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Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who received a pardon from President Trump after being indicted on corruption charges, easily won a 12th House term on Tuesday.
Cuellar led Republican nominee Tano Tijerina by 66% to 30% with about 80% of the ballots tallied.
Cuellar, 71, and his wife Imelda had been indicted in May 2024 on bribery and money laundering charges. With the case still pending, Trump pardoned the couple this past December, claiming Cuellar had been targeted by the Biden Justice Department for attacking the 46th president’s open borders policy.
Days later, after Cuellar confirmed he would run for another term, Trump turned on the congressman, bashing him for not switching parties and claiming he only pardoned the Cuellars after their daughters pleaded with him to do so.
“Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Dec. 7. “Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”
Republicans saw a chance to pick up Cuellar’s seat and recruited Tijerina, a local elected judge, to run against him.
Despite House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) both campaigning alongside Tijerina, Cuellar lived up to his reputation as the “King of Laredo.”
Two weeks before the election, with polls showing Tijerina well behind, GOP-supporting outside groups stopped spending on the race, opting to move their money elsewhere.
Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton endorsed Cuellar, along with Democratic Majority for Israel and the American Israel Political Affairs Committee.
Prosecutors claimed Henry and Imelda Cuellar accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from an Azerbaijani oil and gas company as well as a Mexican bank in exchange for the congressman working to sway US policy to benefit both the central Asian nation and the financial institution.
