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There are really two layers to this story. The first layer is a Democratic primary in Texas and the second is a larger battle between the establishment and progressive Democrats. On the first level progressive candidate Jessica Cisneros requested a recount yesterday in her race against Henry Cuellar. You may recall that Cuellar was ahead on election night by 177 votes and declared victory but Cisneros refused to conceded. Yesterday, the official canvas of the votes was completed and Cuellar is now up by even more.

“I owe it to our community to see this through to the end,” Ms. Cisneros said in a statement.

The May 24 election has not been called by The Associated Press. As of Friday, Mr. Cuellar was ahead of Ms. Cisneros by 187 votes.

The Cisneros campaign said the Texas Democratic Party canvassed and certified the results of the runoff on Monday, and the review showed Mr. Cuellar ahead of Ms. Cisneros by 281 votes.

So a recount is likely going to confirm that Cuellar won by a slightly wider margin than it appeared on election night. For his part, Cuellar didn’t object to the recall.

“Every vote has been counted and our margin not only held but increased,” Cuellar said in a statement. “I welcome this process as it will only further verify our victory.”…

The race has underscored the divisions within the Democratic Party and is being viewed as a test of whether left-leaning candidates, who have struggled in recent elections, can prevail over more moderate Democrats.

With regard to the second layer to this story, both AOC and Bernie Sanders traveled to Texas to campaign for Cisneros. And even after election day, AOC was still clearly hoping Cisneros could close the gap by having voters “cure” their mail-in ballots.

Last week Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who is the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said that in his view Cuellar had won the primary. “It’s my expectation that when the dust settles, he will be the Democratic nominee. And we are going to hold that seat,” Maloney said.

Obviously the request for a recount is a rejection of that establishment conclusion but AOC has also upped the ante today by endorsing Rep. Maloney’s own primary opponent in New York. As the Times points out, this isn’t just about the Cisneros race, it’s also about the messy redistricting in New York.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is endorsing State Senator Alessandra Biaggi in her bid to unseat Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, putting the progressive leader in direct opposition to the chairman of the powerful Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee…

Almost immediately after the new court-approved map was announced last month, Mr. Maloney declared that he would be running not in his current 18th congressional district but the safer 17th district next door. Mr. Maloney lives in that district, but the area is mostly represented by a colleague, Representative Mondaire Jones…

Ms. Biaggi said that she had spoken to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez “quite a few times” since the new map came out and was “thrilled to have her support.”

“Her endorsement is really an indication to everyone that this is an important fight for the party,” Ms. Biaggi said. “She really is the standard-bearer.”

She really is the left’s standard-bearer but as the Cisneros race demonstrates, that doesn’t mean the candidates she endorses are going to win.

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