Raul Torres
Raul Torres (Republican Party) was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 33. He assumed office in 2011. He left office in 2013.
Torres (Republican Party) ran for election to the Texas State Senate to represent District 20. He was disqualified from the Republican primary scheduled on March 5, 2024.
Biography
- MBA, Business, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University - Corpus Christi, 1994
- B.A., Accounting, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University - Corpus Christi, 1991
- President, Freedom Tax Services Incorporated, present
- Owner, Raul Torres Certified Public Accountant, 1993-present
Committee assignments
2011-2012
Raul Torres served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Appropriations - S/C on Articles VI. VII, & VIII, Select Committee
Issue positions
Torres discusses his positions on five key issues on his campaign site:
Oppose Tax Increases Excerpt:"As your state representative I will work to stop higher taxes. Texas already has one of the highest property taxes in the nation and raising it even higher will only destroy the business climate we’ve worked so hard to build and that has made our state stand so strong during the country’s worst economic decline since the Great Depression.
Along with that, let me also say that I will NEVER support a state income tax. Why do I mention an income tax? Because at this very moment, Texas is facing an $18 billion shortfall – $18 billion. Politicians like my liberal opponent are already planning to use this as an excuse to raise your taxes. And they will try to use this shortfall as an excuse to impose a statewide income tax on all of us."
End the Waste Excerpt:"As your voice in Austin, I will also work to eliminate wasteful spending. Even though the legislature managed to balance the state budget in the last session, spending has increased faster than inflation and the growth of population. Government at all levels must live within its means just like families across this state do everyday.
I’m an accountant and a business owner. I know how to analyze, create and work from a budget. It’s what I do every day. And I will put that knowledge and experience to work for you – to make sure your state government doesn’t spend a penny more than is absolutely necessary and that it spends every penny of your tax dollars wisely."
Create Jobs Excerpt:"I also will work to create new jobs by attracting business to our Coastal Bend region and limiting regulations that make it more difficult to do business in Texas. By coordinating economic development efforts at levels of government, we can bring new businesses to our community and help local businesses grow and expand. And by limiting regulation, we will help businesses both large and small continue to thrive."
Protect Life Excerpt:"I have earned the endorsement of Texas Alliance for Life because I believe in the sanctity of life and they recognize I am a true pro-life candidate. I believe life begins at conception and will fight to ensure that the sanctity of life is respected, protected and upheld. I support adoption as an alternative to abortion and will seek additional state funding for the “Alternatives to Abortion” fund which provides grants to social service groups that assist pregnant women considering childbirth instead of abortion."[1]
Political Courage Test
Torres did not provide answers to the 2010 Political Courage Test.
Elections
2024
See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Texas State Senate District 20
Incumbent Juan Hinojosa won election in the general election for Texas State Senate District 20 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Juan Hinojosa (D) | 100.0 | 178,987 |
| Total votes: 178,987 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 20
Incumbent Juan Hinojosa advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 20 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Juan Hinojosa | 100.0 | 33,481 |
| Total votes: 33,481 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Raul Torres (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Torres in this election.
2022
See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Texas State Senate District 27
Morgan LaMantia defeated Adam Hinojosa in the general election for Texas State Senate District 27 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Morgan LaMantia (D) | 50.2 | 88,037 |
 | Adam Hinojosa (R) | 49.8 | 87,378 | |
| Total votes: 175,415 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Javier Navarro (Independent)
Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Senate District 27
Morgan LaMantia defeated Sara Stapleton-Barrera in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Senate District 27 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Morgan LaMantia | 56.9 | 14,288 |
 | Sara Stapleton-Barrera | 43.1 | 10,825 | |
| Total votes: 25,113 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 27
Morgan LaMantia and Sara Stapleton-Barrera advanced to a runoff. They defeated Alex Dominguez and Salomon Torres in the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 27 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Morgan LaMantia | 33.7 | 13,531 |
| ✔ | | Sara Stapleton-Barrera | 32.7 | 13,101 |
| Alex Dominguez | 25.3 | 10,163 | ||
 | Salomon Torres | 8.3 | 3,312 | |
| Total votes: 40,107 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 27
Adam Hinojosa defeated Raul Torres and Isreal Salinas in the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 27 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Hinojosa | 51.0 | 13,351 |
 | Raul Torres | 34.6 | 9,062 | |
| Isreal Salinas | 14.4 | 3,777 | ||
| Total votes: 26,190 | |||
| = 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
- Phillip Drake (R)
Campaign finance
2014
Torres ran for election to the office of Texas Comptroller. Torres lost the Republican nomination in the primary.[2]
- Primary
| Texas Comptroller Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Glenn Hegar |
50% | 612,269 | ||
| Harvey Hilderbran | 26% | 318,899 | ||
| Debra Medina | 19.3% | 236,531 | ||
| Raul Torres | 4.6% | 56,937 | ||
| Total Votes | 1,224,636 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
2012
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012
Torres ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 20. Torres ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and was defeated by incumbent Juan Hinojosa (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Juan Hinojosa Incumbent |
61.5% | 112,629 | |
| Republican | Raul Torres | 38.5% | 70,409 | |
| Total Votes | 183,038 | |||
2010
Torres won election to the District 33 seat in 2010. He was unopposed in the March 2 Republican primary and defeated Democratic incumbent Solomon Ortiz, Jr. in the November 2 general election.[4]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 33 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Raul Torres (R)
|
12,499 | 52.5% | ||
| Solomon Ortiz Jr(D) | 11,306 | 47.49% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Torres was defeated by Solomon Ortiz, Jr. in the race for the 33rd District seat of the Texas House of Representatives.[5]
Ortiz raised $324,046 for his campaign while Torres raised $53,833.[6]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 33 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Solomon Ortiz, Jr. (D)
|
24,582 | |||
| Raul Torres (R) | 14,792 | |||
| Justin Garrett (L) | 2,261 | 5.43% | ||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Raul Torres did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Raul Torres did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
- Grew up in Nueces County, TX
- Married 35 years to Gina Torres
- 4 children and 6 grandchildren
- Member of Brawner Parkway Church of Christ
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ What Raul Believes
- ↑ Rio Grande Guardian, "Torres: I am running for Texas Comptroller," May 29, 2013
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2012 Election and Candidate Information," accessed June 12, 2012
- ↑ Official Texas Election Results
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 24, 2014
- ↑ District 33 Texas House candidate funds, 2008
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Solomon Ortiz, Jr. (D) |
Texas House of Representatives District 33 2011-2013 |
Succeeded by Scott Turner (R) |
