In Texas’ 28th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) declared victory over progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros. But Cisneros has not conceded, and counties in the district still need to certify votes for an official result.
As of Wednesday morning with all precincts reporting according to the secretary of state, Cuellar leads Cisneros by 177 votes, only 0.4 percent.
“Tonight the 28th Congressional District spoke, and we witnessed our great Democratic system at work. The results are in, all the votes have been tallied- I am honored to have once again been re-elected as the Democratic Nominee for Congress,” claimed Cuellar.
The incumbent thanked his supporters and U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), who reportedly recorded election day robocalls in support of Cuellar along with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
In contrast, Cisneros — who ran a tight primary race against Cuellar in 2020 — took to social media to say, “This election is still too close to call.”
“We are still waiting for every ballot and eligible vote to be counted,” said Cisneros. “This fight isn’t over.”
Similarly, in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, Michelle Vallejo expressed optimism about the results but leads Ruben Ramirez by only 23 votes.
Unlike Cuellar, though, Vallejo has not declared victory.
“As of tonight, we are up by 23 votes in the runoff election for the Democratic nomination,” said Vallejo. “Though the race is too close to call, we are heartened by the clear path to victory.”
Vallejo is backed by the likes of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the Congressional Progressive Caucus, former state Sen. Wendy Davis, and state Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg).
Ramirez said that his campaign “trusts in the democratic process and integrity of this election” but was waiting to “ensure that every ballot in the Texas 15th Congressional District is counted.”
“While this race is still too close to call, I am encouraged by the outpouring of support from the community and the professionalism of our election officials,” said Ramirez.
Endorsements for Ramirez include Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15) — the current representative for the district who is seeking reelection in a neighboring seat — and the Blue Dog Coalition.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the districts — as well as Texas’ 34th Congressional District, the third South Texas congressional seat — have all locked in their nominees for November.
Monica de la Cruz, Gonzalez’s challenger in 2020, won the GOP primary for TX-15 outright in March, as did Mayra Flores in TX-34.
On Tuesday night, former Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) staffer Cassy Garcia took home the nomination for TX-28, winning against Sandra Whitten by 14 points.
“I want to thank Texas-28 for your support tonight and choosing me to be your nominee,” said Garcia. “We have a lot of work to do, but we will do it together. We don’t know our opponent yet, but we will flip this seat and win in November. Join our Team today!”
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
