RIO GRANDE CITY, Tex. — Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar has won his south Texas congressional seat 11 times. But after national Republicans largely sat out many of those campaigns — and Cuellar was charged last year with bribery and acting as a foreign agent — Republicans are now projecting confidence that Cuellar won’t win his twelfth.
“South Texans are ready for change and Henry Cuellar will lose his seat next year,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Zach Bannon said in a statement to NOTUS.
With Cuellar’s trial tentatively set for Sept. 22, Republicans smell blood in the water. Cuellar, the undisputed top candidate for Democrats to hang onto the increasingly red district, will have to fend off legal challenges, corruption-related attack ads and a strong GOP opponent — if Republicans play their cards right.