Veronica Escobar
Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who has represented Texas's 16th congressional district since 2019 and was previously El Paso county judge, is seeking reelection in 2026 against Republican Adam Bauman.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Veronica Escobar.
- Born
- September 15, 1969
- Birthplace
- El Paso, Texas
- Education
- Loretto Academy
Burges High School
University of Texas at El Paso (bachelor's degree)
New York University (master's degree)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Veronica Escobar was born in El Paso on September 15, 1969, and grew up near her family's dairy farm with her parents and four brothers. She attended Loretto Academy and Burges High School before earning a bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and a master's degree from New York University. She later taught English and Chicano literature at UTEP and El Paso Community College.
Career
Escobar worked as a nonprofit executive and as communications director for Raymond Caballero during his time as mayor of El Paso. After Caballero lost his reelection bid, Escobar, Susie Byrd, Steve Ortega and Beto O'Rourke considered entering public service and began discussing grassroots strategies. She was elected El Paso County commissioner in 2006 and served from 2007 to 2011, then was elected El Paso county judge in 2010 and held that office from 2011 until 2017.
In August 2017 Escobar resigned to run full-time for the U.S. House seat being vacated by O'Rourke. She won the six-way Democratic primary with 61% of the vote and defeated Republican Rick Seeberger on November 6, 2018, becoming the first woman to represent the 16th district.
She and Sylvia Garcia of Houston became the first Latina congresswomen from Texas. In February 2020 she delivered the Spanish-language response to President Trump's State of the Union address, and she was one of four chairs of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
She serves on the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on the Judiciary.
2026 race
Escobar is the Democratic incumbent in Texas's 16th congressional district, which lies entirely within El Paso County and which she won with 59.5% of the vote in 2024. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving 54,031 votes. In the general election on November 3, 2026, she faces Republican Adam Bauman, a business owner who won the Republican nomination in a runoff against paralegal Manuel Barraza.