Washington, D.C. — Latino Victory Fund announced the endorsements of Jessica Cisneros for Texas’ 28th Congressional District, Greg Casar for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, and Alexandra Guio, candidate for Texas House of Representatives District 114. The announcement comes days before early voting for the March 1 primary election begins on February 14.
Nathalie Rayes, Latino Victory Fund President & CEO Statement on Jessica Cisneros:
“Jessica Cisneros is a human rights and immigration attorney with a proven track record of advocating for marginalized communities. As the daughter of immigrant parents, Jessica represents a new generation of young progressive Latino leaders that are fighting for change and working to transform our broken immigration system. She is running on a strong platform that also includes fighting for reproductive justice, expanding health care access, and advocating for good-paying jobs for working families. Latino Victory Fund is proud to endorse and support Jessica as she will be a powerful Latina voice and what the people of Texas’ District 28 need in Congress.”
Nathalie Rayes, Latino Victory Fund President & CEO Statement on Greg Casar:
“We’re excited to support Greg Casar for Texas’ 35th Congressional District. Greg is a phenomenal young Latino leader who supports progressive policies that will transform the lives of the Latino community for the better. He’s also a seasoned public official who has fought in the trenches to pass laws supporting working families, including paid sick days, and increasing the minimum wage. He’s ready to bring his experience fighting for Texas families at City Hall to Congress, where he’ll fight for medicare for all, raising the minimum wage and paid parental, family, and sick leave. The Latino community in Texas is young and predominantly progressive. We must elect more Latinos to Congress who reflect this growing demographic.”
Nathalie Rayes President & CEO of Latino Victory Fund Statement on Alexandra Guio:
“Alexandra is an experienced attorney and activist with a decades-long track record of advocating for her community. She’s running in a diverse district with a majority community of color population, and her priority issues and values reflect these communities’ priorities. Texans need more leaders like Alexandra in the legislature to champion issues that will help Texans thrive, such as education equity, reproductive justice, and access to affordable health care. We’re ready to stand with Alexandra Guio for Texas HD-114 and are proud to support her in this primary to ensure she’s on the ballot in November.”
These endorsements are in addition to three endorsements Latino Victory Fund has already made in Texas. The candidates are Rochelle Garza, who is the only Latina Democrat running for statewide office, for Texas attorney general, John Lira who is running for Texas’ 23 Congressional District, and Lorenzo Sanchez running in Texas House District 70.
Meet Jessica Cisneros
- Cisneros was born and raised in Laredo. Her parents immigrated from Mexico when her older sister needed urgent medical care only available in the United States.
- Her parents started off as farm workers before her dad eventually started his own trucking company to support his family with a small business.
- Cisneros excelled at Early College High School in Laredo, graduating as valedictorian. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where she specialized in immigration law.
- During her time in law school, Cisneros served as a Pro Bono Scholar and worked with UT faculty to create the Women in Immigration Detention Assistance Project, which assisted asylum seekers, and she clerked at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in San Antonio, Texas.
- In June 2019, Cisneros launched her campaign to challenge Democratic incumbent Congressman Henry Cuellar and while she was not successful, she earned a remarkable 48.2% of the vote.
- Cisneros is the supervising attorney at the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Educates and Legal Services (RAICES), where she helped establish the foundation for the public defender model for detained people facing proceedings in her hometown of Laredo.
Meet Greg Casar
- A native Texan, son of Mexican immigrants, and community organizer, Casar is running for Texas Congressional District 35.
- He currently serves on the Austin City Council representing the city’s lowest-income district. He has a proven track record of successfully fighting for working Texans on issues of labor rights, reproductive justice, immigration reform, civil rights, and more.
- As a council member, Casar championed the paid-sick-days laws that passed in Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, implementing what the Austin-American Statesman called the “most progressive labor policy for the entire state and possibly the American South.” He also successfully raised wages for the City’s lowest-paid employees from $7.25/hour to $15/hour with access to health care benefits.
- Casar worked with Planned Parenthood to stop the State Legislature from closing the city-supported clinic in East Austin. Other successful efforts led by Casar include clearing the decades-long backlog of sexual assault evidence kits and expanding shelter for survivors of family violence.
- Casar fought to keep immigrant families from being separated by leading much of the statewide campaign against Texas Senate Bill 4—the infamous “Show Me Your Papers” law. Casar also successfully led the largest affordable housing election in Texas history and ended all personal marijuana arrests in his city.
Meet Alexandra Guio
- Alexandra Guio is a Dallas-based attorney, a first-generation college graduate, and a community advocate.
- In 2013, Guio became a U.S. citizen, and that same year, she graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law and became the first attorney in her family. She was hired as an Assistant District Attorney at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in 2013, where she practiced until August 2021.
- Guio was recognized by the American Bar Association in 2019 as the National Outstanding Young Lawyer because of her community advocacy efforts and her work in the Sexual Assault Unit at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. She was also named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in 2018 by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers.
- At four years old, Guio moved to the United States from Bogotá, Colombia. She came with her parents and sisters to get her mother the life-saving brain surgery she needed in Houston.
- Her mother and father taught her the value of an education, the importance of giving back to the community, and the importance of advocating for those less fortunate. These values helped her persevere through the challenges of growing up as an undocumented immigrant.
The Latino Victory Fund is a progressive political action committee with the mission of growing Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government – from the school board to the Senate to the White House.
