

As Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) attempts to get his Democratic colleagues on board with President Donald Trump’s new North American free trade deal, he’s facing pressure from a progressive Democratic group with rising influence within the party.

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-aligned Justice Democrats group is raising money toward an effort to primary Cuellar, who represents Texas’ 28th district, labeling him the “most conservative Democrat in Congress” in a fundraising appeal. The group’s push comes as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the Justice Democrats, pushes back against “NAFTA 2.0” over protections for pharmaceutical companies included in the deal.

Cuellar is one of few Democrats backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and has a low score with pro-choice groups. The Justice Democrats have taken aim at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) decision to blacklist political consultants who work with Democratic primary challengers, arguing it shouldn’t support conservative Democrats. The DCCC has defended its decision, arguing its goal is to protect every member of the Democratic caucus.

Cuellar has defended his record, arguing his district — which Clinton won by 20 points — is more moderate than it appears and is home to many conservative Democrats. That defense didn’t stop his progressive enemies from preparing a primary challenge.

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Like most safe incumbent representatives who don’t draw interest from small individual donors, Cuellar takes in a lot of PAC money — a major point of contention for progressive groups pushing candidates to forgo contributions from corporate PACs. More than 62 percent of Cuellar’s 2018 campaign cash — over $1 million — came from business PACs, which include PACs for corporations and corporate-funded trade associations. Just 0.35 percent of the money came from small donors.

In another affront to progressive groups, affiliates of private prison contractor GEO Group make up Cuellar’s top campaign contributor, giving $32,400. PACs for oil & gas and defense companies, as well as trade associations, round out his list of top donors.

Though the Justice Democrats haven’t said who else they plan to primary, longtime incumbents with substantial PAC contributions could be in trouble. In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez defeated Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), another longtime congressman residing in a safe blue district who took $1.3 million from business PACs in the 2018 election cycle.

Thirteen House Democrats took a higher percentage of their funds from business PACs than Cuellar in 2018. Below are the top 50 members by percentage of campaign money from business PACs.

Candidate Party District Total Raised Itemized Total from Business PACs Pct from Business PACs Frank D Lucas R OK03 $1,078,443 $913,853 85% David Scott D GA13 $1,099,687 $921,249 84% John M Shimkus R IL15 $1,966,005 $1,595,587 81% Brett Guthrie R KY02 $1,966,247 $1,544,182 79% Adrian Smith R NE03 $1,219,588 $935,840 77% G K Butterfield D NC01 $761,051 $570,348 75% Terri A Sewell D AL07 $1,782,862 $1,327,128 74% Dennis Ross R FL15 $741,889 $550,122 74% Pat Tiberi R OH12 $1,623,855 $1,196,319 74% Ron Kind D WI03 $2,310,672 $1,678,793 73% Blaine Luetkemeyer R MO03 $2,327,359 $1,685,228 72% John Lee Ratcliffe R TX04 $748,187 $540,430 72% Bill Flores R TX17 $1,327,333 $952,776 72% Sam Graves R MO06 $1,695,131 $1,216,020 72% James E Clyburn D SC06 $1,989,607 $1,426,108 72% Trey Hollingsworth R IN09 $1,471,589 $1,046,705 71% Patrick Meehan R PA05 $986,052 $693,900 70% Richard E Neal D MA01 $3,554,755 $2,499,291 70% Kenny Marchant R TX24 $1,238,182 $857,634 69% Gregory W Meeks D NY05 $1,027,879 $710,600 69% Doris O Matsui D CA06 $1,066,880 $720,303 68% Collin Peterson D MN07 $1,425,449 $960,013 67% Robert E Latta R OH05 $1,573,523 $1,057,208 67% Austin Scott R GA08 $818,129 $548,500 67% Larry Bucshon R IN08 $967,433 $639,706 66% Robert B Aderholt R AL04 $1,546,643 $1,018,643 66% Bradley Byrne R AL01 $1,460,041 $959,100 66% Jason Smith R MO08 $1,980,377 $1,284,922 65% Linda Sanchez D CA38 $1,704,758 $1,099,788 65% Juan Vargas D CA51 $879,037 $565,400 64% Barry Loudermilk R GA11 $845,520 $542,745 64% Kurt Schrader D OR05 $2,062,382 $1,322,953 64% Sanford Bishop D GA02 $1,119,338 $711,270 64% Steven Palazzo R MS04 $766,678 $481,298 63% Michael Burgess R TX26 $1,672,804 $1,045,529 63% Henry Cuellar D TX28 $1,656,421 $1,030,377 62% Mike Simpson R ID02 $1,107,701 $687,866 62% John B Larson D CT01 $1,604,275 $988,493 62% Joyce Beatty D OH03 $1,087,553 $665,188 61% Markwayne Mullin R OK02 $1,572,714 $958,593 61% Doug Collins R GA09 $1,408,230 $845,169 60% William L Clay Jr. D MO01 $663,479 $397,500 60% Peter Welch D VT01 $861,403 $510,850 59% Billy Long R MO07 $1,526,393 $902,642 59% Buddy Carter R GA01 $1,802,887 $1,066,136 59% Pete Olson R TX22 $1,532,998 $903,905 59% Kevin Brady R TX08 $5,213,137 $3,071,737 59% Charlie Dent R PA07 $516,762 $302,910 59% Mike Kelly R PA16 $2,566,019 $1,500,708 58% Frank Pallone Jr. D NJ06 $2,802,832 $1,637,066 58%



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