Rep. Henry Cuellar ran virtually unopposed for re-election in his south Texas congressional district last year, beating a libertarian opponent by 84%. His seat is one of the most safely Democratic in the nation, but you wouldn’t know it from his voting record.
He’s a worse Democrat than most red-state conservatives, voting with the party only 75% of the time, and on crucial issues, he’s even worse: Cuellar is anti-LGBTQ rights (he was both anti-gay marriage and in 2014, even against a rule prohibiting against employers discriminating against queer employees), anti-abortion rights, takes tons of cash from private prison companies, and fundraises for Republican colleagues.
Long a disgrace, he’s now finally getting a legit primary challenger. Meet Jessica Cisneros, a 26-year-old immigration lawyer who is angling to become “the next AOC,” which, though a reductive label, does help capture her politics and grassroots affiliations, including the fact that she’s backed by the Justice Democrats. She just released a campaign video that is reminiscent of the one that introduced now-Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the world last year.
Here’s a fun twist: This is a bit of a personal contest, as Cisneros interned for Cuellar back in 2014. She did not enjoy the experience. Via Laredo Times:
"I saw firsthand how he was silent on certain issues," she said. "He took the people of South Texas for granted. It was a very insightful experience. And that's when I (thought), 'You know what, that's going to be me one day running for Congress. I'm going to listen to the issues that South Texans want to be addressed. I'm going to listen to the people, and I'm going to be a fierce advocate for them.'"
Cisneros grew up in the Sal Si Puedes neighborhood in central Laredo. Her father owned his own trucking company but had to close his business when the trade industry took a turn, she explains in her campaign video. He is now a truck driver.
Cisneros graduated first in her class at Early College High School in 2011, studied government and Latin American studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and then earned her law degree from the University of Texas Law School, specializing in immigration law. While in law school, she worked with UT faculty to create the Women in Immigration Detention Assistance Project with the goal to help asylum seekers at the Hutto Detention Center in Tyler, Texas.
In the process of obtaining her law degree, Cisneros said she kept feeling that even presenting the best case possible wouldn't be enough if the laws aren't written to protect the rights and interests of everyday Americans.
She’s been working as an immigration rights attorney ever since. That alone makes her much more worthy of support than Cuellar, who is an old Blue Dog whose time — if it was ever here — has certainly passed.
You can donate to Cisneros’s campaign via Progressives Everywhere’s ActBlue page by CLICKING HERE!