Email: veronica.escobar@mail.house.gov

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El Paso Office: Wells Fargo Plaza, 221 N. Kansas St., Suite 1500, El Paso, TX 79901 • (915) 541-1400 

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Why are you running? I’m running because I love El Paso and would be honored to continue my work delivering for our community.
Before ever serving in public office, I spent a decade volunteering for other candidates and civic organizations. The first office I ran for was County Commissioner for Precinct 2 (I served one term), and then I served as El Paso County Judge for nearly two terms. My focus was government transparency and accountability during a tumultuous era marred by others’ corruption. I delivered numerous reforms that strengthened the County, including creating Texas’ only County Ethics Commission with “teeth” and modernizing procurement and management intended to protect taxpayers. We paid down debt and increased wages. I led the effort to grow El Pasoans’ access to healthcare through the County Hospital District – University Medical Center, its expansion of programs, funding to our medical school at Texas Tech, primary care clinics, and El Paso Children’s Hospital. We didn’t just grow healthcare; we grew jobs and economic opportunity.
I took this same devotion to our community to Congress. I’m the only Democrat in the House (in the last decade) to co-author bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform (the Dignity Act). I’ve delivered on accountability through my work on the first Trump impeachment and my service on the House Ethics Committee. I’ve helped create reforms that will better protect our female service members from sexual assault and harassment in the military while supporting better infrastructure at Fort Bliss and increasing quality of life for our soldiers. I’ve led on gun violence prevention legislation to attempt to prevent tragedies like August 3rd and am a co-sponsor of Medicare for All, which would provide universal health coverage. I’ve brought well over $1 billion back to El Paso to build a new VA clinic, modernize infrastructure, support law enforcement, prevent homelessness, support healthcare institutions, schools, animal services and more. I work hard, stand up for our community, and deliver for the people of El Paso. I am committed to all constituents and believe government should be a force for good, grounded in compassion, accountability, and results. 

Tell us about yourself. I am a proud third-generation El Pasoan. My husband and I have two wonderful children  who are everything to us (our son is an attorney and our daughter is a social worker). My husband and I live in Central El Paso with our beloved cats. I enjoy spending time with my mom, who is the center of our family’s universe, especially since my father’s passing in 1998.
Friends who know me would tell you I adore my family, my community and animals. I’ve always strived to serve others – long before I was in elected office –  whether it be in my role as an immigrant-rights advocate (I was a long-time member of the Border Rights Coalition when I returned to El Paso from graduate school), someone who has fostered and rescued a significant number of animals over the last few decades, and in a number of other volunteer capacities.
My parents worked hard to provide for our family and instilled in me the values of service, resilience, and compassion. Growing up in a working-class household shaped my understanding of how public policy affects real people’s lives. From access to education and health care, to economic opportunity and public safety, and like most El Pasoans, nothing was easy for me or my family. 
I’ve been privileged to work in different capacities. I was a teacher for a decade, co-coordinator of a non-profit before becoming executive director at another non-profit, and because of my love for writing, I’ve published a couple of short stories and a number of articles about El Paso and the border in the New York Times.
In my very first elected office, I was thrust into a pivotal role combating corruption on commissioners court and within county government. Those early years were formative for me and taught me the power that one voice can have, as well as the importance of accountability and transparency. Since the mid-1990s, I’ve helped and supported candidates for public office and have strived to create a strong pipeline for young people who want to offer their leadership to the community, and who I hope will one day run for offices in El Paso.

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What is your background? I grew up in the lower valley, near my family’s dairy farm (Escobar Dairy) with my parents and four siblings (all brothers). I attended Loretto Academy for two years and Burges High School for my last two years before earning my Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and my Master of Arts from New York University (NYU). I studied British and American Literature at UTEP and NYU.
Early in my career, I worked as an English and Chicano literature instructor at UTEP and El Paso Community College, helping students explore language, culture, writing, research and opportunity. I was co-coordinator of the Border Rights Coalition before serving as Communications Director for El Paso Mayor Raymond Caballero and then as Executive Director of Community Scholars, a nonprofit that engaged high school students in public policy research and civic participation. My public service continued in local government. I was elected El Paso County Commissioner in 2006, and later served as El Paso County Judge from 2011 to 2017, where I worked to modernize government operations, expand access to healthcare, and increase public transparency and accountability. In 2018, I made history as the first woman elected to represent Texas’s 16th Congressional District and one of the first two Latinas from Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives. I took office on January 3, 2019. In Congress during my first three terms, I served on the House Judiciary Committee, House Armed Services Committee, and House Ethics Committee. I was elected to leadership positions my first two terms, and currently serve on the Democratic Leader’s Steering and Policy Committee. In my current term, I serve on the House Appropriations Committee – the Homeland Security Subcommittee and the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. I am active in several caucuses, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, New Democrat Coalition, Democratic Women’s Caucus, and Pro-Choice Caucus. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on expanding opportunity, protecting civil rights, and advocating for humane and effective policies that uplift families and communities, especially in border regions like ours.