TX-28: Outside money floods Cuellar primary, with U.S. Chamber of Commerce latest to join the fray

[RandySF]

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar's primary is attracting a gusher of outside money as the Laredo Democrat works to fend off challenger Jessica Cisneros.

The latest entrant is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which started a six-figure TV ad buy Tuesday in support of Cuellar. It is a somewhat unusual move by the powerful Republican-leaning business group, which has previously supported centrist Democrats but has not spent seriously on behalf of one since 2014.

Now the U.S. Chamber is teaming up with the Laredo Chamber and Texas Association of Business to defend Cuellar against Cisneros, a Laredo attorney backed by Justice Democrats, the insurgent progressive group known for helping elect freshman U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

"This is a first for us, and we're putting our money where our mouth is," said Scott Reed, the U.S. Chamber's senior political strategist. "It's game on, Justice Democrats."

With just under a month until the primary, the race has now seen over $2 million in outside spending, according to Federal Election Commission records and data reviewed by the Texas Tribune. That is more than any other U.S. House primary this cycle in Texas, and a significant chunk of it includes "dark money" whose sources cannot be traced.



https://www.texastribune.org/2020/02/04/cuellar-cisneros-outside-money-chamber/

[Hermit-The-Prog]

1. Bet the dark money comes through Koch laundering organizations