Texas
Henry Cuellar isn’t apologizing for being a moderate
:focal(1x0:2999x1657)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/7163086c7ac4d457b25747e16aaf21c8/Henry%20Cuellar%20GOTV%20Rally%20TT%2012.jpg "Henry Cuellar isn’t apologizing for being a moderate")
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WASHINGTON — It’s been a troublesome yr for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar. In January, the Laredo Democrat’s dwelling was raided by the FBI weeks earlier than his major. Then, the overturning of Roe v. Wade this summer season cemented his standing as a pariah with many in his celebration, for being the one Democrat to vote earlier within the yr towards a invoice to guard abortion entry.
However heading into November, Cuellar isn’t operating scared. He’s sporting the label of a reasonable like a badge of honor. And he doesn’t look like any worse for the damage.
“I believe individuals need us to manipulate from the middle, whether or not we’re Democrats or Republicans,” Cuellar stated in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “I believe individuals are getting bored with the acute left and the acute proper.”
Cuellar faces off towards Cassy Garcia, a former staffer of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and member of the Trump administration, for Congressional District 28 in South Texas — one of many few aggressive races left within the state after redistricting final yr modified the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts.
Cuellar’s standing as one of many few remaining “reasonable” Democrats might also be paying dividends for his fundraising, as he took in nearly $4.9 million as of the top of June, smashing his traditional tempo for earlier years. At that time in his final race towards Republican Sandra Whitten, he had raised $2.4 million. In 2018, he had raised simply $1.3 million. The following fundraising disclosure deadline is Oct. 15.
Because of redistricting, nonetheless, this is without doubt one of the best normal election races the longtime congressman has had in years, boosting the necessity for stronger fundraising.
A few of the latest and largest donors to his marketing campaign are political motion committees that primarily contribute to Republican candidates and assist conservative causes. This consists of $4,000 from the Justice, Liberty and Freedom PAC, affiliated with former U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble; $3,000 from a lobbying agency that has contributed to GOP Sens. Marco Rubio and Chuck Grassley and $2,900 from Construct Our Future PAC, which has given handsomely to the political motion committee for John Bolton, Trump’s nationwide safety adviser.
“He’s now just about alone as a conservative Democrat in the home,” stated David Wasserman, one of many nation’s prime election forecasters at Prepare dinner Political Report. “His marketing campaign committee is a secure place for company PACs to donate to show they’re bipartisan with out being antithetical to their views.”
Cuellar characterizes his place on abortion entry as reasonable, saying abortion needs to be “uncommon, authorized and secure.”
However he was the lone Democrat within the Home to vote towards the Girls’s Well being Safety Act of 2022 in July, which aimed to protect entry to abortion care on the federal stage. That invoice by no means superior within the Senate.
Whereas opposing abortion, Cuellar has been essential of Texas’ legislation handed final yr that restricted abortions after roughly six weeks of being pregnant. He was particularly essential of the legislation’s enforcement mechanism that inspired and rewarded common residents to implement the legislation by means of civil litigation. After Texas banned practically all abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned, he voted in assist of a invoice that will defend the appropriate for a girl to cross state borders to hunt the process the place it’s nonetheless authorized.
“That’s a place that I’ve had, however now we see that the Democrats have gone one explicit path and Republicans have gone a distinct path,” Cuellar stated. “In some ways, my place has not modified from once I was within the state Legislature.”
Cuellar’s outlier stance on abortion is particularly notable provided that so many Democrats heading into the midterms are counting on a lift of enthusiasm associated to anger over the Supreme Courtroom’s motion. However Cuellar’s South Texas district, which is predominantly Hispanic, could have extra socially conservative Democrats.
“The abortion situation is sophisticated right here as a result of it’s a closely Catholic district,” Wasserman stated. “Cuellar is nearer to the median voter on this district on this situation.”
Sylvia Bruni, chair of Webb County Democrats, is a Catholic who doesn’t consider in abortion but additionally doesn’t assist authorities bans towards it. Whereas she stated she has seen “palpable anger” in voters over the overturning of Roe v. Wade, she additionally thinks the default stance on Cuellar for a lot of is that this: He’s higher than the choice.
“Proper now something Republican for me is an absolute hazard sign,” Bruni stated. “Typically talking, one other Republican in Congress could be disastrous for us.”
Throughout his contentious major towards challenger Jessica Cisneros, progressives hammered Cuellar after Politico reported the leak of the Supreme Courtroom’s plans to overturn the constitutional safety safety for abortions. Left-wing heavyweights like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York went scorched earth on the Democratic incumbent.
“The actual fact is those that fail their communities should lose,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about Cuellar in Might. “They don’t want rescuing from highly effective leaders who state they combat for gun security, the appropriate to decide on, and extra.”
Ocasio-Cortez was referencing the heavy-handed assist of Home Democratic management that Cullar acquired in his major. Within the thick of the shut battle, influential celebration figures, together with Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, endorsed the longtime congressman. And Home Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina traveled to Texas after the bombshell report of Roe v. Wade’s demise to marketing campaign for Cuellar, saying the celebration shouldn’t shun abortion opponents.
Maybe boosted by his win within the major — nonetheless slim it was — Cuellar grew to become extra vocal this summer season about his political convictions.
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“In fact I’ve a spot within the Democratic Occasion. The query is, do these individuals have a spot within the Democratic Occasion?” Cuellar stated of Ocasio-Cortez to Axios in June. “Let me be me and I’ll preserve this seat as a Democrat.”
In public appearances this summer season, Cuellar has additional leaned into his popularity for crossing the aisle. In two Fox Information interviews in June, he railed towards the document variety of border crossings in Texas — echoing many conservatives — and scorched the “far left” of his celebration that “doesn’t perceive actuality.”
Cuellar made one other Fox Information look in September wherein he lambasted the Biden administration’s border insurance policies, saying he desires extra deportations.
“They’re making it very laborious for Democrats, the place the Republicans are pouncing on Democrats, saying they’re not for safe borders,” Cuellar stated.
However Republicans don’t suppose Cuellar is conservative sufficient, and they’re throwing hundreds of thousands of {dollars} behind Garcia, who says she actually embodies the values of the South Texas district.
“The explanation why I’m operating for Congress is to defend religion, household and freedom,” Garcia stated on Tucker Carlson’s Fox Information present in July. “The present incumbent Henry Cuellar, who says all the appropriate issues, has finished completely nothing to safe our southern border.”
Home Republican management will spend round $4 million on Garcia this cycle. Her marketing campaign raised over $1.1 million within the third quarter of the yr alone, it introduced this week.
She has hammered Cuellar over the FBI raid on his Laredo dwelling and marketing campaign workplace, an ominous cloud over the Congressman’s reelection bid. No costs have been filed and Cuellar’s legal professional has stated that the congressman just isn’t the goal of the investigation.
Whereas the small print of the raid haven’t formally been launched, ABC Information reported shortly after the raid {that a} grand jury sought data associated to Cuellar, his spouse and considered one of his marketing campaign staffers over connections to Azerbaijan. Cuellar is a member of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and infrequently speaks out advocating for the oil-rich nation. The Related Press confirmed the report.
“The incumbent can’t choose up the telephone and ask the DOJ [Department of Justice] to prosecute gangs and cartels when he’s afraid they’ll inform him, ‘Hey, Henry, now that now we have you on the road, let’s speak about our ongoing felony investigation towards you,’” Garcia stated in an interview with The Texas Tribune.
Cuellar has remained steadfast that he’s not the goal of a felony investigation and stated the investigation will finally clear him of any wrongdoing.
“As my legal professional has stated, I’m not a goal of the investigation. We’ll cooperate with legislation enforcement,” Cuellar stated. “On the finish of the day, we’ll see that there was no wrongdoing.”
Cuellar’s major opponent Cisneros, who misplaced by lower than 300 votes, cautioned that Cuellar’s reasonable popularity is downright conservative at instances.
The final time Cuellar was a member in a GOP-controlled Home, proper after the election of former President Donald Trump, Cuellar voted towards a majority of Home Democrats nearly 17% of the time, one of many highest charges in Congress.
“He was the one Democrat to vote towards the Girls’s Well being Safety Act, he was considered one of a handful of Democrats to vote towards gun reform after the Uvalde capturing that occurred on election day,” Cisneros stated. “I imply I made a decision to leap into the race as a result of in the course of the Trump administration he was voting with Donald Trump 70 p.c of the time.”
Regardless of who wins the bulk this fall, Cuellar stated it received’t have an effect on how he does his job.
“I favor a Home managed by a Democrat majority, however even prior to now when the Republicans had been in management, I used to be nonetheless in a position to get my job finished,” Cuellar stated. “I don’t increase a crimson flag with Republicans, I’m able to sit down with them. I’ve been profitable irrespective of if it’s a Democratic or Republican Congress.”
Disclosure: Politico has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full record of them right here.
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
After a 103-57 win over South Dakota State on Sunday, the Texas Longhorns will head into their holiday break on a high note.
Sunday’s lopsided win at Moody Center came five days after Texas beat La Salle by a 111-49 score. Texas hadn’t scored 100 points in consecutive games since it did so against McNeese State and UTSA in November 2017.
Texas never trailed on Sunday, and freshmen Jordan Lee and Justice Carlton served as first-half catalysts for the No. 6 team in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Lee started and scored 10 first-quarter points while Carlton came off the bench to score 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting. Combined, Lee and Carlton had 29 points in the first half. South Dakota State’s entire team had 26.
While Texas built its 53-26 lead in the first half, eight of the nine Longhorns who played scored. The surprising exception was All-American Madison Booker, who distributed three assists and grabbed three rebounds but missed her three shots.
A perennial NCAA tournament qualifier that had split its prior games against ranked Creighton and Duke teams, South Dakota State (10-3) never cut into its 27-point halftime deficit in the second half.
Here are three observations from Sunday’s 46-point rout:
Mwenentanda remains patient with her process
Carlton finished with 19 points and nine rebounds while senior forward Taylor Jones had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Lee and senior guard Rori Harmon respectively added 14 and 13 points for a Texas team that shot 53.9% from the field. Booker was limited to nine points, but Harmon pointed out after the game that Booker’s +/- of 41 was the best among the Longhorns.
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was the fifth Longhorn to record a double-digit scoring total. Over 11 minutes, Mwenentanda scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Mwenentanda grew up in South Dakota and was that state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022. The school in Sioux Falls where she won a state championship is about an hour drive from South Dakota State’s campus. Mwenentanda was recruited by the Jackrabbits but she said that she was attracted to what Texas could offer her athletically and academically.
Since arriving on campus, Mwenentanda has shown glimpses of her potential since arriving at Texas, but she has mainly been a role player for the Longhorns. Sunday was the 11th time that she scored at least 10 points in a game. Just twice in her career has she played more than 25 minutes.
Mwenentanda sees herself as a Swiss Army Knife on the Texas roster. She’s listed as a 6-foot-2 guard on the team’s roster, but Vic Schaefer has mainly used her as a “4” player this season. Mwenentanda played some in the paint last season, but she got more playing time as a guard. Training more with the post players this offseason has helped her adjust to that role this season.
“I physically prepared for it, I mentally prepared for it. I’m enjoying it,” Mwenentanda said.
Schaefer praised the play of Mwenentanda in his postgame press conference on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Mwenentanda said that she was staying patient with her process.
“Everybody’s process is different. I feel like comparing myself to other people’s process would be one reason to give up,” Mwenentanda said. “Everybody on this team are great players, are great women so even though this process is a little bit different for me, it’s not something I look at negatively because I know everybody’s working hard and everybody’s pitching in.”
Status for sidelined Laila Phelia remains unclear
Texas senior Laila Phelia missed her third straight game on Sunday. Phelia suffered a detached retina during the offseason. Texas has not announced a timeline for her return, but Schaefer has said the program will soon release an update.
The leading scorer at Michigan last season, Phelia has played in just eight of the Longhorns’ 13 games. She is averaging 6.1 points and 19.4 minutes per game while shooting 40.5% from the field.
What’s next for Texas? Rest and one final tune-up
Next on the schedule for Texas is a home game against UTRGV (6-6) on Dec. 29. That will be the Longhorns’ final game until their Southeastern Conference debut at Oklahoma on Jan. 2, 2025.
But first, the Longhorns will get some rest. Mwenentanda won’t be able to fly back to South Dakota until Monday morning, but the rest of the Longhorns headed home after Sunday’s win. The Longhorns will return to practice on Dec. 27.
How will the Longhorns spend their break? The three players who attended Sunday’s postgame press conference – Carlton, Harmon and Mwenentanda – said they’d take some time off, but they added that they’ll get some workouts in with family and hometown trainers.
As for Schaefer? He’ll do some work over the break, but he won’t be in his office.
“I’m going to be standing in about knee-deep water in the morning calling a duck and having my son (Logan) with me and my dog, my hunting dog, not my show dog. We’ll enjoy some time together in the morning and then we’ll wet a line and fish in the afternoon,” Schaefer said. “I’ll probably sit in my bow stand a couple of nights with my computer in my lap and watch film. I don’t really care if I see anything or not, but I usually see a lot. I get more work done sitting in a bow stand in a bow blind than I do a lot of times sitting at my desk.
“I’ll just enjoy time with family. I’m really blessed with Holly and Logan and Blair here and we’re all together at Christmas, and it’s just a special time for us. We really embrace the Christmas season.”
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Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.
At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.
Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay
Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.
In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.
“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.
The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.
But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.
Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.
But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”
On Twitter/X: @t_myah
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