Congresswoman Veronica Escobar sails into fifth term

Democratic U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar is headed toward a fifth term in Congress after taking a vast majority of the early vote in the Nov. 3 midterm election, defeating Republican Adam Bauman for the seat.

Escobar received 71% of the early vote in Texas’ 16th Congressional District, compared with 29% for Bauman, a Navy veteran and former Border Patrol agent who made his first run for public office.

“My heart is filled with gratitude and pride tonight. El Paso acknowledged that when we fight for one another, we all move forward together,” Escobar said in a statement Tuesday night. “I’m deeply honored by the trust our community has placed in me, and grateful for the opportunity to serve our community for another term.”

Escobar thanked her volunteers, supporters and donors and young people who voted for the first time and “every El Pasoan who believed our voices matter.”

“Representing El Paso is the greatest privilege of my life,” she said. “Let’s get to work.”

Bauman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, in Texas’ sprawling 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from El Paso’s Lower Valley through West Texas to San Antonio, Democrat Katy Padilla Stout won the race for an open congressional seat.

With Election Day results reported from all 27 of the district’s counties, Padilla Stout received 52% of the early vote, followed by Republican Brandon Herrera with 44% and Independent Ben Mendoza with 4%.

In El Paso County, Padilla Stout received 69% of the vote, while Herrera received 28% and Mendoza coming in with 4%.

“This is victory for the people of South and West Texas who voted for a better future for themselves and their families,” Padilla Stout said in a statement. “I am honored to have won the people’s trust and will carry their voices to Washington and fight for them every day.”

The two elections will determine who represents the El Paso region in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next two years. The races come amid national debates over immigration enforcement, the economy and federal spending, issues that figured prominently in both congressional campaigns.

District 16

District 16 covers most of El Paso County and has historically favored Democrats. A Republican has won the district only once, when Ed Foreman was elected in 1962.

Escobar, 57, a former El Paso County judge and English teacher, was first elected to Congress in 2018. She is seeking a fifth two-year term after winning reelection in 2024 with less than 60% of the vote for the first time in her congressional career.

Bauman, 50, defeated former district court Judge Manuel J. Barraza in the May Republican primary runoff. He emerged from a seven-candidate Republican field seeking to challenge Escobar.

The candidates offered contrasting positions on immigration enforcement, federal spending and the economy.

Escobar has advocated expanding access to healthcare, child care and education while reforming the federal tax code to increase taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.

On immigration, she has criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies while acknowledging the need for stronger border security and changes to the nation’s immigration system.

She has championed the bipartisan Dignity Act, legislation that would establish pathways to legal status for many undocumented immigrants while strengthening border security.

Bauman has supported the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, arguing that federal agents are enforcing existing laws. He has also advocated congressional term limits and greater oversight of federal funding allocated to local governments.

Escobar has pointed to several major federal projects as accomplishments during her time in Congress, including the designation of Castner Range as a national monument, funding for a new $700 million Veterans Affairs clinic in East El Paso and planned renovations to the Bridge of the Americas.

She also has cited more than $77 million in federal Community Project Funding secured for El Paso-area projects since fiscal year 2022.

The candidates entered the final weeks of the election with a significant fundraising disparity.

Escobar reported raising more than $1 million during the election cycle and had approximately $256,600 in cash on hand, according to her Oct. 15 Federal Election Commission filing.

Bauman reported raising approximately $5,330, including $2,700 of his own money, and had about $2,500 remaining.

District 23

In District 23, voters chose a successor to former Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who resigned in April amid a scandal involving an extramarital relationship with a congressional staff member who later died by suicide.

The district stretches from El Paso’s Lower Valley through West Texas to San Antonio, encompassing urban communities, rural towns and extensive stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, a former public school teacher and child welfare attorney, competed against Republican Brandon Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and social media personality, and independent Ben Mendoza, an El Paso native with a background in agriculture.

Padilla Stout secured the Democratic nomination in March with approximately 52% of the primary vote. Mendoza entered the general election as an independent.

Herrera previously challenged Gonzales in the 2024 Republican primary, losing a runoff by 407 votes. He became the Republican nominee this year after Gonzales withdrew from the race.

Republicans have represented District 23 since 2015. Gonzales won reelection by approximately 24 percentage points in 2024, while President Donald Trump carried the district by about 15 percentage points that year.

National Democrats identified the district as a potential pickup opportunity this election cycle.

The candidates offered differing approaches to immigration, affordability, rural healthcare, water resources and the growing presence of artificial intelligence data centers.

Padilla Stout emphasized affordability, immigration reform and protections for working families. She supports expanding child tax credits, universal prekindergarten and paid parental leave, along with greater federal oversight of data centers.

Herrera advocated for stronger border enforcement, lower taxes, reduced federal spending and greater scrutiny of data center developments that could strain local water and electricity resources.

Mendoza presented himself as an alternative to the two major political parties, focusing on constituent services, agricultural water supplies, electricity costs and rural healthcare.

All three candidates opposed construction of a border wall through Big Bend National Park.

Herrera and Padilla Stout entered the final weeks of the campaign with substantial financial resources.

According to their Oct. 15 federal campaign finance filings, Herrera’s campaign reported approximately $3.13 million in total receipts, including transfers from other authorized campaign committees and loans. His campaign had approximately $554,000 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

Padilla Stout’s campaign reported approximately $977,000 in total receipts and about $428,000 in cash on hand.

Mendoza had no campaign finance reports on file with the Federal Election Commission as of Oct. 16.

What’s next?

The winners of both congressional races will take office in January 2027 as members of the 120th Congress.

Members of the U.S. House serve two-year terms and receive an annual salary of $174,000. They are responsible for introducing and voting on federal legislation, approving government spending and representing their constituents in Washington.

The newly elected representatives will take office as Congress confronts ongoing debates over immigration enforcement, federal spending, healthcare and economic policy.

For El Paso, the next congressional delegation will also play a role in federal decisions affecting border infrastructure, international trade, immigration policy and funding for regional projects.

Among the projects awaiting continued federal oversight are renovations to the Bridge of the Americas, the new Veterans Affairs clinic in East El Paso and other infrastructure improvements throughout the border region.

The next congressional election is scheduled for November 2028.

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