Richard Raymond (Texas politician)

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Richard Peña Raymond (born October 27, 1960) is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives. He currently represents District 42, which encompasses western Webb County and includes 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 Congress in 2006, against fellow Democrat Henry Cuellar, who currently holds the seat for the 28th Congressional District. However, Raymond decided against challenging Cuellar and ran for reelection to his state House seat instead. He defeated former Webb County Judge Mercurio "Merc" 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 of Bryan.

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 of Democrats, including Carlos Ygnacio "C.Y." Benavides, III, a Laredo-area businessman, who in 2006 ran unsuccessfully for Webb County judge.

Contents 1 Before politics 2 Election history 2.1 Most recent election 2.1.1 2006 2.2 Previous elections 2.2.1 2006 2.2.2 2004 2.2.3 2002 2.2.4 2001 2.2.5 1998 2.2.6 1996 2.2.7 1994 2.2.8 1992 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] Before politics

Raymond was born in Alice, the seat of Jim Wells County, and reared in Benavides. He graduated from Benavides High School. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a bachelor of arts degree, majoring in government with a minor in history. He and his wife Michelle have three children: Aren, Eva, and Ryan. Raymond is a cousin of Webb County District Attorney Joe Rubio, Jr.

Raymond is considered a liberal Democrat who is often at odds with the Texas state Republican leadership. He filed the lawsuit opposing the 2003 congressional redistricting plan adopted by the states' Republican majority. In 2006, the United States Supreme Court, with the Ronald Reagan appointee Justice Anthony Kennedy providing the swing vote, ordered changes in the plan which proved favorable to Texas Democrats changes in the mid-term elections.

In 2007, Raymond participated unsuccessfully in a coup attempt against Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Midland Republican.

[edit] Election history

[edit] Most recent election

[edit] 2006

Texas general election, 2006: House District 42[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	12,787	100.00
Majority			12,787	100.00	-52.86
Turnout			12,787		-52.86
	Democratic hold

[edit] Previous elections

[edit] 2006

Democratic Party Primary Runoff Election, 2006: House District 42[2]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
	Mercurio Martinez, Jr.	6,456	42.24
✓	Richard Raymond	8,828	57.76
Turnout		15,284

Democratic Party Primary Election, 2006: House District 42[3]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Mercurio Martinez, Jr.	7,650	32.89
	Sergio Mora	3,048	12.87
	Jose “Rudy” Ochoa	1,184	5.00
✓	Richard Raymond	11,806	49.84
Turnout		23,688

[edit] 2004

Texas general election, 2004: House District 42[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	27,123	100.00	0.00
Majority			27,123	100.00	+0.60
Turnout			27,123		+0.60
	Democratic hold

[edit] 2002

Texas general election, 2002: House District 42[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	26,961	100.00	0.00
Majority			26,961	100.00	+16.77
Turnout			26,961		+16.77
	Democratic hold

[edit] 2001

Special Election, 20 January 2001: House District 42, Unexpired[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carlos Ygnacio “Cy” Benavides	2,409	18.63
	Democratic	Javier H. Martinez, Jr.	1,743	13.48
	Democratic	Maria Elena Morales	1,676	12.96
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	7,090	54.83
	Write-In	Mickey	1	0.01
	Write-In	None of the Above	1	0.01
	Write-In	George Bush	1	0.01
	Write-In	Donald Duck	1	0.01
	Write-In	Jerry Garza	1	0.01
	Write-In	Joe Guerra	1	0.01
	Write-In	Mike Kazen	3	0.02
	Write-In	Richard Raymond	2	0.02
	Write-In	L.A. Tadro	1	0.01
Majority			26,961	100.00
Turnout			12,930
	Democratic hold

[edit] 1998

Texas general election, 1998: Land Commissioner[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	David Dewhurst	2,072,604	57.42	+10.22
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	1,438,378	39.85	-10.34
	Libertarian	J. Manuel “Monte” Montez	98,321	2.72	+0.12
Majority			634,226	17.57	+510.04
Turnout			3,609,303		-13.29
	Republican gain from Democratic

[edit] 1996

Texas general election, 1996: House District 44[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	26,942	100.00	0.00
Majority			26,942	100.00
Turnout			26,942		+23.55
	Democratic hold

[edit] 1994

Texas general election, 1994: House District 44[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	21,443	100.00	0.00
Majority			21,443	100.00
Turnout			21,443		-26.50
	Democratic hold

[edit] 1992

Texas general election, 1992: House District 44[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Raymond	29,174	100.00
Majority			29,174	100.00
Turnout			29,174
	Democratic hold

Democratic Party Primary Runoff Election, 1992: House District 44[11]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
	Tom Cate	4,781	31.65
✓	Richard Raymond	10,322	68.35
Turnout		15,103

Democratic Party Primary Election, 1992: House District 44[12]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Tom Cate	9,706	39.83
	Alberto T. Martinez	6,714	27.55
✓	Richard Raymond	7,945	32.60
Turnout		24,365

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Official biography, Texas House of Representatives
• Richard Raymond campaign website

Preceded by Henry Cuellar	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 42 (Laredo) 2001 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Tom Cate	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 44 (Benavides) 1993–1998	Succeeded by Ignacio Salinas, Jr.