James Cargas (born November 17, 1966) is an American energy attorney, and was the Democratic nominee in the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

United States House of Representatives election in Texas' 7th Congressional District. He is a life-long Democrat. He had the highest vote percentage (44% in 2016, opposing

John Culberson John Abney Culberson (born August 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2019. A Republican, he served in in large portions of western Houston and surrounding Ha ...

) of any Democrat in Texas Congressional District 7 between 1964 and 2018. Cargas ran for the Democratic nomination in District 7 again in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

but lost the primary to

Lizzie Fletcher Elizabeth Ann Fletcher (née Pannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from Texas. A Democrat, she has represented in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. The district, which was once represented b ...

. In 2018, Democrat

defeated Culberson by a 52.3% to 47.7% margin.

Early life and career

In 1989 after graduating from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

with a double major in English and Communications, James Cargas became the Deputy Press Secretary to

David Bonior David Edward Bonior (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time De ...

, then Member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Michigan's 12th Congressional District Michigan's 12th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Michigan. The district was first created during the reapportionment and redistricting after the 1890 census. From 2003 to 2013, it was located in Detroit's inner subu ...

. In 1992, he graduated from the

American University Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northw ...

where he served as President of the Environmental Law Society and Articles' Editor o
The American University Journal of International Law and Policy
Upon graduation, he worked first in a large law firm and later as environmental counsel to a major interstate pipeline company. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, Washington DC, Michigan and West Virginia. He left the private sector and joined the

Clinton White House Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican inc ...

and the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. After leaving the White House to work on the Al Gore Presidential primary campaign in Washington DC, Iowa and Texas, Cargas rejoined the administration as a Special Assistant in the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

in th
Office of Fossil Energy
under Secretary of Energy

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (November 15, 1947 – September 1, 2023) was an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the List of governors of New Mexico, 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was U.S. ambassador to ...

. He also served as the Energy Department's liaison to the President's Southwest Border Task Force. He was awarded the Exceptional Service Award of the Department of Energy He permanently moved to Houston and became Deputy Director of the non-profit organizatio
North American Energy Standards Board
After three years, he returned to private practice where he represented several startup companies in the energy marketing, directional drilling, and other industries. In 2008,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Mayor Bill White hired Cargas as the Senior Assistant City Attorney for Energy of the

City of Houston Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...

responsible for advising the Mayor on all aspects of energy procurement and energy transactional matters. Today, he works for

Mayor Sylvester Turner In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

in the same function and also advises the City on contract, environmental, renewable energy, real estate and regulatory matters. Cargas is a founding member of th
Oil Patch Democrats
a Texas-based political organization promoting "realistic energy policy" and Democratic candidates. Cargas is married t
Dr. Dorina Papageorgiou
a

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

2012 Congressional Election

Cargas ran in the 2012 election for the United States House of Representatives, in Texas' 7th Congressional District. He won the Democratic nomination for Texas' 7th Congressional District after a contested primary. Cargas received 36.43% of the vote against incumbent

(R) in the general election on November 6, 2012. He has been endorsed by the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

The National Herald ''The National Herald'' is an English-language weekly newspaper, based in New York City, focusing on the Greek-American community. It was founded in 1997 and added a website in 2004. Its headquarters are in the Long Island City neighborhood of th ...

, NEO Magazine, and

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...

The Texas House of Representatives district maps were the subject of courtroom battles in the lead up to the 2012 election. Although the federal court rejected maps drawn by the State Legislature due to racial discrimination, the final court-appointed maps included several of the original boundaries at the request of the Texas attorney general. The 7th District lost Memorial Park, Montrose, Spring Branch and Rice University to the 2nd District. Cargas campaigned on a platform consisting of the following central issues: * Increasing federal funding for science and biotechnology. His positions are included in Research!America. * Comprehensive national energy policy * Protecting social safety nets * Protecting women’s rights * Enacting comprehensive immigration reform * Supporting public transportation

2014 Congressional Election

Cargas won the Democratic nomination in the 2014 Democratic Primary for Texas' 7th Congressional District with 62.2% of the vote following a
endorsement by the Houston Chronicle
In the general election on November 4, 2014 Cargas received 34.55% of the vote against incumbent John Culberson (R).

2016 Congressional Election

Cargas ran again in Texas' 7th Congressional District in 2016. Cargas garnered the highest vote percentage (44%) of any Democrat in Texas 7 since 1964, though he did so while losing a district that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton simultaneously carried in her unsuccessful bid for the presidency.

2018 Congressional Election

Cargas ran again in Texas' 7th Congressional District in 2018, but was defeated in the Democratic Primary.

References

External links

Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cargas, James 1966 births Living people Lawyers from Detroit Texas Democrats University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Lawyers from Houston People associated with renewable energy Politicians from Houston Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections