Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)

In 1981, he opened his own law firm in his hometown. He later became a licensed customs broker and was an adjunct law professor at Texas A&M.

State Politics

Cuellar served in the Texas House from 1986 to 2000. He focused on education issues, sponsoring a 1999 bill that established a college grant program for low-income students.

Though a Democrat, Cuellar was notable for supporting prominent Texas Republicans. In 2000, he supported Gov. George W. Bush (R-Texas) in his presidential bid. After Republican Rick Perry was elected governor in 2000, he reached across party lines and named Cuellar as Texas' secretary of state. Cuellar's responsibilities included running the state's elections and serving as an adviser on border issues and Texas-Mexico relations.

Less than a year later, Cuellar resigned from the post and indicated he was preparing a bid for an unspecified elected office. After considering running for his old state House seat, Cuellar filed to challenge five-term U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) in 2002.

Democrats saw the border district race as winnable, but Cuellar fell behind in the polls and was unable to secure support from state Democrats miffed by his support for Perry and Bush. Both candidates were Hispanic, but Cuellar's supporters attacked Bonilla for a statement in an op-ed downplaying his ethnicity. Bonilla won, 52 to 47 percent.

2004 House Race

In 2004, Democrats wanted Cuellar to take on Bonilla again, but redistricting made challenging a friend, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), in a neighboring district a better prospect.

Cuellar and Rodriguez ran nasty campaigns against one another with Cuellar claiming Rodriguez was an AWOL congressman, while Rodriguez called Cuellar a political opportunist.

While Rodriguez held a 145-vote lead following the initial primary count, a recount gave Cuellar a 58-vote victory. Rodriguez filed a lawsuit questioning the eligibility of hundreds of votes. A state appeals court ruling against Rodriguez guaranteed Cuellar the nomination. While there were concerns that the primary battle would affect Cuellar's general-election chances that he would ultimately morph into a Republican, Cuellar won the November election, 59 to 39 percent.

Rodriguez tried to reclaim the seat in 2006 and ran a campaign criticizing Cuellar's connections with President Bush, other prominent Republicans and GOP-friendly business groups. The Rodriguez campaign distributed pictures of President Bush hugging Cuellar with a caption saying "George Bush thinks Henry Cuellar is 'chulo'" or "pretty boy." Cuellar defeated Rodriguez, 53 to 41 percent.

Rodriguez would end up returning to Congress in 2006, defeating Bonilla after the U.S. Supreme Court forced the redrawing of the Republican's district. But in 2010, Rodriguez lost to Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco (R-Texas).

In recent years, Democrats' concerns over Cuellar defecting to the GOP have died down. After being named to the party's Steering and Policy Committee in 2011, Cuellar was asked if he would ever join the Republicans. "Hell, no," he responded.

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