Richard Raymond (Texas politician)

Richard Peña Raymond
Texas State Representative from District 42 (Webb County)
Incumbent
Assumed office 2001
Preceded by	Henry R. Cuellar
Texas State Representative from District 44
In office 1993–1999
Personal details
Born	(1960-10-27) October 27, 1960 Alice, Jim Wells County Texas, USA
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Michelle Raymond
Relations	Cousin Joe Rubio, Jr.
Children	Aren, Eva, Ryan Raymond
Residence	Laredo, Webb County, Texas
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin University of Texas School of Law
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic

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 after three two-year terms from District 44, when he then resided in Benavides in Duval County. Instead he challenged the Republican candidate for Texas Land Commissioner, David Dewhurst. In the general election, Dewhurst easily prevailed for the right to succeed Democratic Land Commissioner Garry Mauro of Bryan, who instead ran for governor of Texas that year against George W. Bush.

On the day of the inauguration of former Texas Governor George W. Bush as U.S. President, Raymond won a special election in Webb County to succeed Henry R. Cuellar in the state House of Representatives. Cuellar had stepped down and briefly served as Texas Secretary of State under the new governor Rick Perry. Raymond defeated a multi-candidate field of Democrats, including Carlos Ygnacio "C.Y." Benavides, III, a Laredo-area businessman, who thereafter in 2006 ran unsuccessfully for Webb County judge against Danny Valdez.

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. Raymond also earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children: Aren, Eva, and Ryan.

Raymond is considered a strongly partisan 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 W. Reagan appointee Justice Anthony Kennedy providing the swing vote, ordered changes in the plan which proved favorable to Texas Democrats 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 Craddick 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 a majority 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 a moderate Republican from 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 chamber. Raymond was also named a member of the House Committee on Border Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

Election history

Most recent election

2006

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

Previous elections

2006

Democratic Party Primary Runoff Election, 2006: House District 42
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
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

2004

Texas general election, 2004: House District 42
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

2002

Texas general election, 2002: House District 42
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

2001

Special Election, 20 January 2001: House District 42, Unexpired
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 Mouse	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

1998

Texas general election, 1998: Land Commissioner
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

1996

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

1994

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

1992

Texas general election, 1992: House District 44
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
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
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Tom Cate	9,706	39.83
	Alberto T. Martinez	6,714	27.55
✓	Richard Raymond	7,945	32.60
Turnout		24,365

References

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

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Henry R. Cuellar	Texas State Representative from District 42 (Webb County) Richard Peña Raymond 2001–	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Tom Cate	Texas State Representative from District 44 (including Duval County) Richard Peña Raymond 1993–1999	Succeeded by Ignacio Salinas, Jr.