Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) beat Judge Tano Tijerina of Webb County, Texas, in his toughest reelection battle yet, despite Republicans redrawing part of his district.
Cuellar led with 66% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race at 12:31 a.m. Tijerina came behind the Texas Democrat at 29% in a district President Donald Trump won by over 10 percentage points in 2024.
Despite being redrawn to slightly favor Republicans, nonpartisan race raters said the seat favored Democrats given Cuellar’s familiarity in the region. This seat was one of five pickup opportunities Republicans aimed for when they redrew the Lone Star State’s map in 2025.
Cuellar represents a district on the Texas-Mexico border anchored by Laredo, where he has made a name for himself by breaking with his party on immigration and border policy, making him unpopular among some in the Democratic Party. Cuellar remains popular in his district after narrowly fending off a progressive primary challenger in 2022 and prevailing over Tijerina, one of his most formidable Republican challengers.
There were signs the race was getting away from Republicans. Congressional Leadership Fund, the top House GOP super PAC, pulled $3 million in ad spending in the weeks before the election.
Cuellar announced his run for a 12th term after Trump pardoned him. The congressman was indicted on corruption charges during the Biden administration.
Trump cited the Biden administration weaponizing “the Justice System against their Political Opponents,” as the reason for his pardon, going on to say that the Texas Democrat was just “speaking the TRUTH” against open borders. Cuellar filed for reelection as a Democrat immediately after, enraging the president, who believed he would switch parties.
Cuellar and his wife were indicted in 2024 in Houston, where they faced charges of money laundering, working on behalf of a foreign government, bribery, and conspiracy. Biden Justice Department officials alleged that Cuellar accepted $600,000 in bribes from a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani oil and gas company.