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**MAY 4, 2022**

Democratic Leadership Still Supporting the House's Only Anti-Abortion
Democrat

JAROD FACUNDO

Henry Cuellar was the only Democrat to oppose codifying Roe v. Wade.
He's getting leadership support in his runoff election against a
progressive pro-choice challenger.

On May 3, in response to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion

that would overturn the monumental

**Roe v. Wade**decision, President Biden said in a statement
,
"If the Court does overturn

**Roe**, it will fall on our nation's elected officials at all levels
of government to protect a woman's right to choose. And it will fall
on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November." He specifically
identified what that would entail: "At the federal level, we will need
more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt
legislation that codifies

**Roe**, which I will work to pass and sign into law."

Last September, the House of Representatives actually did pass
legislation
,
the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), that codifies

**Roe**, and a woman's right to choose. Every Democrat who voted
supported the bill except one: Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a
district in South Texas.

As it turns out, Cuellar is poised for an intense runoff election on May
24, against Jessica Cisneros, a progressive candidate who also
challenged him in 2020. Cisneros lost by just three points in 2020; in
the March primary, Cuellar received 48.6 percent, and Cisneros 46.7
percent. Because nobody reached 50 percent, in Texas that triggers a
runoff.

In the face of mounting pressure against Cuellar's re-election, he
secured support from the highest ranks of the Democratic leadership in
the House, as he did in 2020. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) endorsed
Cuellar in March
,
even after an FBI raid at his home
,
which was connected to the practices of unnamed U.S. businessmen and the
nation of Azerbaijan. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the
Prospect
reported
,
announced his endorsement on the same day as the FBI raid. Last week,
Cuellar even announced that Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the House
majority whip, would join him for a Get Out the Vote rally

in San Antonio, scheduled for today.

The

**Prospect**reached out to Pelosi, Clyburn, and Hoyer's offices for
comment and whether or not they would rescind their endorsements for
Cuellar. Pelosi, Clyburn, and Hoyer's offices did not respond by the
time of publication. Clyburn's office did not respond to a question
about whether or not he would still attend the Cuellar rally in San
Antonio, though his office did tell Vice
that
he was "still planning to be with Rep. Cuellar tomorrow."

Groups supporting Cisneros wasted no time in calling for the House
leadership to un-endorse Cuellar. Varshini Prakash, executive director
of the Sunrise Movement, said in a statement, "Our leaders on
reproductive rights are actively looking the other way as Jessica
Cisneros, an inspiring, young Latina, is fighting for our right to
choose ... Right now, young people need to know Democrats are fighting
for them."

Some Democrats have claimed that only Cuellar, who has held the seat
since 2005, can win in November, in a heavily Latino district that has
trended away from Democrats. The district actually got more Democratic
after redistricting, with an influx of voters added from liberal San
Antonio. Cuellar outpaced Biden by seven points in 2020, with Biden
winning just 51.5 percent of the vote. But it's just as possible that
a longtime Democrat whose family has ruled in Laredo for decades (his
brother is the county sheriff) would be more vulnerable to attacks that
Democrats haven't delivered for Latino voters. Cisneros has been
running as a fresh voice.

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Biden's message in the wake of the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion drew a
clear line on where the party should be regarding abortion and
reproductive rights. "

**Roe** has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic
fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned."
Only one House Democrat disagrees with that decision, and yet he is
getting support from the highest-ranking leaders in the House Democratic
caucus.

Yet the support for Cuellar runs deeper than lawmakers. Financial
disclosures

indicate that three DCCC-approved political firms-AL Media, Impact
Research (formerly Anzalone Liszt Group), and Baughman
Company/BaughmanMerrill-are actively working to re-elect Cuellar. AL
Media placed $786,756 in advertising for Cuellar in January and February
of this year. Baughman received $188,575 from the Cuellar campaign from
November 2021 to February 2022 for a mail program. Impact
Research/Anzalone Liszt received $18,400 for research last November.

AL Media's website boasts, "We are in
this line of work to protect progressive values and to win."

None of the political firms responded to the

**Prospect**'s request for comment or answered questions on whether
they would stop working for the Cuellar campaign if Pelosi, Hoyer, and
Clyburn rescinded their endorsements.
Yesterday, the DCCC and other Democratic Party groups, in a joint
statement following the Supreme Court leaks, said, "In November, we must
elect Democrats who will serve as the last lines of defense against the
GOP's assault on our established and fundamental freedoms.

The overturning of

**Roe** lays the groundwork for a larger and wider assault on civil
rights. The basis of

**Roe**rests on the "right to privacy." In a Twitter thread
, the writer
A.H. Reaume explained how this could potentially imperil Court decisions
such as

**Lawrence v. Texas**, opening the door for criminalizing
homosexuality; 

**Griswold v. Connecticut**, restricting access to contraceptives; and

**Obergefell v. Hodges**, the landmark case that legalized same-sex
marriage, as well as other Supreme Court cases.

In a statement provided to the

**Prospect**, Shaunna Thomas, the executive director of UltraViolet
, a national gender justice organization,
put it this way: "Without

**Roe**, the fundamental right to privacy does not exist."

Ahead of last year's vote on the WHPA, Pelosi said, "This is about
freedom, about freedom of women having a choice about the size and
timing of their families, not the business of people on the Court, or
members of Congress, it's about themselves." Yesterday, Clyburn
tweeted :
"For 49 years, women have had the constitutional right to make choices
about their body. The whole notion of politicians controlling those
decisions is beyond the pale."

Rep. Cuellar does not agree, but he's earned Pelosi and her leadership
cohort's endorsement anyway.

To receive this newsletter directly in your inbox, click here to
subscribe. 

'Roe' Repeal and Minority Rule

The leaked Court decision is the logical consequence of our systemic
bias against majorities. BY HAROLD MEYERSON

The End of the Right to Privacy

Samuel Alito's draft opinion overruling Roe v. Wade also threatens gay
rights, contraception, and even interracial marriages. BY MILES
MOGULESCU

The Ohio Model For Purging Progressives

A Democratic establishment victory in a House race last year has
emboldened big money to upend this primary cycle. BY DAVID DAYEN,
ALEXANDER SAMMON

Fake Populist Meets Real Populist

An Ohio Senate race between J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan would test the
appeal of cultural grievances versus economic ones. BY ROBERT KUTTNER

The Politics and Culture of Video Games

Podcaster, academic, and author Trevor Strunk discusses his book on the
gaming industry. BY PROSPECT STAFF

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