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**MAY 9, 2022**

Latino Super PAC Comes to Rescue of Anti-Abortion Dem Henry Cuellar

ANDREW PEREZ, DAVID DAYEN

A new super PAC run by Biden, Obama, and Sanders consultants just
dropped a quarter million into the race against pro-choice woman Jessica
Cisneros.

A new super PAC led by consultants for Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and
Bernie Sanders's presidential campaigns is diving into a Texas primary
to support a conservative Democrat who opposes abortion.

Democratic leaders have come

under fire

for continuing to support conservative Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in his
runoff election versus progressive Jessica Cisneros, even after the leak
of a Supreme Court draft opinion set to invalidate federal protections
for abortion rights.

With the runoff only weeks away, Cuellar, the last remaining
anti-abortion Democrat in the House, has seen little outside support
from Democratic groups-until now. On April 29, America United, a super
PAC formed recently to back Latino House candidates, placed

$241,000 worth of independent expenditures backing Cuellar, despite the
fact that his challenger is also Latina.

The effort suggests at least some Democratic operatives and donors
remain willing to back an anti-abortion candidate in a safe Democratic
district in a state controlled by right-wingers, even though federal
abortion protections could be eliminated any day now. The looming
Supreme Court decision on abortion could have major implications for
Texas residents, as Republicans there passed

a so-called "trigger law" last year that will make it a felony to
perform abortions 30 days after

**Roe** is overturned.

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America United told **Newsweek**

last month it had already raised $2 million to support Latino House
lawmakers and candidates and help improve Democrats' performance with
Latino voters. The group has not filed any list of its donors yet with
the Federal Election Commission, so it's not clear who is funding its
ads to boost Cuellar.

According to America United's federal election filings
,
the organization placed the ad buys three days before the leak of the
Supreme Court draft ruling overturning

**Roe v. Wade**. The group's TV ads started
running on
May 3, one day after the draft opinion was published by Politico
.
Voters in the district report seeing the ads running.

Last month, **Newsweek**

reported that America United planned to boost several Latino candidates,
including Cuellar, and that Chuck Rocha, a consultant to Bernie
Sanders's 2020 campaign, was involved with the group.
According to

**Newsweek**, Rocha pledged that America United would be an aggressive
political operation, calling it a "smash-mouth bilingual PAC."
Consultant Jorge Neri added, "We're calling it 'No Bullshit PAC.'"
Reached for comment, Rocha said he is not involved with America
United's efforts to boost Cuellar. "I am not working with that PAC on
that race," he said. "I do some consulting work with this PAC and over
25 other PACs. But I'm not working on this race."

Nuestro PAC, a super PAC founded by Rocha, spent
roughly
$40,000 to boost Cisneros against Cuellar ahead of the March 1 primary
earlier this year.
Neri, whose firm worked

for the Biden presidential campaign and the Democratic National
Committee's convention last cycle, did not respond to a request for
comment.

America United reported paying Mosaic Media Strategy Group to create the
ads for Cuellar.

Mosaic's website lists two lead
strategists. César Blanco, the president, is a state senator in Texas
representing a district in El Paso, and was recently elected to the
Democratic National Committee. Ginette Magaña Salas is a strategist who
worked in the White House Office of Public Engagement and as
spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama
administration. She also worked on Obama's re-election campaign, and
was a senior adviser to Michelle Obama's organization When We All
Vote.

Mosaic boasts on its website that it has
worked
with the Biden
2020 presidential campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, which elects Democratic candidates to the House.

The firm has also worked

with Women Vote!, the super PAC for EMILY's List, which supports
pro-choice women candidates.

A request for comment sent to an email address listed on Mosaic's
website bounced back.

Most of the outside spending for the Cuellar-Cisneros race has come in
on Cisneros's side, including a recent $138,000 expenditure from Women
Vote!. Since the start of the runoff, outside groups have spent roughly
$850,000 to boost Cisneros and oppose Cuellar.

But as the runoff nears, Cuellar is seeing his share of outside
spending. In addition to the $241,000 from America United, the PAC for
the National Association of Realtors, a real estate industry lobbying
group, spent $43,500 on online ads last week in support of Cuellar.

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Justice Alito's Bad Faith Appeals to Majority Rule

The Supreme Court has eviscerated the ability for a majority of citizens
to elect the representatives they want and have their will enacted. BY
SCOTT LEMIEUX

'Pelosi Has Endorsed Me. Steny Has Endorsed Me. Clyburn Has Endorsed
Me.'

Amidst a national outcry over abortion rights, House Majority Whip Jim
Clyburn visits San Antonio to campaign for pro-life Henry Cuellar. BY
ISABELLE GIUS, ADEN CHOATE

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

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. BY JAROD FACUNDO

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose For Global Elites

Investors at the prestigious Milken Conference are confident that,
recession or no, they'll keep on making money. BY LEE HARRIS

The Case Against Popularism

Alex Pareene explains the problems with the latest fad theory for
winning elections. BY PROSPECT STAFF

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