Veronica Escobar | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Leader | Hakeem Jeffries |
| Preceded by | Debbie Dingell Matt Cartwright Ted Lieu |
| Succeeded by | Maxwell Frost |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's16th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Beto O'Rourke |
| County Judge ofEl Paso County | |
| In office January 1, 2011 – October 10, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Anthony Cobos |
| Succeeded by | Ruben Vogt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-09-15)September 15, 1969 (age 56) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Michael Pleters |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Texas, El Paso (BA) New York University (MA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Veronica Escobar (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as theU.S. representative forTexas's 16th congressional district, based inEl Paso, since 2019. A member of theDemocratic Party, she served as anEl Paso Countycommissioner from 2007 to 2011 and the El Pasocounty judge from 2011 until 2017.
Escobar is a native of El Paso, where she was born in 1969.[1] She grew up near her family'sdairy farm with her parents and four brothers.[2] Escobar attendedLoretto Academy andBurges High School, before getting herbachelor's degree at theUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and hermaster's degree fromNew York University.[3]
Escobar worked as a nonprofit executive and asRaymond Caballero's communications director when he was mayor of El Paso.[4] When Caballero failed to get reelected, Escobar—along with Susie Byrd, attorney Steve Ortega and businessmanBeto O'Rourke—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.[5]
Escobar was elected asEl Paso CountyCommissioner in 2006 and asEl Paso CountyJudge in 2010.[4] O’Rourke, Byrd and Ortega also all ran for office and won; they came to be collectively referred to as "The Progressives."[5] She also taught English andChicano literature at UTEP andEl Paso Community College.[4]
Escobar resigned from office in August 2017 to run full-time in the 2018 election to succeedBeto O'Rourke in theUnited States House of Representatives forTexas's 16th congressional district.[6] As the district is asolidly Democratic, majority-Hispanic district, whoever won the Democratic primary was heavily favored in November.[2] Escobar won the six-way Democratic primary with 61% of the vote.[7]
In June 2018, Escobar and O'Rourke led protests inTornillo, Texas, against theTrump administration family separation policy that involved separating immigrant children from their families. Tornillo is just miles from theRio Grande, the river that forms the border between the U.S. and Mexico in Texas.[8] 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.[9]
Escobar won the general election on November 6, defeating Republican Rick Seeberger. She became the first woman to represent the 16th. Escobar andSylvia Garcia ofHouston became the first Latina congresswomen from Texas.[4][10][11] 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 beingSilvestre Reyes, O'Rourke's predecessor.
Escobar ran for reelection. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced the Republican nominee, realtor Irene Armendariz-Jackson,[12] in the general election. Escobar won with 64.7% of the vote to Armendariz-Jackson's 35.3%.[13]
On November 13, 2019, Escobar was elected as a freshman class representative in a secret ballot by her peers, filling the role ofKatie Hill, who had resigned from Congress.[14]
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, the2019 El Paso Walmart shooting, wealth inequality, gun violence, and theUnited States–Mexico–Canada trade agreement. She called Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate "the greatest threat to our security."[15]
Escobar was one of four chairs of the2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.[20]
Escobar voted to provideIsrael with support following2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[21][22] She has voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[23]
In March 2022, Escobar and RepresentativeNancy Mace introduced legislation to prohibit the confinement of pregnant pigs ingestation crates.[24] In 2025, Escobar authored legislation to prohibit the use of "downer" pigs in the food supply and establish federal health andwelfare standards in pig farming.[25]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar | 31,009 | 61.53 | |
| Democratic | Dori Fenenbock | 11,071 | 21.97 | |
| Democratic | Norma Chavez | 3,357 | 6.66 | |
| Democratic | Enrique Garcia | 2,684 | 5.33 | |
| Democratic | Jerome Tilghman | 1,495 | 2.97 | |
| Democratic | John Carrillo | 780 | 1.55 | |
| Total votes | 50,396 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar | 124,437 | 68.46 | |
| Republican | Rick Seeberger | 49,127 | 27.03 | |
| Independent | Ben Mendoza | 8,147 | 4.48 | |
| Independent | Sam Williams (write-in) | 43 | 0.02 | |
| Total votes | 181,754 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar (incumbent) | 154,108 | 64.72 | |
| Republican | Irene Armendariz-Jackson | 84,006 | 35.28 | |
| Total votes | 238,114 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar (incumbent) | 30,954 | 87.96 | |
| Democratic | Deliris Montanez Berrios | 4,235 | 12.04 | |
| Total votes | 35,189 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar (incumbent) | 95,510 | 63.46 | |
| Republican | Irene Armendariz-Jackson | 54,986 | 36.54 | |
| Total votes | 150,496 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar (incumbent) | 28,129 | 86.29 | |
| Democratic | Leeland White | 4,470 | 13.71 | |
| Total votes | 32,599 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Veronica Escobar (incumbent) | 131,391 | 59.50 | |
| Republican | Irene Armendariz-Jackson | 89,281 | 40.43 | |
| Independent | Deliris Montanez (write-in) | 156 | 0.07 | |
| Total votes | 220,828 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Escobar and her husband, Michael Pleters, have two children.[4]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 16th congressional district 2019–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 201st | Succeeded by |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
