A pair of veteran Democratic Texas lawmakers made congressional history Tuesday night as the first-ever Latinas elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House.
Former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar and state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, both defeated their Republican opponents.
Escobar, who has also served as a county commissioner, will represent Texas’ Congressional District 16, the seat currently held by Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso. O’Rourke gave up the seat in his bid to oust U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Garcia, who has served in the state Senate for six years, will replace Gene Green, D-Houston, as the representative from Congressional District 29.
Escobar and Garcia have made history in at least one other way: They are among the first Texas women elected to a full term in Congress in more than 20 years.
Source: Texas Tribune Blue Left News