Veronica Escobar (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the
U.S. representative
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 ...
for , based in
El Paso
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
, since 2019. A member of the
Democratic Party, she served as an
El Paso County commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
from 2007 to 2011 and the El Paso
county judge from 2011 until 2017.
Early life and education
Escobar is a native of El Paso, where she was born in 1969. She grew up near her family's
dairy farm
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
with her parents and four brothers.
Escobar attended
Loretto Academy and
Burges High School, before getting her
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
at the
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...
(UTEP) and her
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.
Early political career
Escobar worked as a nonprofit executive and as
Raymond Caballero
Raymond Caballero (born February 6, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th mayor of El Paso from 2001 to 2003.
He was elected in May 2001, defeating former mayor Larry Francis in a runoff election with 62.5% of the v ...
's communications director when he was mayor of El Paso.
When Caballero failed to get reelected, Escobar—along with Susie Byrd, attorney Steve Ortega and businessman
Beto O'Rourke
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...
—considered entering public service; they started to discuss grassroots strategies with the goals of improving urban planning, creating a more diversified economy with more highly skilled jobs, as well as ending systemic corruption among city leadership.
Escobar was elected as
El Paso County Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
in 2006 and as
El Paso County Judge
A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
in 2010.
O’Rourke, Byrd and Ortega also all ran for office and won; they came to be collectively referred to as "The Progressives."
[ She also taught English and Chicano literature at UTEP and ]El Paso Community College
El Paso Community College (EPCC) is a community college in El Paso, Texas. EPCC operates five campuses in the El Paso area, as well as courses offered at nearby Fort Bliss.
As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of EPCC ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
;2018
Escobar resigned from office in August 2017 to run full-time in the 2018 election to succeed Beto O'Rourke
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...
in the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...
for . As the district is a solidly Democratic, majority-Hispanic district, whoever won the Democratic primary was heavily favored in November. Escobar won the six-way Democratic primary with 61% of the vote.
In June 2018, Escobar and O'Rourke led protests in Tornillo, Texas
Tornillo ( ) is a border town in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,568 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined this Unincorporated area#United St ...
, against the Trump administration family separation policy
The family separation policy under the First presidency of Donald Trump, first Trump administration was a controversial immigration enforcement strategy implemented in the United States from 2017 to 2018, aimed at Immigration policy of the f ...
that involved separating immigrant children from their families. Tornillo is just miles from the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
, the river that forms the border between the U.S. and Mexico in Texas. The Trump administration had created a "tent-city" in Tornillo, where separated children were being held without their parents. O'Rourke called this practice "un-American" and the responsibility of all Americans.
Escobar won the general election on November 6, defeating Republican Rick Seeberger. She became the first woman to represent the 16th. Escobar and Sylvia Garcia
Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia (born September 6, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 29th congressional district since 2019. Her district covers much of eastern Houston. A member of t ...
of 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 ...
became the first Latina congresswomen from Texas. Although the 16th has been a majority-Hispanic district since at least the 1970s, Escobar is only the second Hispanic ever to represent it, the first being Silvestre Reyes
Silvestre "Silver" Reyes (born November 10, 1944) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for , serving from 1997 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligen ...
, O'Rourke's predecessor.
;2020
Escobar ran for reelection. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced the Republican nominee, realtor Irene Armendariz-Jackson, in the general election. Escobar won with 64.7% of the vote to Armendariz-Jackson's 35.3%.
Tenure
On November 13, 2019, Escobar was elected as a freshman class representative in a secret ballot by her peers, filling the role of Katie Hill
Katherine Lauren Hill (born August 25, 1987) is an American former politician and social services administrator from Agua Dulce, California. She is the Chief executive officer, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services and a member of the Los Angel ...
, who had resigned from Congress.
On February 4, 2020, Escobar delivered the Spanish-language response to President Trump's State of the Union Address. Her remarks touched on healthcare, immigration, the national debt, the importance of diversity, the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, wealth inequality, gun violence, and the United States–Mexico–Canada trade agreement. She called Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate "the greatest threat to our security."
Committee assignments
* Committee on Armed Services
** Subcommittee on Military Personnel
** Subcommittee on Readiness
* Committee on the Judiciary
** Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
** Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship
Caucus memberships
* Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fo ...
* Congressional Progressive Caucus
* New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...
2024 Democratic National Convention
Escobar was one of four chairs of the 2024 Democratic National Convention
The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention in which delegates of the Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party
voted on their party ...
in Chicago.
Political positions
Escobar voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. She has voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a ''FiveThirtyEight
''FiveThirtyEight'', also rendered as ''538'', was an American website that focused on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States.
The website, which took its name from the number of electors in the U ...
'' analysis.
Electoral history
2018
2020
2022
2024
Personal life
Escobar and her husband, Michael Pleters, have two children.[
]
See also
* List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists
* List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
* Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar
official U.S. House website
Veronica Escobar for Congress
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Veronica
1969 births
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
American women academics
Burges High School alumni
County commissioners in Texas
County judges in Texas
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Hispanic and Latino American judges
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Living people
New York University alumni
Politicians from El Paso, Texas
Texas Democrats
University of Texas at El Paso alumni
University of Texas at El Paso faculty
Women in Texas politics