Veronica Escobar

Veronica Escobar
Born	15 9, 1969
Birthplace	El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Known for	U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district; first Latina to represent Texas in the U.S. Congress
Education	University of Texas at El Paso (BA) New York University (MA)
Spouse(s)	Michael Pleters
Children	2
Website	[escobar.house.gov Official site]

Veronica Escobar (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district, based in El Paso, since January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Escobar made history when she and Sylvia Garcia became the first Latinas elected to represent Texas in the U.S. Congress in 2018. Before entering Congress, she served as an El Paso County commissioner from 2007 to 2011 and as the El Paso county judge from 2011 until 2017. Escobar succeeded Beto O'Rourke in the congressional seat after he launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate. A native of El Paso, Escobar has centered much of her political career on issues affecting the U.S.–Mexico border region, including immigration policy, healthcare access, and economic development. In the 118th Congress, she served as co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, a position within the Democratic leadership structure.

Early Life

Veronica Escobar was born on September 15, 1969, in El Paso, Texas. She grew up in the border city, which sits at the westernmost tip of Texas along the Rio Grande, directly across from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. El Paso's bicultural and bilingual character shaped Escobar's worldview and later informed her political priorities, particularly regarding immigration and U.S.–Mexico relations.

Escobar was raised in a family with deep roots in the El Paso community. Her upbringing in a predominantly Hispanic border city exposed her to the complexities of life along the international boundary, including the economic interdependence between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez and the challenges faced by immigrant communities. These experiences would become central themes in her later political career, as she frequently drew upon her background as a lifelong El Pasoan when advocating for border communities in both local and national politics.

Education

Escobar attended the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She subsequently pursued graduate studies at New York University (NYU), where she received a Master of Arts degree. After completing her graduate education, Escobar returned to El Paso, where she would build her career in public service and community engagement before entering electoral politics. Her educational background, combining a foundation at a major border-region university with graduate study at a prominent institution in New York City, reflected her connection to both her hometown and broader national and international perspectives.

Career

Early Career and County Commissioner

Before entering elected office, Escobar was involved in community and civic affairs in El Paso. She built a reputation as an advocate for the El Paso region, engaging in issues related to education, community development, and public policy.

In 2006, Escobar ran for and won a seat as an El Paso County commissioner, taking office in 2007. During her tenure as commissioner, she worked on a range of county governance issues, gaining experience in local government administration, budgeting, and policy-making. Her four-year term as commissioner established her as a prominent figure in El Paso County politics and provided a foundation for her subsequent campaign for county judge.

El Paso County Judge

In 2010, Escobar successfully campaigned for the position of El Paso county judge, the top elected executive and administrative position in El Paso County. She assumed office on January 1, 2011, succeeding Anthony Cobos. In Texas, the county judge serves as the presiding officer of the commissioners court, the governing body of the county, and carries both administrative and, in some counties, judicial responsibilities.

As county judge, Escobar oversaw the governance of one of the most populous counties in Texas and one of the largest communities on the U.S.–Mexico border. El Paso County had a population of approximately 800,000 during her tenure, and the county judge position required management of a significant budget and a wide range of public services. Escobar focused on issues including healthcare access, children's welfare, public safety, and economic development for the region.

Escobar served as county judge from 2011 until October 10, 2017, when she resigned to focus on her campaign for the U.S. Congress. Ruben Vogt succeeded her as county judge. Her tenure in the position spanned nearly seven years and two election cycles, during which she established herself as one of the most prominent political figures in the El Paso region.

2018 Congressional Campaign

On August 25, 2017, the Texas Tribune reported that Escobar planned to announce her candidacy for Texas's 16th congressional district, the seat being vacated by U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke, who was launching a campaign to unseat U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. The 16th congressional district encompasses El Paso and surrounding areas, making it one of the most heavily Hispanic districts in the United States and a reliably Democratic seat.

Escobar entered the Democratic primary as the frontrunner, drawing on her name recognition and record as county judge. During the campaign, she emphasized her experience in local government, her commitment to the border region, and her opposition to federal immigration enforcement policies that she argued were harmful to border communities. Her candidacy attracted national attention as she stood to become one of the first Latinas to represent Texas in the U.S. Congress, a milestone that had never been achieved in the state's nearly two centuries of statehood.

In the March 2018 Democratic primary, Escobar secured a commanding victory. The Houston television station KHOU reported that her primary win put her on a path to making history as one of Texas's first Latinas in Congress.

In the November 2018 general election, Escobar won by a wide margin in the heavily Democratic district. Along with Sylvia Garcia, who won in Texas's 29th congressional district, Escobar made history as one of the first two Latinas to represent Texas in Congress. The milestone was widely covered by national media outlets, which noted that Texas — a state with a large and growing Hispanic population — had never previously sent a Latina to Washington.

U.S. House of Representatives

First Term (2019–2021)

Escobar took office on January 3, 2019, as a member of the 116th Congress, succeeding Beto O'Rourke in representing Texas's 16th congressional district. As a freshman member, she was appointed to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, both significant committee assignments for a first-term member.

Immigration policy quickly became a defining issue for Escobar's first term. Representing a major border community, she was a vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies, including family separation at the border and the detention of migrant children. In June 2018, even before taking office, Escobar had participated in protests against the separation of immigrant families, joining Beto O'Rourke and other officials in visiting the tent city facility in Tornillo, Texas, where unaccompanied migrant children were being held.

On August 3, 2019, a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso killed 23 people and injured 23 others. The attack, which targeted the Hispanic community, was carried out by a gunman who had driven from the Dallas area. The shooting was one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history and was classified as domestic terrorism. As El Paso's representative in Congress, Escobar became a prominent voice in the aftermath of the tragedy, calling for gun control legislation and addressing the rise of white supremacist violence.

In November 2019, Escobar won a seat on the freshman leadership team, securing a position that gave her a role in shaping the Democratic caucus's messaging and strategy. This early leadership role indicated her rising profile within the House Democratic caucus.

Subsequent Terms and Leadership Roles

Escobar was re-elected in 2020 and 2022, continuing to represent the 16th congressional district. Over successive terms, she built upon her initial committee assignments and leadership roles, becoming an increasingly prominent voice within the House Democratic caucus on immigration, border security, and Latin American affairs.

In the 118th Congress (2023–2025), Escobar was elevated to the position of co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, serving alongside Representatives Dean Phillips, Lori Trahan, and Lauren Underwood under House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. This position placed Escobar within the upper ranks of the Democratic leadership structure in the House, giving her a role in setting the party's policy agenda and communications strategy.

In February 2020, Escobar delivered the Spanish-language response to the State of the Union address, the annual presidential address to Congress. This selection underscored her position as a leading Latina voice within the Democratic Party and highlighted the party's outreach to Spanish-speaking communities across the United States.

Throughout her time in Congress, Escobar has maintained a focus on issues affecting the U.S.–Mexico border and the El Paso community. She has advocated for comprehensive immigration reform, opposed border wall construction, and spoken against enforcement-only approaches to immigration policy. She has also worked on issues related to military affairs, given the presence of Fort Bliss, one of the largest military installations in the United States, within her district.

Recent Congressional Activity

In January 2026, Escobar delivered a speech on the House floor opposing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, arguing against its provisions.

In February 2026, Escobar issued statements regarding the closure of El Paso airspace by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), calling the decision "highly consequential" and working to address the situation on behalf of her constituents.

On February 23, 2026, Escobar announced that she would boycott President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, joining a group of Democratic members in the protest. In her statement, Escobar cited concerns about the administration's policies as the basis for her decision.

Personal Life

Escobar is married to Michael Pleters. The couple has two children and resides in El Paso, Texas. Escobar has maintained deep ties to the El Paso community throughout her career, having been born and raised in the city and returning there after completing her graduate education at New York University.

As a bilingual English-Spanish speaker, Escobar has used her language skills in her political career, including delivering the Democratic Party's Spanish-language response to the 2020 State of the Union address.

Recognition

Escobar's election to Congress in 2018 represented a historic milestone. Along with Sylvia Garcia, she became one of the first two Latinas to represent Texas in the United States Congress, a fact that received substantial national media coverage. The significance of this achievement was noted by numerous publications, given that Texas has one of the largest Hispanic populations of any state in the country and had never previously elected a Latina to Congress.

Her selection to deliver the Spanish-language Democratic response to the 2020 State of the Union address further highlighted her prominence within the national Democratic Party and her role as a representative of Hispanic and border communities.

Escobar's early appointment to a freshman leadership position in November 2019 and her subsequent elevation to co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee in the 118th Congress reflected her growing stature within the Democratic caucus.

Electoral History

Escobar has been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in every general election since 2018, representing a district that is among the most heavily Democratic in Texas. Her election campaigns have been tracked by the Federal Election Commission. Prior to her congressional career, she won elections for El Paso County commissioner and El Paso county judge.