Democrat Henry Cuellar is in Deep Trouble in Court and at the Ballot Box
Out of touch Democrat Henry Cuellar is facing federal bribery charges as South Texas voters flee today’s radical Democrat Party.
In both a desperate and hypocritical move, Democrats have remained SILENT on the fact that Henry Cuellar allegedly accepted “$600,000 in bribes between 2014 and 2021 from a Mexican bank and an oil and gas company in Azerbaijan.”
Democrats are clinging to a false sense of security, but the numbers, and the momentum, are against them. Just look at the shift from this past election cycle:
TX-28: GOP shift of +5.1 points
Latino vote for Trump: +45%, up sharply from 2012’s 27% for Romney
“Instead of fighting for South Texas, out of touch Democrat Henry Cuellar lined his own pockets while pushing a far-left agenda to raise taxes and take away jobs. South Texans are ready for change and Henry Cuellar will lose his seat next year.” – NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon
Read more from NOTUS here or see experts below:
The Henry Cuellar Conundrum for Democrats: Support a Flawed Candidate or Probably Lose
NOTUS
Daniella Diaz and Riley Rogerson
July 30, 2025
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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.
Plus, Cuellar’s legal troubles present a conundrum for Democrats. Yes, they want to prevent the district from flipping, but they also would like to avoid allegations of hypocrisy as they defend Cuellar from the very attacks they leveled against convicted fraudster former Rep. George Santos.
For Democrats, the campaign tests how far they’re willing to go to defend a well-liked but damaged incumbent in an increasingly red district. For Republicans, it’s a test of their candidate recruitment chops in the type of district with a significant Hispanic population where they’re hoping to grow their majority.
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Two separate Democrats theorized that if Cuellar were forced to resign, Democrats would be left scrambling to find a candidate with the same name identification in the district. Other than one of Cuellar’s relatives — his sister, Rosie, lost a state House race last year, while his brother, Martin, has been Webb County sheriff since 2008 — the district doesn’t have much of a Democratic bench.
Still, Democrats backing Cuellar tees up Republicans to blast them for hypocrisy.
If Democratic leadership sticks with its Cuellar strategy, it’s unlikely they’ll denounce him unless he’s actually convicted. When Cuellar was indicted in 2024, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that he was “entitled to his day in court and the presumption of innocence throughout the legal process.”
Some Democrats, too, are frustrated by the national party strategy.
This year, Jen Ramos, a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee who is from Cuellar’s district, authored a resolution within the Texas Democratic Party condemning the congressman for breaking with the party and the federal charges against him. (The resolution was pulled in May due to legal concerns.)
“Ultimately, a generic Democrat would fare better and give us a fighting chance,” Ramos told NOTUS. “Not to mention it would reinstate trust with some of the allies and coalition groups that have already said that they are fed up with Henry Cuellar, such as the reproductive justice movement, such as the labor movement.”
“But right now, it seems like the only friend Henry has is in the DCCC,” she continued.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the official campaign arm for House Democrats, declined to comment for this story. Cuellar’s campaign also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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