Following the 2018 elections, the State of Texas sent four freshmen Democrat lawmakers to Washington. A little more than halfway into their first year in office, Texas Scorecard reviews what these Democrat lawmakers have been doing with the power entrusted to them.
Colin Allred (CD 32)
A former Baylor University linebacker, Colin Allred spent five years in the NFL before attending law school. After graduating from UC Berkley School of Law in 2014, he became a special assistant under former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.
Shortly following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Allred announced his intention to run against Congressman Pete Sessions for Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. After dispatching multiple Democrats, Allred went on to unseat Sessions in 2018.
Since taking office, Allred has arguably made the biggest splash in the Texas Democrat delegation and is viewed as a rising star in Democrat leadership. Like his Republican colleague U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Allred is seen as the future of the Democrat party, and its House leadership has dubbed Allred a part of the “Big Six” of House Democrats being eyed for future leadership. He was even elected to be class co-president.
Though Allred is seen as the future for the Democrat party by Washington insiders, his only noteworthy accomplishment thus far is winning the congressional baseball game for the Democrats.
Veronica Escobar (CD 16)
Veronica Escobar began her political career as the communications director for former Mayor Raymond Caballero of El Paso. When Caballero failed to win re-election in 2003, Escobar, along with Beto O’Rourke, considered an entrance into politics and was elected as county commissioner in 2006 and referred to as one of “the Progressives” in El Paso, along with O’Rourke and a few others.
Escobar then became an El Paso county judge in 2010 before resigning in 2017 to run for the seat vacated by O’Rourke in his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (CD 16) has spent her time thus far making a name for herself by advocating for open borders. On merit of being O’Rourke’s successor and an actual Latina, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has elevated her to the spotlight on immigration, supporting the Democrats’ open border policies.
Escobar, however, has taken her support for illegals a step further by enacting her radical immigration policies at the expense of taxpayers, recently coming under criticism for reportedly sending taxpayer-funded staff members to the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez to teach potential illegal aliens how to scam the system and gain access to the U.S.
Sylvia Garcia (CD 29)
An outspoken liberal in the Texas Senate from 2013-2019, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (CD 29) is finding that it is much easier for her to make a name for herself in a chamber of 31 rather than a chamber of 450.
Thus far, the only thing Garcia has done worth noting is serving as the House sponsor for New York Senator, and Democrat presidential candidate hopeful, Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill to block the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s rule barring illegal aliens from subsidized housing.
Lizzie Fletcher (CD 7)
An attorney prior to running for office, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher’s (CD 7) claim to fame is criticizing Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy for keeping the House accountable and transparent by demanding record votes.
“Our delegation has worked in a very bipartisan way,” complained Fletcher in an interview. “To see someone, especially someone from our delegation, hold it up on these procedural reasons . . . it’s incredibly frustrating.”
Outside that action, however, Fletcher has largely kept her head down and avoided the spotlight.
