Rep. Pramila Jayapal has offered a key endorsement to immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros, who is vying to unseat Rep. Henry Cuellar in one of the highest-profile primaries in the 2022 midterm cycle.

The Washington Democrat had hesitated to weigh her opinion in the race, particularly as it is rare for sitting Congress members to endorse candidates running against incumbent lawmakers. However, as the debate over abortion rights has heated up in recent weeks due to a leaked report that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Jayapal said she felt compelled to get involved.

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“At a time when our reproductive freedoms are under attack by an extremist Supreme Court, we must elect pro-choice candidates that will fight to make sure abortion remains the law of the land,” Jayapal said in a statement. “Jessica Cisneros embodies the kind of progressive we need in Congress.”

Cuellar, who is seeking to defend the seat he has held since 2005, is the only House Democrat who opposes abortion rights, prompting Cisnernos to make the issue a focal point in the Texas runoff election. After the leak of the court’s draft decision on May 3, Cisneros called on Democratic leaders to withdraw their support of the Texas lawmaker, using abortion as a central tenet of her campaign.

Democrats are split on who to support in the race because Cuellar is backed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn. However, Cisneros has the support of several "Squad" members, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).

“I don’t make the decision to endorse an opponent to a colleague in my caucus lightly,” Jayapal said. “However, the freedom for people to make choices about our own bodies is at stake, and I simply cannot stand by when there is a strong pro-choice, pro-worker Democrat ready to step in.”

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Cisneros faced off against Cuellar in 2020, when she lost by 4 percentage points. However, she forced the 17-year incumbent into a runoff election during the Texas primaries on March 2.

The two candidates will once again battle for the Democratic nomination during the runoff on Tuesday, with the victor set to face the winner of the Republican runoff between Cassy Garcia and Sandra Whitten.