Incumbent Henry Cuellar Secures Seat to Represent Texas’ 28th District

Rep. Henry Cuellar

Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) will return to Congress to represent Texas’ 28th Congressional District after scoring another victory for House Democrats this week.

Rep. Cuellar defeated opponents Tano Tijerina (R) and Marlón Durán (G) with 65.8% of the vote, compared to 29.6% for Tijerina and 4.6% for Durán. The contested seat represents parts of El Paso County, West Texas and San Antonio.

Rep. Cuellar previously held the seat as an 11-term congressman. But, after Republicans moved to redraw Texas’ congressional district boundaries in 2025, some worried the changes would hurt the Democratic incumbent and other Democrats running for reelection, including Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) in the 34th Congressional District.

The South Texas district previously favored President Donald Trump, who won it by 10 points in 2024. After Trump was re-elected, Tijerina switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Tijerina, a Webb County judge, ran a campaign focused on border security, affordability and public safety.

Despite the challenge posed by the recent redistricting for Texas Democrats like Rep. Cuellar, House Minority Leader and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in October that “under no circumstances” would Republicans defeat Reps. Cuellar and Gonzales. Both won re-election.

“The Republican efforts to redraw maps in Texas and Florida as part of their extreme scheme to rig the midterm elections have failed,” Rep. Jeffries said.

This story will be updated as additional results and developments become available.

Payton Anderson

Payton Anderson is a reporter for Texas Politics based in Washington, D.C., where she's pursuing her bachelor's degree in journalism at American University. Originally from California, Payton's reporting experience spans all avenues of digital and multimedia publishing. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and being outdoors.