Jessica Cisneros

Jessica Cisneros (born May 24, 1993)

Early life and education Cisneros was born and raised in Laredo, Texas. Before she was born, her parents emigrated from Mexico to seek medical care for her older sister.

Cisneros with U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar in 2013 during her internship in his office Cisneros was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Early College High School. Her focus during law school included immigration law. She is Latina.

Career After graduating from law school, Cisneros worked as an attorney, including at Brooklyn Defender Services with a focus on immigration law. Her law practice has included advocacy for clients seeking asylum. After the 2020 election, she worked as an attorney in the Laredo office of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and became a supervising attorney at RAICES in Laredo, a legal aid organization for immigrants.

2020 U.S. House of Representatives election In 2020, Cisneros was a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas's 28th congressional district against Henry Cuellar, the incumbent since 2005. If elected, Cisneros would have been the youngest woman elected to Congress. During her campaign, she promoted progressive policies such as single-payer healthcare and raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. She also criticized Cuellar's voting record as too conservative, noting in particular his views on abortion rights and his campaign donations from the private prison industry, especially in light of the controversial migrant detention facilities operated at the border by the Trump administration. Cisneros lost to Cuellar in the March 2020 primary by 1700 votes.

2022 U.S. House of Representatives election In August 2021, Cisneros announced she would challenge Cuellar in the 2022 Democratic primary, and faced Cuellar in the primary on March 1, 2022. Cisneros continued to campaign on economic issues and access to health care.

On May 2, Politico published a leaked draft majority opinion written by U.S. Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. On May 4, Cisneros released a statement calling on Democratic Party leadership to withdraw their support from Cuellar. On May 4, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn continued to express support for Cuellar, and Pelosi continued to do so on May 12, and recorded robocalls supporting Cuellar. On May 13, Women Vote!, the super PAC affiliated with EMILY's List, purchased $526,000 in ads to support Cisneros, and EMILY's List president Laphonza Butler made a statement criticizing Cuellar's views on abortion. On May 19, Rep. Pramila Jayapal endorsed Cisneros, stating "we must elect pro-choice candidates".

On June 3, the May 24 primary runoff count concluded with Cuellar holding a lead by 281 votes. On June 7, the race remained uncalled by the Associated Press and CBS News, and Cisneros filed a recount petition. On June 21, after the recount concluded, the Associated Press called the race for Cuellar based on his 289-vote lead,

Electoral history