After Texas Republicans enacted their virtual ban on abortion known as SB8, one of the ways Democrats in Congress responded was to pass a bill that would codify the constitutional rights laid out in Roe v. Wade into law. In the face of universal GOP opposition, the Women’s Health Protection Act passed the House on a strictly party-line vote … almost.

There was one Democrat who sided with Republicans in their escalating assault on reproductive rights: Henry Cuellar. And guess where he’s from? Yep, that’s right—Texas.

Adding to the insult, Cuellar avoided commenting on his vote for weeks. When he finally did, he sneered, “By the way, when people frame this as ‘women’s health’ … if you want to call it abortion, call it abortion. It’s not a health issue.” You can add him to the long list of arrogant, clueless men eager to control women’s lives. And that’s why we need to subtract him from the Democratic caucus.

Enter Jessica Cisneros. She’s a human rights attorney and daughter of working-class immigrants from Mexico who will fight for a pathway to citizenship, universal health care, an assault weapons ban, expanding Social Security, and—you better believe it—protecting reproductive rights. Daily Kos is proud to endorse Cisneros in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 28th Congressional District.

Can you give $3 now to help a fierce progressive give the boot to the last anti-choice Democrat in the House?

Last cycle, Cisneros gave Cuellar his first serious race in more than a decade, and it’s one he thoroughly deserved. It’s not just abortion where Cuellar is hostile to mainstream American values—he’s wildly out-of-step on a whole host of issues:

He holds <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/us/politics/henry-cuellar-nra.html">an A rating from the NRA</a> and has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/texas-democrat-cuellar-declines-to-give-away-nra-money-after-massacres.html">refused to give back</a> the $29,000 the group has donated to him over the years.


He <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2011/11/texas-rep-henry-cuellar-plans-to-vote-obama-040935">endorsed George W. Bush’s</a> presidential campaign and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/11/democrat-henry-cuellar-fundraising-republican-john-carter/">fundraised for</a> a vulnerable Republican colleague when Democrats sought to take back the House in 2018.


His shilling for the energy industry, including repeated votes to gut environmental regulations, <a href="https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article150650492.html">has earned him the nickname</a> “Big Oil’s favorite Democrat.”

He <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/henry-cuellar/">voted with Trump</a> 69% of the time during Trump’s first two years in office, <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/henry-cuellar-and-the-art-of-the-deal/">including twice</a> to build his absurd wall—which would run through Cuellar’s own district on the Southern border with Mexico.

However, with Cisneros’ challenge looming, Cuellar suddenly started voting with Trump far less often. But what ultimately allowed him to eke out a narrow 52-48 win last year was the gusher of dark money that his corporate allies—who over the years have included the private prison industry and Big Tobacco—pumped into the race to bail him out. He even managed to become the first Democrat ever supported by the Koch network.

Cisneros could not be more different. Once again, she’s pledged not to take any cash from corporate PACs. And this time, she’s running with the benefit of all the lessons she learned from her previous race. The biggest one: She’ll need grassroots funding early to prepare for the inevitable onslaught of lies from Cuellar and his allies.

That’s where we come in—and there isn’t a lot of time. Texas holds the first primary in the nation next year, on Mar. 1, and it’s likely that this race will once more be decided without a runoff. That gives Cisneros just two-and-a-half months to build up a campaign that can take down Cuellar. And the more we can help with our people-powered donations, the more time Cisneros can spend on the campaign trail, connecting with the voters Cuellar is content to overlook.

Please donate $3 now to send a fantastic progressive to Congress and oust the Kochs’ favorite Democrat!