09:50 PM EDT on Thursday, August 11, 2005

By Todd J. Gillman / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Henry Cuellar must like close calls. He got elected last year by 58 votes. And just before Congress went on its August recess, he gave President Bush a crucial vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which passed 217-215.

For fellow Democrats still grumbling over Mr. Cuellar's ouster of Ciro Rodriguez –a four-term San Antonio Democrat who was chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – the CAFTA vote was the final straw, proof of his disloyalty and fresh impetus to repay him for beating their friend Ciro.

Mr. Cuellar shrugs it off.

"Born a Democrat, die as a Democrat," said the Laredo freshman. "I will always stay as a Democrat. But I will always vote for my congressional district."

It nearly wasn't his. He trailed narrowly on primary night. Recounts uncovered 300 ballots in Zapata County, and he won the court fight.

Mr. Rodriguez, who challenged the primary results, still wants the seat back. "He won this election once, and he'll win it again," said campaign manager Oscar Sanchez.

State Rep. Richard Raymond of Laredo is also running next year. The former land commissioner nominee earned considerable affection as a House leader in the 2003 redistricting fight. And former Dallas congressman Martin Frost, longtime dean of Texas Democrats and former head of the party's House campaign arm, is rounding up support – a sign of his standing among the party establishment.

Mr. Cuellar's image with Democrats is more checkered.

As a state House member in 2000, he stumped for George W. Bush's presidential effort. Afterward, he agreed to serve the new GOP governor, Rick Perry, as secretary of state. He lost narrowly in 2002 to GOP Rep. Henry Bonilla of San Antonio, then turned his sights on Mr. Rodriguez's seat.

Since taking office, he's voted with Republicans on one of every three votes, breaking ranks on bills to shield gun makers from lawsuits, limit damage awards in court and tighten consumer bankruptcy rules.

Then came CAFTA.

Only 14 other Democrats, including Reps. Rubén Hinojosa of Mercedes, Texas, and Solomon Ortiz of Corpus Christi, backed the president. All argued that free trade means jobs in South Texas, but Mr. Cuellar actively tried to round up votes.

That outraged unions. Chuck Rocha, national political director at United Steelworkers, called Mr. Cuellar his No. 1 target and said he's mobilizing the district's 20,000 members and retirees.

"We want someone in Congress whose support we don't have to worry about," he said.

Mr. Cuellar's rivals say they would have voted against CAFTA, calling it a threat to U.S. workers.

As a sign of the inroads Mr. Raymond is making, the prosecutor in Laredo is throwing him a fundraiser, with Mayor Betty Flores as co-host. That's Cuellar turf, but the congressman said he's unconcerned. "There's always factions in every place," he said.

And that's only one headache.

The Cuellar campaign is heavily in debt, with $234,000 in loans and little cash. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee generally backs incumbents but probably won't give much help in this sort of contested primary. And many lawmakers from Texas and the Hispanic caucus are rooting for Mr. Rodriguez. A dozen or so showed up at a recent fundraiser in Washington. Some, like Mr. Ortiz, said they weren't taking sides.

Others, including Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, make no secret of their support for Mr. Rodriguez. But Mr. Gonzalez says it's not a criticism of his new colleague.

"This is a matter of loyalty and friendship to me," he said.

With Congress in recess, Mr. Cuellar is working the district hard, covering 1,200 miles last week alone. He spent the weekend in San Antonio, at a Hispanic summit thrown by the Democratic National Committee. Say what they will, it's tough to imagine a GOP true believer willingly putting in that much quality time with Howard Dean.

Todd J. Gillman covers Congress and the Texas delegation.