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Carlos Uresti

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Carlos Uresti
Image of Carlos Uresti
Prior offices
Texas State Senate District 19

Education

Bachelor's

St. Mary's University

Law

St. Mary's University

Personal
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Carlos I. Uresti (b. September 12, 1963) is a former Democratic member of the Texas State Senate, representing District 19. He was first elected to the chamber in 2006 and resigned effective June 21, 2018, citing a need to attend to personal matters.[1]

On May 16, 2017, Uresti was indicted on charges of bribery surrounding a government contract and charges of wrongdoing. Uresti denied the charges in a written statement.[2] On June 26, 2018, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[3]

On December 7, 2017, the Daily Beast published an article that included allegations that Uresti engaged in sexual misconduct while a member of the state legislature. Click here to read more.

Biography

Uresti graduated with a B.A. in political science from St. Mary's University and also graduated with a J.D. also from St. Mary's University.

In addition to his position as senator, Uresti was an attorney in a San Antonio private practice. He surrendered his law license in April 2018 following a conviction on 11 felony charges.[4] Prior to his election to the state senate, Uresti was a representative in the Texas House of Representatives from 1997 to 2006. Uresti also served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps.[5]

On December 23, 2014, Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. announced the Uresti had been appointed to their Advisory Board.[6]

Committee assignments

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Texas committee assignments, 2017
Education
Finance
Health & Human Services, Vice chair
Veteran Affairs & Border Security

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Uresti served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Uresti served on the following committees:

2010-2011

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Uresti served on the following Texas Senate committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Uresti served on the following Texas Senate committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2016

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Texas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[7]

Incumbent Carlos Uresti defeated Peter P. Flores and Maximilian Martin in the Texas State Senate District 19 general election.[8]

Texas State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Carlos Uresti Incumbent 55.87% 134,997
     Republican Peter P. Flores 40.43% 97,682
     Libertarian Maximilian Martin 3.70% 8,948
Total Votes 241,627
Source: Texas Secretary of State


Incumbent Carlos Uresti defeated Helen Madla in the Texas State Senate District 19 Democratic Primary.[9][10]

Texas State Senate, District 19 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Carlos Uresti Incumbent 74.56% 39,931
     Democratic Helen Madla 25.44% 13,627
Total Votes 53,558


Peter P. Flores ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 19 Republican Primary.[9][10]

Texas State Senate, District 19 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Peter P. Flores  (unopposed)

2012

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012

Uresti won re-election in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 19. Uresti ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Michael Berlanga (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11]

Texas State Senate, District 19, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngCarlos Uresti Incumbent 59.4% 122,214
     Republican Michael Berlanga 40.6% 83,522
Total Votes 205,736

2010

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010

Uresti ran for re-election to the 19th District seat in 2010. He defeated Luis Juarez in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2010. Uresti received 25,969 votes while Juarez received 8,125.[11] Dick Bowen ran for the seat on the Republican ticket.

Uresti defeated Republican candidate Dick Bowen and Libertarian candidate Mette Baker in the general election on November 6, 2012.[11]

Texas State Senate, District 19
2010 General election results
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Carlos Uresti (D) 61,327 52.13%
Dick Bowen (R) 53,024 45.08%
Mette Baker (L) 3,269 2.77%

2006

On Nov. 7, 2006, Uresti won election to the 19th District Seat in the Texas State Senate, defeating opponent Dick Bowen (R).[11]

Uresti raised $71,741,045 for his campaign while Bowen raised $99,113.[12]

Texas State Senate, District 19 (2006)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Carlos Uresti (D) 58,876 59.17%
Dick Bowen (R) 40,621 40.82%

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Carlos Uresti campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2012Texas State Senate, District 19Won $816,097 N/A**
2010Texas State Senate, District 19Won $582,696 N/A**
2006Texas State Senate, District 19Won $1,741,045 N/A**
2004Texas House of Representatives, District 118Won $161,819 N/A**
2002Texas House of Representatives, District 118Won $80,968 N/A**
2000Texas House of Representatives, District 118Won $78,180 N/A**
1998Texas House of Representatives, District 118Won $130,268 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Texas

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.








2018

In 2018, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session.


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012


2011

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Uresti has two children. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Noteworthy events

Twelve-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering (2018)

See also: Noteworthy criminal misconduct in American politics (2017-2018)

On June 26, 2018, U.S. District Judge David Ezra sentenced Uresti to 12 years in prison after a 12-person jury unanimously found Carlos Uresti guilty on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering.[15]

Uresti initially said he would appeal the verdict and had no plans to step down, even though Senate Democrats called for his resignation.[16] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presided over the state Senate at the time, relieved Uresti of his committee assignments, effective February 22, 2018.[16] On June 18, 2018, Uresti announced he would resign effective June 21, 2018.[1]

On April 13, 2018, the State Bar of Texas ruled that Uresti was no longer eligible to practice law in Texas.[17]

Uresti was charged in an 11-count indictment, including multiple counts of fraud and money laundering, in May 2017.[18] The charges were in connection with FourWinds Logistics, a now-bankrupt oilfield services company that the government alleged defrauded investors. Uresti, the company's general counsel, allegedly received a commission for recruiting investors.[16] According to Texas Monthly, Uresti claimed he was unaware of FourWinds' fraudulent activities.[19]

Uresti denies sexual misconduct allegations (2017)

See also: Sexual assault and harassment in American politics (2017-2018)

On December 6, 2017, the Daily Beast published an article that contained multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against state Sen. Borris Miles (D) and Uresti. The claims included an intern saying that Miles had propositioned her for sex and a journalist saying Uresti had made inappropriate comments about her undergarments. Miles did not respond to the allegations, and Uresti denied them.[20]

On February 27, 2018, two additional came forward to the Daily Beast and accused Uresti of sexual misconduct.[21]

As of December 2019, this misconduct story appeared to be concluded and Ballotpedia discontinued active coverage. Please contact us if new developments occur with this story.

Taxpayer money for flights

Texas Watchdog reported in November 2009 that Uresti spent taxpayer money on specially hired flights through the Texas Department of Transportation. Uresti spent $15,100 for four flights between January 1, 2008-May 1, 2009.[22]

In the same article, Texas senators Robert Duncan (R) and John Carona (R) were also cited for having racked up large travel reimbursement bills.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Carlos Uresti Texas Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 News4sa.com, "State senator Carlos Uresti resigns," June 18, 2018
  2. The Texas Tribune, "Texas Sen. Carlos Uresti indicted on fraud, bribery charges," May 16, 2017
  3. Kens5.com, "Former State Sen. Carlos Uresti sentenced to 12 years in federal fraud case," June 26, 2018
  4. My San Antonio, "Convicted state Sen. Carlos Uresti surrenders law license," April 14, 2018
  5. Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 24, 2014
  6. Market Wired, "Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. Adds Texas State Senator to Advisory Board," December 23, 2014
  7. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
  8. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
  9. 9.0 9.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
  10. 10.0 10.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
  12. Follow the Money, "2006 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
  13. kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
  14. 14.0 14.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
  15. The Texas Tribune, "Former state Sen. Carlos Uresti sentenced to 12 years in prison," June 26, 2018
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Texas Tribune, "Jury finds state Sen. Carlos Uresti guilty of 11 felonies, leading to calls from Democratic colleagues to resign," February 22, 2018
  17. Kens5 Eyewitness News, "Sen. Uresti ineligible to practice law in Texas following conviction," April 13, 2018
  18. San Antonio Current, "Senator Carlos Uresti Found Guilty on All Charges in Federal Fraud Trial," February 22, 2018
  19. Texas Monthly, "Will State Senator Carlos Uresti Step Down?" February 22, 2018
  20. Daily Beast, "‘You Want to F*ck With Me Tonight?’: Horror Stories from the Texas Capitol," December 6, 2017
  21. Daily Beast, "Women Say Texas Senator’s a Creep. Court Says He’s a Fraud. But He Won’t Leave Office.," February 28, 2018
  22. Texas Watchdog, "State senators rack up big bills using charter flights, personal planes," November 5, 2009
Political offices
Preceded by
Frank Madla
Texas Senate District 19
2007-2018
Succeeded by
Peter Flores (R)


Current members of the Texas State Senate
Leadership
Senators
District 1
District 2
Bob Hall (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
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Vacant
District 10
Phil King (R)
District 11
District 12
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District 19
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District 24
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Republican Party (19)
Democratic Party (11)
Vacancies (1)