House leaders stick with Rep. Cuellar despite abortion stand

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Just a day after Democrats recommitted to protecting abortion rights, a U.S. House leader on Wednesday campaigned in Texas alongside Rep. Henry Cuellar, one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress.

The 17-year incumbent is in his toughest reelection campaign, facing a May 24 primary runoff against progressive Jessica Cisneros, an immigration lawyer who supports abortion rights.

Cuellar finds himself at odds with his party just as Democrats are mostly united in outrage over the leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark decision legalizing abortion.

Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina rejected criticism that his campaigning with Cuellar undercuts the party’s election-year promises to defend the constitutional right to an abortion.