House Republicans determined to unseat Democrat Henry Cuellar despite his conservative record
Mayra Flores, a former Republican congresswoman from South Texas, recently announced that she has moved to Laredo to challenge long-time Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in 2026.
The political history of South Texas since the 20th century can be summarized by the simple phrase, “good ol' boy system.” This system has produced generations of conservative politicians from both parties that maintain their power and influence through legalized bribery, voter suppression efforts, and the work of old political machines.
Henry Cuellar is no exception to the type of politics that the region embraces. He is conservative on social issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. He is also firmly on the conservative side of most economic issues, from healthcare industry reform and labor rights. In addition to being a reliable conservative vote, Cuellar has engaged in the type of political corruption that has plagued the region for decades—allegedly.
After fending off two cycles of progressive challengers in 2020 and 2022, he coasted to a smooth victory in the 2020, 2022, and 2024 general elections. Now, Cuellar finds himself under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for alleged bribes that are tied to a Mexican bank and the Azerbaijani government. Congressman Cuellar and his wife have denied the allegations and Cuellar himself refused to resign from Congress.
Now that the FBI appears to be closing in on Cuellar, House Republicans see an opportunity to unseat a Democrat who they claim is out of touch with voters. Except, that isn’t true—well not entirely. As mentioned before, Cuellar has been a consistent conservative vote throughout his entire Congressional career, rarely if ever supporting progressive pieces of legislation. Although many South Texas voters may disagree with his fiscally conservative votes, his socially conservative voters are firmly in the mainstream of his district.
Despite all of the work Henry Cuellar has done to support the Republican Party in Congress, they appear determined to grow their caucus in South Texas after failing to break through in the region for decades. However, it remains to be seen if Mayra Flores will be able to mount a successful insurgent campaign in a new district that she is not familiar with.
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