House Democratic campaign chief says party will hold on to Cuellar seat

The head of House Democrats’ campaign arm said his party will hold on to embattled Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D) seat in Texas’s 28th House District. 

“What I can tell you is the district is a pretty good Democratic district,” Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said in an interview with The Hill last week. “And we’re going to hold that district.” 

Cuellar is locked in a contentious primary battle with progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, who came under 4 points of ousting the incumbent congressman in 2020. In March, Cisneros trailed Cuellar by less than 2 points in the primary election. 

The district’s runoff is set for May 24. 

Republicans have also set their sights on the district, with the National Republican Congressional Committee including the district in its 2022 target list. Republican candidates Cassy Garcia and Sandra Whitten are set to compete in the GOP’s runoff in the district next month. 

In addition to grappling with a progressive primary challenger, Cuellar’s home and campaign offices were raided by the FBI in January as part of an investigation into ties between Azerbaijan and U.S. businessmen. 

Cisneros pounced on the news, saying it was evidence of Cuellar’s ties to special interests. 

But on Wednesday, Cuellar’s attorney told Fox News that the congressman was not a target of the Justice Department’s investigation. 

“Over the last several weeks, the Justice Department, in a conversation I had with the prosecutor, let me know that Congressman Cuellar is not a target of this investigation,” Joshua Berman, Cuellar’s attorney, told the outlet. 

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter to The Hill.