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Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, easily defeated a primary challenger Tuesday in Texas’ 28th Congressional District, securing his party’s renomination in the southern border seat he has long represented.
The win sets up a November matchup with President Donald Trump-endorsed South Texas Judge Tano Tijerina.
Cuellar, one of the last remaining “blue dog” conservative Democrats in the House, beat challenger Ricardo Villarreal with 58.1% of the vote to 36.9% — a margin of more than 21 percentage points with 97% of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press. Andrew Vantine was in third place with 5%.
President Donald Trump endorsed longtime South Texas Judge Tano Tijerina in the GOP race and criticized Rep. Henry Cuellar, left, ahead of the primary. (Alex Brandon/AP; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cuellar’s primary challenge came amid renewed scrutiny over his federal indictment last year and continued tensions within his party over border policy, though he ultimately secured renomination by a comfortable margin.
He had been highly critical of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and border security. He was later indicted by the Justice Department on federal bribery charges, which he denied.
Cuellar and his allies have characterized the case as politically motivated. He later received an unconditional pardon from Trump, who also said the charges were politically driven. Speculation swirled that Cuellar might switch parties after the pardon, but he dismissed those rumors and said he would remain a Democrat.
Cuellar served in the Texas House from 1987 to 2001 and briefly as Texas secretary of state in 2001, making him the most recent Democrat to hold statewide office in Texas. He was first elected to Congress in 2004 after defeating incumbent Ciro Rodriguez in a primary and is known as one of the House’s more conservative Democrats. He has since won re-election comfortably, though he has faced competitive primaries in recent cycles.
Longtime South Texas Judge Tano Tijerina powered to victory in the Republican primary for U.S. House in Texas’ 28th Congressional District, setting up a November showdown with incumbent Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Tijerina in the GOP race and criticized Cuellar ahead of the primary for running.
Tijerina went on to win the Republican nomination, setting up a November matchup to represent a district that stretches from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley.
The judge, who switched to the Republican Party in December 2024, saying the Democratic Party no longer aligned with his values, won the GOP primary with 74.3% of the vote to Eileen Day’s 25.7%, according to the AP.
Tijerina’s win was decisive, with a margin of nearly 49 percentage points after 91% of ballots were counted.
He responded to the outpouring of congratulations on social media shortly after the race was called.
“Amen! Let’s work,” he wrote in response to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
In a separate post responding to Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters — who had congratulated him and shared a message from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. — Tijerina wrote: “It’s our win!”
Tijerina has promised to buck Democrats and embrace what he calls a “new generation” of political leadership in South Texas.
He told Fox News Digital on the campaign trail that, despite the district long being considered a Democratic stronghold, the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border and focus on diversity initiatives shifted voters’ views.
Migrants camp under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. Texas’ 28th Congressional District runs along the Texas-Mexico border and includes major crossings and migrant corridors. (Rep. August Pfluger)
“Being a Democrat after so many years, I’m just sick and tired of seeing all the social issues that the Democrats are [promoting]. And I’m not the only one,” Tijerina said. “That’s why Webb County, that’s why South Texas, voted for Trump plus 10 numbers.”
“We have always been conservative, everybody knows it,” he continued. “Down here in South Texas, the only thing that we care about is good-paying jobs [and] making sure that we’re getting protected.”
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Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and the race is expected to be closely watched.
Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
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