Rick Perry was about to inherit the governor’s office from George W. Bush, who was moving on to the White House. Perry wanted to look like a bipartisan figure and establish good will with Democratic voters, particularly Latino Democrats. Cuellar checked those boxes for him. So Perry, in his first important move as governor-to-be, selected Cuellar to be Texas secretary of state.