Henry Cuellar

His father, Martin Siller Cuellar Sr. (1926–2019), was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico and immigrated to the United States.

His mother was the former Odilia Perez (1928–2015), a native of Zapata, Texas.

The 28th district was far more Democratic than the 23rd making him heavily favored in the general election.

In November, he defeated the Republican by a 20-point margin, becoming the first Laredoan in over 20 years elected to represent the 28th district.

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Legislature had violated Latino voters' rights when it shifted most of Laredo out of the 23rd and replaced it with heavily Republican San Antonio suburbs.

Enrique Roberto "Henry" Cuellar (born September 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for TX's 28th congressional district since 2005.

He is a member of the Democratic Party.

His district extends from the Rio Grande to San Antonio's suburbs.

However, redistricting shifted most of Laredo, which had been the heart of the 23rd since its creation in 1966, into the 28th district, represented by Ciro Rodriguez.

Cuellar challenged Rodriguez, a former friend, for the nomination winning by 58 votes.

The Washington Post described the campaign as "nasty".

The initial count gave Rodriguez a 145-vote lead, but after a recount Cuellar led by 58 votes.

Cuellar's victory was one of only two primary upsets of incumbents from either party in the entire country.

Cuellar attended Buenos Aires Elementary School, where he became an avid reader and graduated in 1973 from J. W. Nixon High School.

He received an associate of arts degree from Laredo Community College, then known as Laredo Junior College, where he would later teach courses in government.

He then attended the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in foreign service.

He also earned a Master of Arts in international trade from Texas A&M International University, a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Texas School of Law and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.

As of 2023, he is finishing a master's in defense and strategic studies from Naval War College.

In 1981, Cuellar opened his own law firm in Laredo and became a licensed customs broker in 1983.

From 1984 to 1986 he taught at Texas A&M International University as an adjunct professor of international commercial law.

Cuellar served in the Texas House of Representatives for 14 years, from 1987 to 2001, and briefly served as the Texas Secretary of State in 2001, making him, as of 2022, the most recent Democrat to have held a statewide office in Texas.

Cuellar was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1987 to 2001, representing most of Laredo.

During his 14 years as a state representative, he served in leadership positions on the House Appropriations, Higher Education, and Calendar committees.

He also served on several national legislative committees dealing with state budgets, the U.S.–Mexico border and international trade.

In 2001, Governor Rick Perry appointed Cuellar to be secretary of state of Texas.

He served in the office for just over nine months until his resignation, after which Geoff Connor held the position in an acting capacity.

, Cuellar is the last Democrat to have served in the role.

During his short time as Texas Secretary of State, Cuellar issued an opinion that, while not legally binding, argued that home-rule cities in the state of Texas could not adopt ranked-choice voting for their elections under the Texas Constitution.

That opinion has been the primary basis for the city of Austin ignoring the passage of the city's 2021 Proposition E, which would have adopted ranked-choice voting in Austin.

In 2002, Cuellar was the Democratic nominee for the House of Representatives in Texas's 23rd congressional district.

He lost to five-term incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla 52%–47% in the closest race Bonilla had faced up to that point.

Cuellar spent much of early 2003 preparing for a rematch against Bonilla.

Cuellar was first elected to Congress in 2004, after defeating incumbent Ciro Rodriguez in a primary challenge.

He is considered a leading centrist within the House Democratic Caucus.

Cuellar's election to the House in 2004 was a standout for Democrats in a year in which Republicans otherwise gained seats in Texas's House delegation.

On March 7, 2006, Cuellar again defeated Rodriguez in the Democratic primary with 52% of the vote in a three-way race.

No Republican filed.

He has since been comfortably reelected in every general election while surviving a number of competitive primary races, most notably in 2020 and 2022.

Cuellar was born in Laredo, the county seat of Webb County in South Texas, where he has resided most of his life.

Both of his parents were Mexican American.