The Political Insider

In an effort to grow “Squad” membership and pull the Democrat Party even further left, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez heads to Texas later this week to headline a rally and campaign for two far-left progressive candidates.

One of the candidates Ocasio-Cortez is supporting is Jessica Cisneros. She is challenging for the second time incumbent Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar in Texas’ 28 congressional district. 

Cuellar has ruffled feathers in his party for being one of the only Democrats to oppose open borders.

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Progressives Attempting To Turn Texas Blue

The second time may just be the charm for Cisneros. Progressive Democrats surely have seized on the fact that Cuellar has some issues of his own, including being under investigation for “alleged improper ties to Azerbaijan.” 

He was resistant to linking together the bipartisan infrastructure package and President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” mammoth social infrastructure and climate change bill.

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Who Are The Justice Democrats?

A group that calls itself the Justice Democrats are backing both Cisneros and Casar.

The Justice Democrats were founded in 2017, and a quick look at the mission statement on their website tells you all you need to know:

“We need a Democratic Party that fights for its voters, not big corporate donors. Our goal is to build a mission-driven caucus in Congress by electing more leaders like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, who will represent our communities in Congress and fight for bold, progressive solutions to our current crises.”

Want to know who to thank for the “Squad?” Look no further than the Justice Democrats. They recruited and backed Ocasio-Cortez, and every other member of the far-left group in Congress.

Purging The Party

The other candidate the Ocasio-Cortez is stumping for is former Austin City Council member Greg Casar, who is running for Congress in Texas’ 35th Congressional District. The Austin Monitor describes Casar as “community organizer.” His campaign website says he has helped pass, among other progressive wish list items, “the most progressive labor policy for the entire state and possibly the American south” in Austin.

But it might not be so easy for Democrats in border districts that have large hispanic populations. An interesting shift is emerging, a shift of Hispanic former Democrats-turned-Republican women running for office in those border districts. Two of those candidates say the Democrat Party does not represent the values of Hispanics and has gone too far left.  

Cuellar is the only moderate Democrat facing a primary challenge from a progressive. Democrat strategist Joe Caiazzo says the answer to why only one moderate is being challenged is easy, most incumbents agree with progressives’ agenda.

“When you look around, nearly the entirety of the Democratic conference in the House is supportive of things like infrastructure, reproductive rights, expanding access to affordable health care, cutting down childhood poverty, voting rights, all the key tenets of the Democratic Party platform.”

One thing Republicans should take note and pay attention to: Saturday’s rally starring AOC is sold out.