Cuellar's sister joins Republicans against Democrat who defeated him in critical Texas election
A member of a powerful and embattled Democratic political family in South Texas is throwing his weight behind the Republican ticket in a pivotal race for the state Legislature.
This week, the campaign of former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin (R), who is running for a key state House seat that has attracted the attention of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), received election support from an unlikely source. announced. : Rosie Cuellar, sister of recently indicted conservative Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.
In that ad, Rosie Cuéllar directly targets Cecilia Castellano.beat herThe Democratic primary for District 80 had a margin of over 15 percentage points.
“Cecilia lied about my background as a judge and tax assessor and even called me a criminal, and yet she is under criminal investigation for election fraud,” Cuellar said.
The Hill has reached out to Castellano for comment. Cuellar was referring to a search of Castellano's office in August by agents of the attorney general's election fraud unit. Paxton said the raids and several other efforts his office conducted against Latino organizers were necessary to secure the election in the state, and that Democrats had millions of He claimed without evidence that he was trying to steal the election by illegally registering undocumented immigrants to vote.
Latino rights groups have called it an attempt at voter suppression.
The Querries are a powerful local family in south Texas with some legal troubles. Henry Cuellar isHe was indicted on the charges in May.He is suspected of receiving bribes from a Mexican bank and Azerbaijan's national oil company. He has repeatedly maintained his innocence.
Rosie Cuellar and the congressman's brother, Sheriff Martin Cuellar of nearby Webb County, had an office there.investigated by the FBI2023, but the sherifftold the publicThat he wasn't the target. local civil servantsaidThe nonprofit newsroom did not note that the sheriff was using his staff and local officials as a private vote-gathering and fundraising team for the Quegers. Martin Cuellar declined to comment on the NOTUS investigation.
As part of that investigation, NOTUS reported that it was discovered that Rosie Cuellar was appointed to a “judge position in a town without a courthouse and did not hear any cases” and was paid an undisclosed amount. Mr. Cuellar did not respond to these allegations.
In August, Paxton ordered a search for South Texas Democratic Party organizers across three South Texas counties in the 80th District, including Frio and Atascosa counties. The investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by the loser of the 2022 Democratic race in Frio County.According to the Texas Tribune.
The 80th District state House seat, which represents one of the few true battleground districts in Texas, is a key seat for both parties, with Democrats viewing it as crucial to the success of their conservative campaigns for school aid. It has become a target. Many local Republicans are portraying it as a backdoor campaign to privatize the state's public schools.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has repeatedly tried and failed to pass vouchers in the 2023 Legislature, but he and Democrats representing districts where public schools are important pillars of their communities have said that It was thwarted by an unusual coalition of local Republicans.
In Texas' highly controversial Republican primary and runoff elections earlier this year, the state's Republican leadership, including Mr. Paxton, Mr. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, But he targeted anti-supportive Republicans and painted them, without evidence, as secret Democrats. We are working on opening borders and general “awakening”.
Although the electoral purge was largely successful, election rights still depend on Republicans winning many of the battleground seats contested by McLaughlin and Castellano, seats held by recently retired Democrats. The seat was vacated by Tracy King.
In the bitter 80th District primary earlier this year, Mr. Cuellar tried to cast Mr. Castellano as an outsider from San Antonio and a pseudo-Democrat. “She claims to be a Democrat, but she voted in the Republican primary when Greg Abbott ran,” Cuellar said.saidIn the May ad.
Mr. Cuéllar reiterated these attacks against his former opponents as he endorsed the 80th District for Republicans. Castellano “has attacked Democratic officials throughout the 80th District, and that's why they won't support her,” she said.
