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 is Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and is also a member of the Border Affairs and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. In 2006, Raymond ran for reelection to his state House seat and defeated former Webb County Judge Mercurio "Merc" Martinez, Jr., in a hard-fought Democratic primary runoff. Raymond was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election of 2010.
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.
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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. Raymond also earned a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. He and his wife Michelle have three children: Aren, Eva, and Ryan.
Raymond is considered a strong Democrat. 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.
During the opening session of 2007, Raymond was the only member who rose to ask fellow members to vote against Craddick, even though he had no opponent. The refrain "Prove Me Wrong, Mr. Speaker," used by Raymond during this critical speech, was then repeated during the rest of the session, as opposition continued to build against Craddick. Twenty six other members joined Raymond in voting against Craddick, but by the end of the session it was clear a majority now agreed with Raymond.
At the beginning of the 2009 Session, Raymond and others finally succeeded in toppling Craddick by maneuvering the election of Representative Joe Straus (R - San Antonio) as the Speaker of the House.
In February 2009, Speaker Straus named Raymond Vice-Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, making him one of the most influential Democrats in the House of Representatives. Raymond was also named a member of the House Committee on Border Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 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 | |||
| Texas House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
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