Richard Raymond announces for CD28

This was in yesterday's news but I didn't have a chance to get to it: State Rep. Richard Raymond has officially announced that he's running for Rep. Henry Cuellar's CD28 seat.

"Being a Republican is catching up to Henry Cuellar," Raymond said, noting that Cuellar has supported GOP proposals that include privatizing Social Security, Real ID immigration legislation and school vouchers.

Raymond, 44, a state representative from Laredo since 2001, will enter a March Democratic primary that is likely to be crowded with familiar names in the district that swings from Webb and Zapata counties in the south through Bexar County and up into Hays County in the north.

Cuellar, a first-term incumbent, took the seat from former congressman Ciro Rodriguez of San Antonio last year in a bitter primary contest that included unsubstantiated charges of voter fraud in Cuellar's home turf along the border.

Both Cuellar and Rodriguez are expected to enter the primary as well.

[...]

Earlier today, Raymond launched his campaign in Laredo where he touted endorsements from Laredo Mayor Betty Flores as well as Webb County District Attorney Joe Rubio, Webb County Judge Louis Bruni and Web County Sheriff Rick Flores. He also has the backing of former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Martin Frost.

Getting endorsements from Laredo politicians is big for Raymond. It was turnout in Webb County, where the voters there were excited about possibly electing their first native Congress member, that pushed Cueller over the top. I slightly prefer Ciro Rodriguez on the issues - I still haven't quite forgiven Raymond for his yes vote on HJR6, especially when an abstention would have been good enough. But Raymond is almost surely the stronger candidate, and he's definitely preferable to Cuellar. So keep an eye on this one, it's sure to be a barnburner. Link via The Jeffersonian.

On a related note, the Quorum Report says that 26-year-old Sergio Mora, a former aide to Raymond and State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, will run for Raymond's open seat.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on September 08, 2005 to Election 2006 | TrackBack