[rad-green] Congressman backed by Democratic Congressional Campaign Cttee and Koch network challenged by progressive upstart

*https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/dccc-backed-incumbent-henry-cuellar-gets-support-koch-network-progressive-primary
<https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/dccc-backed-incumbent-henry-cuellar-gets-support-koch-network-progressive-primary>Common
Dreams          February 14, 2020*



*DCCC-Backed Incumbent Henry Cuellar Gets Support From Koch Network As
Progressive Primary Challenger Jessica Cisneros Picks Up Union
Endorsements**"Henry
Cuellar has an A rating from the NRA, wants more drilling, is anti-choice,
fundraised for GOP, is the #1 recipient of private prison money, and
receives donations from the Koch family," tweeted
<https://twitter.com/_waleedshahid/status/1227698031933431810>  Justice
Democrats spokesman Waleed Shahid. "Jessica Cisneros is a progressive
Democrat. DCCC and Speaker Pelosi, what are you doing?"*

* by Eoin Higgins, staff writer*

[image: Jessica Cisneros, who is running in the 2020 primary to replace
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas.), racked up union endorsements on the same the
Kochs backed the incumbent.]

*Jessica Cisneros, who is running in the 2020 primary to replace Rep. Henry
Cuellar (D-Texas.), racked up union endorsements on the same day the Kochs
backed the incumbent. (Image: Jessica Cisneros, Twitter)*

Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, facing a tough primary race from
progressive attorney Jessica Cisneros, picked up the endorsement of the
Koch political network Friday—just over a week before the embattled
incumbent, who is supported by the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, is set to host a fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"Henry Cuellar has an A rating from the NRA, wants more drilling, is
anti-choice, fundraised for GOP, is the #1 recipient of private prison
money, and receives donations from the Koch family," tweeted
<https://twitter.com/_waleedshahid/status/1227698031933431810>  Justice
Democrats spokesman Waleed Shahid. "Jessica Cisneros is a progressive
Democrat. DCCC and Speaker Pelosi, what are you doing?"

Whole lot of DC Dems are in a pretty uncomfortable place here
https://t.co/DYCTFnZ3PL

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) February 14, 2020
<https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1228424100323962886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

It's not the first time this cycle that Pelosi, a California Democrat, has
stepped into the primary. In September, as *Common Dreams* reported
<https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/30/pelosis-endorsement-anti-choice-henry-cuellar-over-progressive-jessica-cisneros>,
the speaker publicly backed the incumbent during an appearance in Texas.

"I'm very, very proud of Henry's work in the Congress and I'm proud to
support him," Pelosi said of the anti-choice, pro-corporate power Cuellar.

The DCCC too has supported Cuellar, with the group's leader Rep. Cheri
Bustos (D-Ill.) in late September also backing the incumbent.

"Henry Cuellar knows that district like the back of his hand," Bustos told
reporters in Austin at the time. "I completely support him."

Friday's announcement that LIBRE Initiative Action, part of the Koch
network's Latin outreach,  endorsed
<https://www.texastribune.org/theblast/2020/02/14/> Cuellar made waves in
the south Texas primary. It's the first time the Koch network has ever
backed a Democrat in a federal election—though Cuellar's record of
supporting right-wing policy priorities has given him the name "Trump's
favorite Democrat."

"We need more Henry Cuellars in Washington—people willing to build
consensus on difficult issues and do the legwork necessary to bring them to
fruition," wrote Libre Action senior advisor Daniel Garza in a memo (pdf
<https://libreaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Rep.-Henry-Cuellar-Interested-Parties-Memo-002.pdf>)
outlining the endorsement decision.

The first time the Koch political network has ever backed a federal
Democrat is @RepCuellar <https://twitter.com/RepCuellar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
 over @justicedems <https://twitter.com/justicedems?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
-backed @JCisnerosTX <https://twitter.com/JCisnerosTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>.
https://t.co/j0TZHtkhSI pic.twitter.com/ACf23ikPcD <https://t.co/ACf23ikPcD>

— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) February 14, 2020
<https://twitter.com/_waleedshahid/status/1228421719863570438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Cisneros has been a thorn in Cuellar's side for months. The incumbent has
tried to ignore her candidacy, refusing to debate her and treating her run
as a joke. But the Koch endorsement could mean Cuellar and his team are
sensing trouble ahead, especially as Cisneros continues to rack up
endorsements from local and national groups.

In a video from progressive group MoveOn, Cisneros outlines her vision for
the district.

"I was born and raised here, and these are the people I want to help,"
Cisneros says. "And I'm seeing that our concerns aren't being addressed by
our current representative."

We are so proud to support progressive champion @JCisnerosTX
<https://twitter.com/JCisnerosTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> in her primary bid
for Congress.

Cisneros isn't taking corporate PAC money and supports Medicare for All and
a Green New Deal.

Let's help her unseat a conservative Democrat who voted with Trump 69% of
the time. pic.twitter.com/e9j4j6XQfQ <https://t.co/e9j4j6XQfQ>

— MoveOn (@MoveOn) February 14, 2020
<https://twitter.com/MoveOn/status/1228377334346063878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The progressive candidate announced in a press release Friday she has the
backing of local unions the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Texas, Workers United Southwest Regional Joint Board—an SEIU Affiliate,
Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and UNITE HERE Local 23.

"It's time to put a true friend of working families and educators in
Congress to help lead change for residents of Congressional District 28 and
all Texans," Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT, said in a statement.

"Unlike the incumbent," Capo added, "Cisneros is a friend of labor who
realizes that working families are the backbone of the Texas economy, and
she will stand by our workers in Congress."

In a statement, Cisneros thanked the unions for their support and pledged
to prioritize the interests of labor over corporations, drawing a contrast
with Cuellar.

"These unions represent our teachers, our city employees, our service
workers—they represent who we are as South Texans and I look forward to
representing them in Congress," said Cisneros. "While Congressman Cuellar
votes repeatedly against legislation to protect workers and takes hundreds
of thousands of dollars from corporate interests, we're proud to be running
a campaign fueled by real people with an average contribution of $32."

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