February 18, 2005
Richard Raymond Running for Congress
By Byron LaMasters
State Rep. Aaron Peña (D-Edinburg) writes on his blog:
Today's story is a juicy one. Richard Raymond is running for Congress. Richard will be challenging Henry Cuellar for the Laredo/San Antonio seat, CD 28. No, Richard has not announced but you can trust me on this one.
Via Latinos for Texas blog and Kuff.
CD28 is currently represented by Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) who defeated the incumbent Ciro Rodriguez (D-San Antonio) in the 2004 Democratic primary. The district changed dramatically in redistricting - changing from an urban Bexar County district to a district stretching from the urban areas of San Antonio and Laredo with rural counties in between. Cuellar won the contested election by a few hundred votes with a huge turnout out of Laredo, and a relatively low turnout out of San Antonio.
Cuellar endorsed George W. Bush for President in 2000 and served as Secretary of State under Governor Rick Perry. I would support either Richard Raymond or Ciro Rodriguez in a primary against Cuellar. Raymond was one of the "Killer D" leaders in 2003 and previously ran for Land Commissioner, losing to David Dewhurst in 1998. Rodriguez formerly served as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and had a strongly Democratic voting record in Congress. CD 28 is solidly Democratic.
Posted by Byron LaMasters at February 18, 2005 06:13 PM
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Ditto on Go Richard! He'll be a formidable candidate.
Anyone but Cuellar will do, but CW says this helps Rodriguez who is no doubt running again.
Raymond takes it. He is formidible.
Raymond is the real deal. This guy is one of the brightest politicians in TX and I do not say that lightly. He is a rising star.
Runoff rule. This helps no one. And remember that the best way to beat an incumbent in a primary is to get them head-to-head.
Richard would be one Dem who could defeat Cuellar in the primary. I wish he would run statewide again.
Cuellar was a Bush man but he is not a Republican. Don't forget he did run against Bonilla, and did better than any other Democrat in heavily Republican NW San Antonio. He had a Democratic campaign and staff when he ran against Rodriguez. Can't blame him for wanting to be a congressman. That's what primaries are for. He will vote more like Chet Edwards than Lloyd Doggett, but he is a Democrat.
I guess I'm the only one who likes Richard and Henry.
Raymond would be terrific. Have you seen what Cuellar is doing in Congress right now? He just voted for the REAL ID act -- a national database for drivers' licenses! a wall between Texas and Mexico! more restrictions for people seeking asylum from persecution! -- and then for tort reform. He may say he's a D, but he sure isn't acting like one. Raymond, on the other hand, is definitely a rising star in the party -- I think he has the savvy to win in the primary.
Concerning a split in the primary issue - Ciro should step aside and Richard take on Henry. Richard is the real deal. He is a good D and super bright. Ciro was a good D but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He was dumb enough to allow Henry to beat him.
GO RICHARD RAYMOND!!!
raymond is an idiot. he won't have a base (ciro from s.a. and cuellar from webb).
he is a lightweight. we should all be asking ourselves why he doesn't run for bonilla's open seat. it makes more sense to try and add a democrat than to have a net gain of zero.
we need more democrats in the house, not to just keep replacing the ones that are there.
