Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke
U.S. House, Texas, District 16
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2013-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position	0
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Silvestre Reyes (D)
Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 4, 2014
Campaign $	$685,661
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
El Paso City Council
2005-2011
Education
Bachelor's	Columbia University
Personal
Birthday	September 26, 1972
Place of birth	El Paso, Texas
Profession	Small Business Owner
Net worth	$6,653,843
Religion	Catholic
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Beto O'Rourke is a Democratic member of the U.S. House representing the 16th Congressional District of Texas. He was first elected in 2012. He defeated incumbent Silvestre Reyes, Ben Mendoza and Jerome Tilghman in the Democratic primary on May 29, 2012.

O'Rourke won election on November 6, 2012.

Biography

O'Rourke grew up in El Paso. He graduated from Columbia University in 1995 with a degree in English. After he graduated, he got a job with a Manhattan web technology company. After three years, he returned to El Paso and co-founded Stanton Street Technology, an internet services and software company, in 1999.

Career

• 1999-present: Owner, Stanton Street Technology Group
• 2005-2011: El Paso City Council
• 2013-present: U.S. House of Representatives from Texas

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

O'Rourke serves on the following committees:

• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Border, Maritime Security
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Issues

Campaign issues

2012

O'Rourke's campaign website listed the following issues:

• End Corruption

Excerpt: "The corruption that plagues our community has to stop, but we need reform and new leadership, especially in D.C. where members of Congress use our tax dollars to get re-elected. I will sponsor a bill to set term limits for representatives, so that they focus on getting the job done instead of the special interests that keep them in office."

• True Democrat

Excerpt: "Instead of focusing on issues that are important to El Pasoans like the economy, jobs and ensuring that our community is well-represented in D.C., the incumbent has chosen to ask if I am a Democrat. Although I put community and country before party and partisan politics, I think my track record shows that I represent the best aspects of the Democratic Party."

• Congressional Reform

Excerpt: "Each year the same people in Congress make the same self-serving decisions that leave us unprepared to revive a depressed economy, reverse a growing debt burden and renew America's leadership in the 21st century. The country is fed up. Congress' approval rating is now at 9%. So why does Congress have a re-election rate that rivals that of a Middle East dictator (93% over the last 5 years), despite having the lowest approval rating in history?"

• Healthcare Reform

Excerpt: "While these are important issues to address, the act fails to address problems that are specific to El Paso and the border. As your congressman I will work to make sure that future legislation that carries out the provisions of the PPACA will help, and not hurt, El Paso."

• Reyes Works?

Excerpt: "You may have seen the billboards reading "Reyes Works", here are the facts: Reyes has one of the worst voting and attendance records in Congress."

• Jobs and the Economy

Excerpt: "There is greater economic opportunity in this region than in almost any other part of Americas right now. Whether it's our enviable position as the world's largest bi-national metroplex, having the country's largest military installation at Ft. Bliss or the country's newest four-year medical school as the anchor for the Medical Center of the Americas, there is abundant opportunity here."

• Veterans Affairs

Excerpt: "Our veterans have honorably served our nation. It's time that our nation return the commitment and ensure that they are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, as far too many veterans in El Paso have shared with me, they do not have the support they are owed."

• Education

Excerpt: "Investment in education is key to the economic vitality of the nation and the region. As we move away from becoming a manufacturing nation, most jobs will come from a highly skilled labor force. Currently, the U.S. must hire 227,000 scientists and engineers from abroad to keep up with the demand in the U.S. economy."

• Fort Bliss

Excerpt: "From the time of General John Pershing to the stewardship provided today by Major General Pittard, El Paso has been fortunate to have a strong relationship with Ft. Bliss. I will work to ensure that relationship produces more jobs and economic activity for local businesses in the future."

• Term Limits

Excerpt: "Unfortunately, most house members are career politicians who are more concerned with the next election cycle than in making these tough decisions. They put personal considerations, party loyalty and payback to lobbyists and big donors before principle. "

Elections

2012

See also: Texas' 16th congressional district elections, 2012

O'Rourke ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Texas' 16th District. He defeated incumbent Silvestre Reyes, Ben Mendoza, and Jerome Tilghman in the Democratic primary on May 29, 2012. He defeated Barbara Carrasco (R) and Junart Sodoy (L) in the November 6, 2012, general election.

According to Politico, Beto O'Rourke presented Reyes' first real primary threat since the incumbent was elected. O'Rourke portrayed Reyes as unresponsive and entrenched; the challenger also raised significant funding and stands to receive support from the Campaign for Primary Accountability. Reyes responded by gathering endorsements from Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as pointing out O'Rourke's support of marijuana legalization.

U.S. House, Texas, District 16 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Beto O'Rourke	65.4%	101,403
	Republican	Barbara Carrasco	32.9%	51,043
	Libertarian	Junart Sodoy	1.7%	2,559
Total Votes				155,005
Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Opponent targeted

O'Rourke's opponent, incumbent Silvestre Reyes was targeted by the Super PAC Campaign for Primary Accountability in the 16th district Democratic primary. The PAC targeted Reyes because he served for a long time, his constituents are dissatisfied, and there is a capable challenger.

A Reyes spokesperson criticized the Campaign for Primary Accountability's implicit support of primary Reyes challenger O'Rourke, pointing out that Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor had contributed to the PAC for its efforts in a Republican primary in Illinois. The Huffington Post reports that O'Rourke responded by distancing himself from Cantor, saying he is unfamiliar with the House Majority Leader's politics, but that "if he is emblematic about Republican ideology," O'Rourke would rarely agree with Cantor.

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for O'Rourke is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, O'Rourke raised a total of $685,661 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.

Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	US House (Texas, District 16)		$685,661
Grand Total Raised			$685,661

2012

Breakdown of the source of O'Rourke's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

O'Rourke won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, O'Rourke's campaign committee raised a total of $685,661 and spent $618,526.

U.S. House of Representatives, Texas' 16th Congressional District, 2012 - Beto O'Rourke Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$685,661
Total Spent	$618,526
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$132,479
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$132,575
Top contributors to Beto O'Rourke's campaign committee
Hunt Companies	$15,000
Transtelco	$9,900
Bohannon Development	$7,300
Hoy Fox Automotive	$7,000
Alameda Thrifty Pharmacy	$6,650
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Real Estate	$62,205
Lawyers/Law Firms	$24,987
Retired	$24,900
Health Professionals	$21,083
Misc Finance	$16,250

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, O'Rourke missed 0 of 89 roll call votes from January 2013 to March 2013. This amounts to 0.0%, which is better than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, O'Rourke's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $-1,546,154 to $14,853,840. That averages to $6,653,843, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2011 of $5,107,874.

Personal

O'Rourke lives in Sunset Heights with his wife, Amy Sanders, and their three children.

Recent news

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This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Beto + O'Rourke + Texas + Congress

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Beto O'Rourke News Feed

• U.S. Reps. Beto O'Rourke, Steve Pearce defend area installations - El Paso Times
• Freshman lawmakers prepare to introduce their first bills - The Hill
• Term Limits Introduced - Bartlesville Radio
• Nation's Leading Drug Policy Group Launches Exit Strategy Guide - THE Weed Blog (blog)
• Lawmakers hear Davis, fault FBI on data sharing - Boston Globe
• Texas lawmaker proposes panel to study long waits along border - El Paso Times
• Congressmen O'Rourke, Cuellar's visit to El Paso focuses on border wait-times - El Paso Times
• ASSOCIATED PRESS - Tulsa World
• Immigration: Consider border residents - El Paso Times
• GRDA proceeds with plan to build, refurbish plants - Tulsa World

See also

• Texas' 16th congressional district elections, 2012
• United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2012
• U.S. House elections, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• Official U.S. House website

• Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at CongressMerge.com
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Profile at Facebook
• Profile at Twitter
• Video Channel on YouTube
• Profile at Wikipedia

References

Political offices
Preceded by Silvestre Reyes	U.S. House of Representatives - Texas District 16 2013-present	Succeeded by '