Graded F: Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar (D-28)

Asbed asks about Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar of the 28th District, and Hamparian does not hold back, calling him the worst of the worst. He sets up the Cuellar story, describing a longstanding border Democrat who sits more toward the middle than the left of his party.

ANCA’s grades measure records on Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), and human rights, and Hamparian’s blunt assessment signals that Cuellar’s record ranks among the most troubling in the cycle. The framing as a story, rather than a single grade, suggests there is a fuller account to tell about how Cuellar earned that standing with the Armenian American community.

For the diaspora, Cuellar’s case stands out because the sharpest criticism lands on a member of the party many community members otherwise support. That detail matters: ANCA’s grades cross party lines and judge members on their actual records. By naming Cuellar as the worst of the worst, Hamparian flags a race the community should watch closely as the 2026 cycle unfolds.