Meet the Woman Taking on Her Former Boss, the Prison Industry, and Big Oil’s Fave Democrat
Jessica Cisneros, 26, hopes to unseat Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)
Jessica Cisneros and Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) are not strangers to one another. In 2014, Cisneros was an intern in Cuellar’s Washington, D.C., office as an undergraduate student at the University of Texas, Austin. She remembers being one of just a few people who were from Texas’ 28th District. Fewer than half of the people in the office were people of color.
People were taking notice of her ambition even as an intern. A staff member for Cuellar at the time referred to Cisneros as “Congresswoman Jess” because of her energy and drive, which didn’t please the boss, who suggested that she adjust her goals to a lower office.
When Cisneros worked for Congressman Cuellar, she was initially excited to see the legislative process and how it affected people in the district back home. But she soon realized that Cuellar was silent on many issues that she perceives as being important to the people in the district, such as poverty, health care access (especially for women), immigration, and the environment.
Born and raised in Laredo, Texas, Cisneros is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who came to the United States to…
