EXCLUSIVE: Meet The Woman Trying To Unseat One Of Texas’ Democratic Reps

• Cassy Garcia hopes to unseat Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar with a conservative agenda focused on border security, the economy and energy independence, she told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive interview.
• “I’m so proud of everything I’ve done and I want to work so hard for everybody in District 28. I believe in the American dream, I’m living the American dream and I want everybody to continue living the American dream,” Garcia told the DCNF.
• Garcia argues that she can be part of the “red wave” of Latina Republicans, like Rep. Mayra Flores, who recently won a competitive race in south Texas.

Republican candidate Cassy Garcia believes she has what it takes to beat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar as part of an expected “red wave” in south Texas, she told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive interview.

Cuellar, who’s represented the district since 2004, is one of the only Democrats to support efforts to secure the border and to have taken a pro-life position. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: My Night At The Border With ‘Operation Lone Star’ In Texas)

But Garcia says her resolve to secure the border and to support constituents struggling with higher prices due to inflation will help her defeat Cuellar.

“He’s completely out of touch with the district and my message is gonna be focused on jobs, on securing our border, how do we become energy independent. The administration wants to keep spending, we’re in this mess because of all the spending of money we don’t have,” Garcia, who served as Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s deputy state director and commissioner for the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, told the DCNF.

“Cuellar says all the right things, but he’s done nothing to secure our southern border,” said Garcia, who’s won the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council.

The Border Patrol union broke from its previous endorsement of Cuellar in 2020 to back Garcia. Cuellar has voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 94% of the time, according to ProPublica.

The Texas Democrat voted against border wall funding in 2019, during former President Donald Trump’s administration.

“From Day 1, I have made my position very clear: I oppose the wall, the wall is not necessary, and the wall will not work. The Trump Administration’s ineffective and wasteful border wall hurts taxpayers, wildlife, the environment, and my community,” Cuellar said of his decision at the time.

In 2021, Cuellar co-sponsored two separate bipartisan immigration bills, one to open more processing centers at the border to better screen migrants and another to allow certain H-2B visa workers in non-agricultural sectors to not be counted towards the annual visa limit and to increase civil penalties on those who violate the terms of the program.

Cuellar recently spoke with the DCNF about his efforts to appropriate more funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was also one of the few Democrats to oppose the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42.

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 12: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) delivers remarks during a rally for the passage of the USMCA trade agreement, on September 12, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

But Garcia argues Democrats are “out of touch” and don’t stand for issues the people of south Texas are concerned about, including the border crisis. She cited freshman Republican Rep. Mayra Flores’ victory in a recent special election, where she flipped Texas’ 34th Congressional District from blue to red after Democrats controlled the seat for 150 years.

The Republican Party predicts Flores’ win will set off a red wave in south Texas, where the party has invested resources in increasing voter turnout. From 2018 to 2022, Republicans more than doubled their turnout in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties in south Texas along the border, according to The Texas Tribune.

The race is considered a “Democratic toss up” by Cook Political Report.

“Most of these districts are going to be a lot of the pickups that the Republicans are going to get from this kind of significant movement of the Hispanic vote from probably 20 or 30%. In Texas, probably even more than that. It could be well over 50% of those living along the border. And so at that point, it’s very difficult for him to win reelection,” Chief Pollster at the Trafalgar Group Robert Cahaly told the DCNF of Garcia’s race.

A spokesperson for Cuellar’s campaign did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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