Texas Democrats Head to Runoff for Hotly Contested House Seat

(Bloomberg) -- A closely watched Democratic primary race for a congressional seat in south Texas will head to a runoff between progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros and incumbent Henry Cuellar after neither tallied more than 50% of the votes cast in the party's primary, the Associated Press reported.

Cisneros, a 28-year-old immigration attorney who had the backing of national progressive groups, received 46.8% of the vote, while nine-term incumbent Cuellar was at 48.5%, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday, adding nearly all of the votes had been counted. The runoff will be held on May 24. A third candidate, Tannya Benavides, took 4.7% of the tally.

“We are showing that our dreams can compete neck-and-neck and we're going to show that we can come out on top,” Cisneros said Tuesday night, addressing supporters in English and Spanish before the final results arrived. “What we're doing right now is what so many people told us was impossible.”

Progressives such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts came to the district, which encompasses parts of the San Antonio area and stretches more than 320 km (200 miles) in some places to the border with Mexico, to campaign for Cisneros.

Cuellar, 66, was targeted by his party's left flank for breaking with orthodoxy on issues such as abortion. He was also dogged in the last six weeks of the campaign by FBI raids on his home and office. ABC News reported the raids were part of a federal grand jury inquiry into Cuellar's ties to Azerbaijan, including Texas-based companies it says are linked to Cuellar's wife.

Cuellar downplayed the federal probe, saying he's done nothing wrong and that no evidence of that will emerge. Authorities have not publicly explained the FBI activity.

One of the most conservative House Democrats, Cuellar is pro-gun and anti-abortion. The only Texas Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, he warned his defeat would mean the loss to the district of the benefits his Congressional seniority and influence bring.

Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders carried most of the area in the Democratic presidential primary. Cisneros has been betting her progressive stances were a better match for a changing district. She also sought to cast Cuellar as too cozy with Washington lobbyists and other insiders.