The Texas Democratic Party on Tuesday announced the results of a countdown to the race, which found Cuéllar ahead by 289 votes.
Cisneros, who also lost to Cuéllar in 2020, gave up on Tuesday, according to a statement from his campaign.
“We always knew this was a tough battle. We were facing a corrupt political machine, Republican-funded Super PACs, the Koch brothers, private prisons, Big Oil, the Chamber of Commerce, dark money groups, Big Pharma and almost the entire Democratic Party establishment in Washington, and we still refused to back down, “Cisneros said in a statement.
“With that margin closed, it’s clear that without their aggressive interference in the lives of South Texas families, we would have won.”
The result is a blow to progressives and, more broadly, to Democrats who support abortion rights and hope anger at the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would override Roe v. Wade could bring the issue to the forefront this election cycle.
It also marks what many might have considered an unlikely rebirth for Cuéllar, whose political fate was called into question earlier this year before the primaries when the FBI searched his home and field office. . In April, Cuéllar’s attorney said federal authorities told him his client was not the target of the investigation.
Although Cisneros and his allies, including the EMILY List, who invested heavily at the end of the race, were criticized for their stance against abortion, Cuellar re-emerged with the nomination for the Southern District. of Texas, which runs from San Antonio to the US-Mexico. border.
Cuellar, like other moderate Democrats during this year’s primaries, benefited from an increase in foreign money and the support of party leaders in Washington. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Leader James Clyburn, who traveled to Texas to campaign for Cuellar, stayed with the congressman despite the frustration of pro voters. -abortion.
“Democratic leadership has trampled on its own stated principles to lead Henry Cuéllar to victory,” Natalia Salgado, federal director of the progressive Party of Working Families, said in a statement after the Cisneros concession.
The second lap between Cuéllar and Cisneros was the third race –and, with the final count now in — the nearest race. In 2020, it reached less than 4 percentage points of overthrowing it in a primary. This March, in a three-way primary, Cisneros finished second, denying Cuéllar an absolute majority and paving the way for his decisive second round, and a narrower defeat.
This story has been updated with additional information.