Home Politics Jessica Cisneros Will Go to a Runoff Election for Texas’ 28th District

Jessica Cisneros Will Go to a Runoff Election for Texas’ 28th District

Jessica Cisneros BELatina Latinx
Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images.

Progressive candidate Jessica Cisneros, who has been pushing the limits in South Texas for a couple of years now, will go to a runoff against Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar on May 24.

Both candidates in the primary race for the 28th district of Texas will have to face each other again after neither surpassed the 50% mark in the contested race last Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, Cuellar led the pack with 48.5% of the vote, while Cisneros garnered 46.8%. Tannya Benavides, a progressive educator, and first-time candidate obtained 4.7%. Cuellar’s base of support in Laredo, as well as her strong presence in the district’s rural counties, put her in the lead early Wednesday. Cisneros was able to keep Cuellar below 50% because of her turnout in Bexar and San Antonio counties, as well as Guadalupe and Atascosa counties.

“No matter what happens, whether again, the victory is coming today, later tonight, or tomorrow or maybe even in May. We are going to win because all of you are standing behind me,” Cisneros told supporters on Tuesday night.

For political observers, going to the runoff is in itself a victory for the Cisneros campaign, especially after Cuellar won the 2020 primary unopposed.

“The fact that we are still waiting for results against an 18-year entrenched incumbent with millions of dollars in his war chest from corporate interest, and we’re standing here with people power is a testament to how powerful those people [are],” Cisneros added.

Cisneros referred to the recent raid on Cuellar’s home by the FBI investigating ties to Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen.

Both the prioritization of personal interests and Cuellar’s lack of involvement in the community’s needs were two of the reasons that motivated Jessica Cisneros to throw her hat into the political ring.

Now, the young Latina could forever change the Texas political landscape.

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