Richard Raymond (Texas politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard Raymond (born October 27, 1960, in Alice, Texas, U.S.A.) is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives. He represents District 42, which encompasses western Webb County, including most of the city of Laredo. He sits on the House Committees of Civil Practices and Criminal Jurisprudence. In 2005, he announced that he would run for theCongress in the 2006 midterm elections, against fellow Democrat Henry Cuellar, who currently holds the seat for the 28th Congressional District. However, he decided against challengin Cuellar and ran for reelection to his state House seat instead. He defeated former Webb County Judge Mercurio Martinez, Jr., in a hard-fought Democratic primary runoff.

In 1998, Raymond gave up his previous House seat when he resided in Benavides in order to challenge the Republican candidate for land commissioner, David Dewhurst. Dewhurst easily won the election for the right to succeed Democratic Land Commissioner Garry Mauro.

On the day of the inauguration of George W. Bush as president, Raymond won a special election in Webb County to succeed Henry Cuellar in the state House of Representatives. He defeated a multi-candidate field with a clear majority. Among the losing candidates was Carlos Y. Benavides, III, who failed again in a 2006 race for Webb County judge.

[edit] Before politics

Born in Alice, the seat of Jim Wells County, and raised in Benavides, Raymond graduated from Benavides High School. He atteneded the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in hovernment with a minor in history. He and his wife Michelle have three children: Aren, Eva, and Ryan.