Jaime Escuder

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jaime Escuder

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Florida State University

Law

University of Chicago

Personal

Birthplace

Ossining, N.Y.

Religion

Unitarian Universalist

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Personal Facebook

Jaime Escuder (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 23rd Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2020.

Escuder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Escuder was born in Ossining, New York. He obtained a B.M. from the Florida State University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. His professional experience includes working for nearly a decade as a public defender in DuPage County, Illinois. As of 2019, Escuder ran his own law practice taking criminal cases in state and federal court in the Big Bend region of Texas.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 23

Tony Gonzales defeated Gina Ortiz Jones and Beto Villela in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 23 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tony Gonzales (R)	50.6	149,395
		Gina Ortiz Jones (D)	46.6	137,693
		Beto Villela (L)	2.8	8,369

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 295,457
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Steven Sanders (Independent)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 23

Tony Gonzales defeated Raul Reyes Jr. in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 23 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tony Gonzales	50.1	12,342
		Raul Reyes Jr.	49.9	12,297

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,639
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 23

Gina Ortiz Jones defeated Efrain Valdez, Rosalinda Ramos Abuabara, Ricardo Madrid, and Jaime Escuder in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 23 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gina Ortiz Jones	66.2	41,718
	Submit photo	Efrain Valdez	11.4	7,163
		Rosalinda Ramos Abuabara	10.9	6,896
	Submit photo	Ricardo Madrid	7.2	4,518
		Jaime Escuder	4.3	2,725

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 63,020
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Liz Wahl (D)
• Brandyn Waterman (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 23

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 23 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tony Gonzales	28.1	11,522
✔		Raul Reyes Jr.	23.3	9,555
		Alma Arredondo-Lynch	13.2	5,391
		Ben Van Winkle	10.8	4,427
		Jeff McFarlin	10.3	4,241
		Sharon Thomas	6.1	2,511
		Cecil B. Jones	3.8	1,552
		Alia Garcia-Ureste	2.5	1,039
		Darwin Boedeker	1.8	745

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,983
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Adam Hansen (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 23

Beto Villela defeated Tim Martinez in the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 23 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Tim Martinez (L)
✔		Beto Villela (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released October 3, 2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jaime Escuder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Escuder's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School, I spent the first 10 years of my career in public service as a public defender in DuPage County, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. I married a native Texan and moved to Alpine in 2014 to raise our daughters closer to family. Since moving to Texas, I have run my own law practice serving the people of the Big Bend. I also take court-appointed cases for indigent clients as well as pro bono cases with issues involving fundamental rights or the environment. I have spent my entire career defending the Constitution and standing up to the government to fight for the rights of the people. Now I'm running for Congress to bring the fight to Washington.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Each one of us has worth. I plan to advocate for policies on healthcare, the climate crisis, and immigration that uplift human dignity.
• We are one people deserving of equal treatment. That needs to be reflected in our criminal justice system, tax code and voting rights.
• We deserve to have leaders with integrity. It is important to support those who strive to do what is right, even when it is unpopular.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

CLIMATE CHANGE: We all have the right to a habitable earth. If our children are to continue to enjoy this right, we must take swift, bold action. In parts of our district, efforts have already been made in pursuit of renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power. We are poised to become leaders in clean energy as we move away from fossil fuels as part of a Green New Deal.

HEALTHCARE: Healthcare is a human right. Texas has the largest population of uninsured people in the nation. Universal healthcare, in the form of a public option or Medicare for All, would ensure that Texans do not face death or bankruptcy simply because they cannot afford health insurance.

Women have the right to make their own decisions about healthcare, including birthing options.

IMMIGRATION: Our district has over 800 miles of border between Texas and Mexico. We must find a way to keep our border secure while also allowing a reasonable path to citizenship for those who wish to become legal residents. Aside from being a colossal symbol of division, a border wall is not the solution due to cost, ineffectiveness and environmental ramifications.

It is also important that our DREAMers, who have never known a life outside the US, are able to remain legally to continue to contribute to our communities. We must reform our immigrant detention system to preserve the humanity of those seeking asylum. The practice of separating children from their families is immoral and must not be allowed.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I am a believer in the principle put forth by John Stuart Mill in his essay "On Liberty," that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign."

What legacy would you like to leave?

I often think about Fred Rogers' story about how his mother always told him not to despair when disaster struck because, if he looked hard enough, he would always be able to find people helping.

That's how I would like my tombstone to read: Here lies Jaime Escuder. He was one of the helpers.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was bagging groceries at Winn Dixie at age 14 so that I could afford guitar lessons. I had that job for about a year. I even wrote a poem about it. http://www.jaimeescuder.com/the-buffalo-wrangler/

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Radiohead: The Daily Mail

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Oversight of the Executive, which desperately needs it.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The United States has lost its moral standing in the world. This erosion of integrity has disillusioned our allies and infected our political system. The great challenge of the coming decade will be to return America to the ideals of justice and honesty with which it was once associated.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I recently watched Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," and was struck by Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of Thaddeus Stevens, who I had not previously been aware of. I admire very much Stevens' (at least as it was portrayed in the film) resolve regarding what he knew to be right despite pressure to compromise from within his own party. Having said that, I also admire his skillful use of the institutional knowledge that he gained in the House to bring about the passage of the 13th Amendment.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

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External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• Campaign Twitter page
• Campaign Instagram page
• Campaign YouTube page

Footnotes

[show]

Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)