Posted on 04/09/2004 12:55:59 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ciro Rodriguez has begun a $100,000 fund-raising effort for a legal challenge to Laredo lawyer Henry Cuellar's Democratic primary victory in the 28th congressional district of Texas.
Rodriguez, a four-term congressman, lost to Cuellar in a bitterly fought race that ended on a recount of votes in the 11-county congressional district that spans South Texas.
Cuellar was certified as the winner of the Democratic Primary by the Texas secretary of state after a recount of votes that turned up 304 previously uncounted ballots in Zapata County and 177 additional votes for Cuellar in Webb County.
Buck Wood, an Austin-based elections lawyer, is preparing a lawsuit for Rodriguez seeking a new election.
The lawsuit is expected to be filed next week, said Rodriguez, who added that he remains "optimistic" that the legal challenge will result in a new election.
Cuellar has hired elections lawyer Steve Bickerstaff of Austin, a former assistant Texas attorney general under John Cornyn and past Texas parliamentarian, to defend his slim victory.
The Cuellar campaign also is raising money, although T.J. Connolly, a spokesman, declined to place a dollar amount on the fund-raising goal.
"Raising the funds necessary to defend the election victory is not going to be a difficult obstacle for Mr. Cuellar," Connolly said.
"I think if you are the candidate that lost it probably is going to be a tougher hill to climb," Connolly said.
To fund the legal challenge, Rodriguez is sending out a letter to Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives, and another to contributors and constituents to raise $100,000.
"Attorneys are expensive," Rodriguez said.
By law, Rodriguez must file the suit in the 28th congressional district, which runs from Hays County to Zapata County, within 10 days of the certification of the election.
The candidate can tap previous contributors to his campaign for additional funds to finance the litigation.
Donations and disbursements, to and from a legal defense fund are not subject to limitations under campaign finance laws, according to a recent advisory opinion by the Federal Election Commission.
Cuellar, a former Texas secretary of state, trailed Rodriguez by 145 votes after the March 9 primary. But a recount gave him a 203-vote margin of victory, with most those votes coming from Webb and Zapata counties.
Rodriguez is crying foul, but has declined to seek an investigation into voting irregularities in several counties, including Bexar.
A legal challenge was seen as an expected move by independent observers who note the razor-thin margin of victory and a history of election shenanigans in South Texas.
"Texas and controversy are two words that have gone together very well," said Amy Walter, an analyst with the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
"When you lose a race that is as close as that, and the circumstance surrounding it, I'm not surprised to see the Rodriguez camp try to use the courts to overturn the results," she said.
--------gmartin@express-news.net
Hope they spend lots of money!
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