AOC wades into hard-fought Texas House runoff ahead of potential recount
Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has urged Democratic primary voters in Texas’ 28th Congressional District to keep an eye on their mail-in ballots as a possible recount looms in the runoff between AOC’s preferred candidate, Jessica Cisneros, and incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar.
“Cisneros’ race isn’t over,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Wednesday evening. “If you’re in TX28, we need you to track your mail-in ballot.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet also shared a post from Cisneros that linked to the ballot tracker page on the Texas secretary of state’s website.
“If your mail-in ballot was rejected, call our voter protection hotline: 956-413-7752 & we’ll help you cure it,” tweeted Cisneros, using a term referring to voters fixing errors to ensure their ballot is counted. “We won’t stop fighting until every vote is counted. #TX28.”
As of Wednesday evening, Cuellar led Cisneros by just 175 votes out of more than 45,000 ballots cast in Tuesday’s runoff. It was not immediately clear how many provisional ballots were left to count, nor was it immediately clear if any counties in the district had unreported votes.
The Texas Secretary of State’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s inquiry about how many ballots remain to be counted in the race.
Under Texas law, candidates can request a recount at their own expense within five days of an election or two days of a completed canvass, whichever is later.
The Cisneros campaign did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
While the race has not yet been officially called, Cuellar declared victory early Wednesday.
“Tonight the 28th Congressional District spoke, and we witnessed our great Democratic system at work,” Cuellar wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “The results are in, all the votes have been tallied- I am honored to have once again been re-elected as the Democratic Nominee for Congress.”
The Texas Democrat thanked his supporters and family, as well as House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) for his support.
“Finally, I would like to congratulate Jessica on a hard-fought campaign,” he wrote. “I look forward to working with her, and all Texans of the 28th district, to help move forward and win in November! Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you in Congress and I will continue to represent our values in South Texas. Thank you and God bless America.”
Cisneros has not yet conceded, telling supporters on Wednesday that “we clearly have a shot to take down the last anti-choice Democrat in Congress” as mail-in ballots continue to be processed.
On runoff night, Ocasio-Cortez blasted Democratic leaders like Clyburn and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for backing Cuellar, saying the party should “not be an incumbent protection racket.”
“On the day of a mass shooting and weeks after news of Roe, Democratic Party leadership rallied for a pro-NRA, anti-choice incumbent under investigation in a close primary. Robocalls, fundraisers, all of it,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a Twitter thread. “Accountability isn’t partisan. This was an utter failure of leadership.”
“Congress should not be an incumbent protection racket and sadly it is treated as such by far too many,” she continued. “The fact is those who fail their communities deserve to lose. They don’t need rescuing from powerful leaders who state they fight for gun safety, the right to choose, and more.”
The “Squad” member claimed that if Cuellar is declared the winner, it will be the fault of top Dems who went “to the mat for a pro-NRA incumbent.”
“The last time leadership waded in to save him, he thanked them by obstructing the party’s signature legislation, paving the way for the child tax credit to collapse and imperiling millions while taking a victory lap for it,” she said. “We can’t afford to reward such acts. We can do better.”
