Henry Cuellar
Encyclopedia
Henry Roberto Cuellar is the U.S Representative
for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party
. The district extends from the Rio Grande
to the suburb
s of San Antonio
, including Guadalupe County
and nearby Wilson County
.
Outside of politics, he has served as a professor at the Texas A&M International University
(TAMIU) in Laredo
, TX.
of Webb County, having been elected in 2008 over the incumbent fellow Democrat Rick Flores. A sister, Rosie Cuellar-Castillo, is the incoming Laredo municipal judge, having won a nonpartisan
runoff election held on December 11, 2010.
Cuellar graduated in 1973 from J. W. Nixon High School
, a classmate of future Webb County District Attorney Joe Rubio, Jr.
Cuellar then procured an associate's degree from Laredo Community College
(then known as Laredo Junior College), where he would later for a time instruct government courses on an adjunct basis. He then attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
, and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree
in foreign service. He also holds a master's degree
in International Trade from Texas A&M International University
in Laredo and a Juris Doctor
and a Ph.D.
from the University of Texas at Austin
. With a total of five degrees, Cuellar is the most degreed member of Congress serving in the House.
Cuellar opened his own law firm in 1981 and became a licensed customs broker in 1983. He worked at his alma mater
, TAMIU, as an Adjunct Professor for International Commercial Law from 1984 to 1986.
, Cuellar was a member of the Texas House of Representatives
from 1987 to 2001, having represented the major portion of Laredo. During his 14 years as Laredo’s state representative, he served in leadership positions in the House Appropriations, Higher Education, and Calendar committees. His most notable accomplishments in the Texas State Legislature included coauthoring the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which ensured health care for thousands of previously uninsured children, and cosponsoring the largest tax cut in Texas history, which included a three-day tax holiday for consumers and small businesses. He also served on several national legislative committees dealing with state budgets, the U.S./Mexico border, and international trade.
of Texas by Republican
Governor
Rick Perry
. As Secretary of State for nearly ten months, he supported new voter initiatives to register, educate, and protect voters’ rights, as well as efforts to expand the Border/Mexico Affairs office to help the colonias. He also implemented new technology to make state agencies more customer-friendly and results-oriented.
In the 2002 election, Cuellar was the Democratic Party nominee for the House of Representatives in Texas's 23rd congressional district
. He lost to five-term incumbent Republican
Henry Bonilla
by two percentage points in the closest race Bonilla had faced to that date. Bonilla was unseated in 2006 in the revised 23rd District.
2004
Cuellar spent much of the early part of 2003 preparing for a rematch against Bonilla. However, the 2003 Texas redistricting
shifted most of Laredo, which had been the heart of the 23rd since its creation in 1966, into the 28th district
, represented by Democrat Ciro Rodriguez. Cuellar challenged Rodriguez for the nomination and won it by 58 votes.
Cuellar's victory was one of only two primary upsets of incumbents, from either party, in the entire country.
The 28th district leans far more Democratic than the 23rd, and Cuellar's victory in the general election was a foregone conclusion. In November, he defeated Republican Jim Hopson of Seguin
by a 20-point margin, becoming the first Laredoan in over 20 years elected to represent the 28th District of Texas. Cuellar's election to the House in 2004 was a standout for Democrats in a year in which Republicans otherwise gained seats in Texas' delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
2006
On March 7, 2006, Cuellar again defeated Rodriguez in the Democratic primary with 52 percent of the vote in a three-way race. No Republican even attempted to file, ostensibly assuring him of reelection in November.
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas Legislature
violated the rights of Latino voters when it shifted most of Laredo out of the 23rd and replaced it with several heavily Republican San Antonio suburbs. As a result, nearly every congressional district from El Paso
to San Antonio had to be redrawn, and the primary results for these districts were invalidated. A court drew a new map in which all of Laredo was moved into the 28th district while the south San Antonio area was moved to the 23rd. An election open to all candidates with a runoff
if no candidate won 50% was scheduled for the date of the general election, November 7, 2006.
In the general election on November 7, 2006, Cuellar had no Republican opposition but handily defeated Ron Avery of McQueeney
, the chairman of the conservative Constitution Party
in Guadalupe County, and trial attorney and Democrat Frank Enriquez of McAllen by taking nearly 68 percent of the more than 77,000 votes cast in the House race.
Cuellar's two main political rivals, Bonilla and Rodriguez, ran against each other in the 23rd, and Rodriguez won the election in the runoff. The Republican Bonilla was hence out of Congress for the first time since his upset election in 1992.
2008
Cuellar was unopposed in the March 4, 2008, Democratic primary.
In the November 4 general election
, Cuellar easily defeated Republican James Taylor Fish (born 1958), a San Antonio
-based health care consultant who resides in Cibolo
in Guadalupe County. Jim Fish, as he is known, was a health care administrator for seventeen years while he served in the United States Air Force
. He also taught finance
in the Army-Baylor University
Graduate School of Health Care Administration. Fish, an ordained Southern Baptist deacon, opposed same-sex marriage. Fish said that he decided to oppose Cuellar after watching the congressman's exchange with Sheriff Rick Flores over border security issues during a 2007 broadcast of the Glenn Beck
television
program, then on CNN.
Cuellar received 123,310 votes (68.7 percent) to Fish's 52,394 (29.2 percent) and 3,715 ballots (2.1 percent) for Libertarian
Ross Lynn Leone (born September 8, 1946) of Seguin. In his native Webb County, Cuellar polled 41,567 votes (89.5 percent) to Fish's 4,089 votes (8.9 percent).
2010
Cuellar was unopposed for his Democratic nomination in 2010. As a result of Cuellar's votes on cap and trade and the Obama health care initiative, two Republicans, Daniel Chavez, a utility company employee from Mission
in Hidalgo County
, and Bryan Keith Underwood (born ca. 1964), a carpenter from Seguin in Guadalupe County, filed for their party's nomination to oppose Cuellar in the November 2 general election. Underwood polled 13,599 votes (73.9 percent) to Chavez's 4,794 (26.1 percent).
Underwood raised more funds than Cuellar's prior Republican opponents, but questions were raised in Underwood's hometown newspaper, the Seguin Gazette, about Underwood's criminal record, which includes a guilty plea for a felony
criminal mischief charge, which is normally a misdemeanor
. Underwood also on one occasion refused to present his identification to a law enforcement officer.
Cuellar prevailed, as expected, with 62,055 votes (56.2 percent) to Underwood's 46,417 (42 percent). The remaining 1,880 ballots (1.7 percent) were cast for the Libertarian Party choice Stephen Kaat. While Underwood won in Guadalupe, Wilson, McMullen, and Atascosa counties, Cuellar's margin in his own heavily Democratic Webb County (25,415 to 3,569) was more than enough otherwise to ensure his victory for a fourth term in the incoming Republican-majority House of Representatives.
. He has been given a Senior Whip position within the caucus and is also the Subcommittee Chairman for House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism. He also serves as the only Texas Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee.
Cuellar describes himself as a "moderate-centrist". In the 2006 primary, he gained the endorsement of the Club for Growth
, a conservative group that usually endorses Republicans. He has not always been a party loyalist; he endorsed Republican George W. Bush
for President
in 2000 but supported John F. Kerry
in 2004. Additionally, during Bush's 2006 State of the Union
address, a Washington Post photographer snapped a photo of Cuellar standing on the Republican side of the aisle, beaming as President Bush affectionately grabbed his face. Soon after the release of this photo, campaign contributions for his Democratic primary opponent, Ciro Rodriguez, saw an immediate and significant increase. Cuellar defeated Rodriguez in the primary election and since then has seen an increased role within the Democratic House Caucus.
On June 26, 2009, Cuellar voted with the House majority to pass, 219-212, the cap and trade legislation, the American Clean Energy and Security Act
. He also supported the Affordable Health Care for America Act
, which also narrowly passed the House and in December 2009 met the threshold for shutting off debate in the U.S. Senate by a single vote. As a pro-life
Democrat, Cuellar expressed concerns that the Senate health care bill allowed federal funding for abortion. Cuellar voted on March 21, 2010, for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
, which passed the chamber, 219-212, the same vote as "cap-and-trade."
On June 15, 2007, Cuellar announced that he was endorsing then U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
for President in 2008: "Senator Clinton is the only candidate with the experience and toughness to hit the ground running on her first day in the White House." In 2007, Cuellar held a fundraiser for Clinton in Laredo, which raised over $200,000 – aided by the presence of former President Bill Clinton
. Laredo's Democratic Mayor
Raul G. Salinas
joined Cuellar in early support of Hillary Clinton, who came to Laredo in October 2008 to endorse Cuellar's reelection to the U.S. House. On November 4, 2008, Democrat Barack Obama
defeated Republican John McCain
in Webb County with a margin of 71-28 percent.
Congressman Cuellar is the author and one of two main co-sponsors of legislation seeking to honor slain ICE agent Jaime Zapata. Billed as a border security bill, it would increase cooperation among state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies during investigations of human and drug smuggling from Mexico.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. The district extends from the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
to the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, including Guadalupe County
Guadalupe County, Texas
Guadalupe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 89,023. It is named for the Guadalupe River. The seat of the county is Seguin. It was founded in 1846....
and nearby Wilson County
Wilson County, Texas
Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 32,408. Its county seat is Floresville. The county is named after James Charles Wilson....
.
Outside of politics, he has served as a professor at the Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University, often referred to as TAMIU, is a public, co-educational, state-supported university located in Laredo, Texas...
(TAMIU) in Laredo
Laredo
- Cities :*Laredo, Texas, United States*Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico - Towns :*Laredo, Cantabria, the original Spanish town with this name.*Laredo, La Libertad, Peru*Laredo, Missouri, United States...
, TX.
Early life, education, and pre-political career
Cuellar was born in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in southern Texas, where he has resided most of his life. Cuellar's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Cuellar, Sr., were migrant workers who never completed schooling beyond the fifth grade. He is the oldest of eight children. His brother, Martin Cuellar, Jr., is the sheriffSheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Webb County, having been elected in 2008 over the incumbent fellow Democrat Rick Flores. A sister, Rosie Cuellar-Castillo, is the incoming Laredo municipal judge, having won a nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
runoff election held on December 11, 2010.
Cuellar graduated in 1973 from J. W. Nixon High School
J. W. Nixon High School
J.W. Nixon High School is a public high school located in Laredo, Texas and is part of the Laredo Independent School District. The school was built in 1964, as the second high school in the city of Laredo....
, a classmate of future Webb County District Attorney Joe Rubio, Jr.
Joe Rubio, Jr.
Jose Marcelino Rubio, Jr., known as Joe Rubio, Jr. , is the former district attorney for Webb and Zapata counties in south Texas, USA. Rubio is the longest serving DA for the 49th Judicial District. Rubio became DA on January 1, 1989...
Cuellar then procured an associate's degree from Laredo Community College
Laredo Community College
The Laredo Community College, or LCC, was established as Laredo Junior College on September 28, 1947, by the Laredo Independent School District in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...
(then known as Laredo Junior College), where he would later for a time instruct government courses on an adjunct basis. He then attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in foreign service. He also holds a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in International Trade from Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University, often referred to as TAMIU, is a public, co-educational, state-supported university located in Laredo, Texas...
in Laredo and a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. With a total of five degrees, Cuellar is the most degreed member of Congress serving in the House.
Cuellar opened his own law firm in 1981 and became a licensed customs broker in 1983. He worked at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, TAMIU, as an Adjunct Professor for International Commercial Law from 1984 to 1986.
Texas House of Representatives
Prior to being elected to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, Cuellar was a member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from 1987 to 2001, having represented the major portion of Laredo. During his 14 years as Laredo’s state representative, he served in leadership positions in the House Appropriations, Higher Education, and Calendar committees. His most notable accomplishments in the Texas State Legislature included coauthoring the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which ensured health care for thousands of previously uninsured children, and cosponsoring the largest tax cut in Texas history, which included a three-day tax holiday for consumers and small businesses. He also served on several national legislative committees dealing with state budgets, the U.S./Mexico border, and international trade.
Texas Secretary of State
In 2001, Cuellar was appointed as Secretary of StateSecretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
of Texas by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
. As Secretary of State for nearly ten months, he supported new voter initiatives to register, educate, and protect voters’ rights, as well as efforts to expand the Border/Mexico Affairs office to help the colonias. He also implemented new technology to make state agencies more customer-friendly and results-oriented.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2002In the 2002 election, Cuellar was the Democratic Party nominee for the House of Representatives in Texas's 23rd congressional district
Texas's 23rd congressional district
Texas's 23rd congressional district is the 8th largest congressional district in the country not counting at-large districts, stretching across the southwestern portion of Texas. It is a Latino-majority district and its current Representative is Republican Quico Canseco...
. He lost to five-term incumbent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
by two percentage points in the closest race Bonilla had faced to that date. Bonilla was unseated in 2006 in the revised 23rd District.
2004
Cuellar spent much of the early part of 2003 preparing for a rematch against Bonilla. However, the 2003 Texas redistricting
2003 Texas redistricting
The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan appealed to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry...
shifted most of Laredo, which had been the heart of the 23rd since its creation in 1966, into the 28th district
Texas's 28th congressional district
-2006 election:On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23. As a result, on August 4, 2006, a 3 judge panel announced replacement district boundaries for 2006 election for the 23rd...
, represented by Democrat Ciro Rodriguez. Cuellar challenged Rodriguez for the nomination and won it by 58 votes.
Cuellar's victory was one of only two primary upsets of incumbents, from either party, in the entire country.
The 28th district leans far more Democratic than the 23rd, and Cuellar's victory in the general election was a foregone conclusion. In November, he defeated Republican Jim Hopson of Seguin
Seguin, Texas
Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...
by a 20-point margin, becoming the first Laredoan in over 20 years elected to represent the 28th District of Texas. Cuellar's election to the House in 2004 was a standout for Democrats in a year in which Republicans otherwise gained seats in Texas' delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
2006
On March 7, 2006, Cuellar again defeated Rodriguez in the Democratic primary with 52 percent of the vote in a three-way race. No Republican even attempted to file, ostensibly assuring him of reelection in November.
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
violated the rights of Latino voters when it shifted most of Laredo out of the 23rd and replaced it with several heavily Republican San Antonio suburbs. As a result, nearly every congressional district from El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
to San Antonio had to be redrawn, and the primary results for these districts were invalidated. A court drew a new map in which all of Laredo was moved into the 28th district while the south San Antonio area was moved to the 23rd. An election open to all candidates with a runoff
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
if no candidate won 50% was scheduled for the date of the general election, November 7, 2006.
In the general election on November 7, 2006, Cuellar had no Republican opposition but handily defeated Ron Avery of McQueeney
McQueeney, Texas
McQueeney is a census-designated place in Guadalupe County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,527 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, the chairman of the conservative Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
in Guadalupe County, and trial attorney and Democrat Frank Enriquez of McAllen by taking nearly 68 percent of the more than 77,000 votes cast in the House race.
Cuellar's two main political rivals, Bonilla and Rodriguez, ran against each other in the 23rd, and Rodriguez won the election in the runoff. The Republican Bonilla was hence out of Congress for the first time since his upset election in 1992.
2008
Cuellar was unopposed in the March 4, 2008, Democratic primary.
In the November 4 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, Cuellar easily defeated Republican James Taylor Fish (born 1958), a San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
-based health care consultant who resides in Cibolo
Cibolo, Texas
Cibolo is a city in Guadalupe County in the U.S. state of Texas.-Schools:The City of Cibolo is served by the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District .Maxine and Lutrell Watts ElementaryO.G. Wiederstein Elementary...
in Guadalupe County. Jim Fish, as he is known, was a health care administrator for seventeen years while he served in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. He also taught finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
in the Army-Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
Graduate School of Health Care Administration. Fish, an ordained Southern Baptist deacon, opposed same-sex marriage. Fish said that he decided to oppose Cuellar after watching the congressman's exchange with Sheriff Rick Flores over border security issues during a 2007 broadcast of the Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program, then on CNN.
Cuellar received 123,310 votes (68.7 percent) to Fish's 52,394 (29.2 percent) and 3,715 ballots (2.1 percent) for Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
Ross Lynn Leone (born September 8, 1946) of Seguin. In his native Webb County, Cuellar polled 41,567 votes (89.5 percent) to Fish's 4,089 votes (8.9 percent).
2010
Cuellar was unopposed for his Democratic nomination in 2010. As a result of Cuellar's votes on cap and trade and the Obama health care initiative, two Republicans, Daniel Chavez, a utility company employee from Mission
Mission, Texas
Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,058 at the 2010 census Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mission is located at ....
in Hidalgo County
Hidalgo County, Texas
Hidalgo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, Hidalgo County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, and is the seventh most-populous county in Texas. Its population in 2010 was 774,769, a 35% increase from 2000...
, and Bryan Keith Underwood (born ca. 1964), a carpenter from Seguin in Guadalupe County, filed for their party's nomination to oppose Cuellar in the November 2 general election. Underwood polled 13,599 votes (73.9 percent) to Chavez's 4,794 (26.1 percent).
Underwood raised more funds than Cuellar's prior Republican opponents, but questions were raised in Underwood's hometown newspaper, the Seguin Gazette, about Underwood's criminal record, which includes a guilty plea for a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
criminal mischief charge, which is normally a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
. Underwood also on one occasion refused to present his identification to a law enforcement officer.
Cuellar prevailed, as expected, with 62,055 votes (56.2 percent) to Underwood's 46,417 (42 percent). The remaining 1,880 ballots (1.7 percent) were cast for the Libertarian Party choice Stephen Kaat. While Underwood won in Guadalupe, Wilson, McMullen, and Atascosa counties, Cuellar's margin in his own heavily Democratic Webb County (25,415 to 3,569) was more than enough otherwise to ensure his victory for a fourth term in the incoming Republican-majority House of Representatives.
Tenure
Cuellar is a member of the New Democrat CoalitionNew Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress made up of Democrats who support an agenda that the organization describes as moderate and pro-growth. A July 2009 Press release described the organization as "the largest moderate coalition in the U.S...
. He has been given a Senior Whip position within the caucus and is also the Subcommittee Chairman for House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism. He also serves as the only Texas Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee.
Cuellar describes himself as a "moderate-centrist". In the 2006 primary, he gained the endorsement of the Club for Growth
Club for Growth
The Club for Growth is a politically conservative 527 organization active in the United States of America, with an agenda focussed on taxation and other economic issues, and with an affiliated political action committee . The Club advocates lower taxes, limited government, less government spending,...
, a conservative group that usually endorses Republicans. He has not always been a party loyalist; he endorsed Republican George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 2000 but supported John F. Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in 2004. Additionally, during Bush's 2006 State of the Union
State Of The Union
"State Of The Union" is the debut single from British singer-songwriter David Ford. It had previously been featured as a demo on his official website, before appearing as a track on a CD entitled "Apology Demos EP," only on sale at live shows....
address, a Washington Post photographer snapped a photo of Cuellar standing on the Republican side of the aisle, beaming as President Bush affectionately grabbed his face. Soon after the release of this photo, campaign contributions for his Democratic primary opponent, Ciro Rodriguez, saw an immediate and significant increase. Cuellar defeated Rodriguez in the primary election and since then has seen an increased role within the Democratic House Caucus.
On June 26, 2009, Cuellar voted with the House majority to pass, 219-212, the cap and trade legislation, the American Clean Energy and Security Act
American Clean Energy and Security Act
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme...
. He also supported the Affordable Health Care for America Act
Affordable Health Care for America Act
The Affordable Health Care for America Act was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States' health care system...
, which also narrowly passed the House and in December 2009 met the threshold for shutting off debate in the U.S. Senate by a single vote. As a pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
Democrat, Cuellar expressed concerns that the Senate health care bill allowed federal funding for abortion. Cuellar voted on March 21, 2010, for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, which passed the chamber, 219-212, the same vote as "cap-and-trade."
On June 15, 2007, Cuellar announced that he was endorsing then U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
for President in 2008: "Senator Clinton is the only candidate with the experience and toughness to hit the ground running on her first day in the White House." In 2007, Cuellar held a fundraiser for Clinton in Laredo, which raised over $200,000 – aided by the presence of former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Laredo's Democratic Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Raul G. Salinas
Raul G. Salinas
Raúl González Salinas is a private security consultant, a businessman, and a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who was first elected mayor of Laredo, Texas, on June 17, 2006...
joined Cuellar in early support of Hillary Clinton, who came to Laredo in October 2008 to endorse Cuellar's reelection to the U.S. House. On November 4, 2008, Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
defeated Republican John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
in Webb County with a margin of 71-28 percent.
Congressman Cuellar is the author and one of two main co-sponsors of legislation seeking to honor slain ICE agent Jaime Zapata. Billed as a border security bill, it would increase cooperation among state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies during investigations of human and drug smuggling from Mexico.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AgricultureUnited States House Committee on AgricultureThe U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...
- Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
- Committee on Homeland SecurityUnited States House Committee on Homeland SecurityThe U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. Its responsibilities include U.S...
- Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
Personal life
Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, have two daughters, Christina Alexandra and Catherine Ann. He has been recognized by the city of Laredo with two schools named in his honor: the Doctor Henry Cuellar Elementary School and the Representative Henry Cuellar Charter School.External links
- U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar official U.S. House site
- Henry Cuellar for Congressman official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...