Beto O'Rourke
Beto O'Rourke | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 16th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Silvestre Reyes |
Member of the El Paso City Council from the 8th district | |
In office June 1, 2005 – June 27, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Anthony Cobos |
Succeeded by | Cortney Niland |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Francis O'Rourke September 26, 1972 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Amy Hoover Sanders (m. 2005) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Columbia University (BA) |
Website | House website |
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke (/ˈbɛtoʊ/; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district in his native El Paso, first elected in 2012. He is the Democratic nominee in the 2018 Texas Senate race, challenging Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.
O'Rourke won the general election held in November 2012, defeating now-former U.S. Representative Silvestre Reyes in the Democratic primary earlier that year. The district includes most of El Paso County. Prior to his election to Congress, O'Rourke was on the El Paso City Council, from June 2005 to June 2011. On March 31, 2017, O'Rourke announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 election.
Early life, education, and music career
O'Rourke is a fourth-generation Irish American,[1] born in El Paso, the son of Melissa Martha (Williams) and El Paso County Judge Pat Francis O'Rourke.[2][3][4] He was nicknamed "Beto", which is a common Spanish nickname for "Roberto", before kindergarten.[5][6] His father was a political associate of former Texas Governor Mark White. Judge O'Rourke was killed in July 2001, at the age of fifty-eight, when he was struck from behind by a car while riding his bicycle over the New Mexico state line.[7]
O'Rourke attended Carlos Rivera and Mesita Elementary Schools and El Paso High School. He graduated from Woodberry Forest School in 1991. In the early 1990s, he was a bassist[8] in the band Foss, which included Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocalist for At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta) on vocals and drums, Arlo Klahr on vocals and guitar, and Mike Stevens on vocals and guitar. The group released a self-titled demo and a 7" record, "The El Paso Pussycats", on Western Breed Records in 1993. They released a subsequent album, "Fewel Street", in 1995, also on Western. Foss toured the United States and Canada in the summer of 1993 and again, along with Bixler's concurrent band, Los Dregtones, in the summer of 1994.
O'Rourke attended Columbia University where he captained Columbia's rowing crew.[9] He graduated from Columbia in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature.[10][11] He is fluent in Spanish.[12]
O'Rourke was arrested in 1995 on burglary charges, and in 1998 on drunken driving charges, but not convicted in either case.[13][14]
Business career (1995–2005)
Following college, O'Rourke worked at Internet service providers in New York City[15] before his return to El Paso in 1998. The following year, he co-founded Stanton Street Technology, an internet services and software company that develops websites and software.[15][16] His wife, Amy, operates the business as of March 2017.[17]
El Paso City Council (2005–2011)
In mid-2005, O'Rourke ran for the El Paso City Council, and defeated two-term incumbent City Councilman Anthony Cobos, 57%–43%.[18][19] O'Rourke is one of the youngest representatives to have ever served on the City Council.[20] In 2007, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Trini Acevedo, 70%–30%.[21][22]
In January 2009, O'Rourke sponsored a resolution calling for a "comprehensive examination" of the War on Drugs and "the repeal of ineffective marijuana laws".[23] The resolution, which was unanimously supported by his colleagues on the El Paso City Council, was vetoed by then-Mayor John Cook and spurred a larger national discussion on the topic.[23][24][25] He told reporters that the reason he decided to speak up about what he called the failed war on drugs was the thousands of people who have been killed in the drug war in the adjoining city of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.[26] "I hope it has all had its intended effect of starting the national discussion of the wisdom of the war on drugs […] and probably more importantly, helping to bring about a better solution than the status quo, which has led to the terror and tragedy in Juarez.[27]
U.S. House of Representatives (2012–present)
Elections
2012
In 2012, O'Rourke filed for the Democratic primary against the eight-term Silvestre Reyes to represent Texas's 16th congressional district. The primary was seen as the real contest in this heavily Democratic, majority-Latino district.[12] O'Rourke took 50.5 percent of the vote, just a few hundred votes above the threshold required to avoid a runoff against Reyes.[28] He was contrasted with Reyes in his support for LGBT rights[29] and drug liberalization.[30] He defeated his Republican opponent, Barbara Carrasco, in the general election with 65 percent of the vote.[31]
2014
O'Rourke won re-election in 2014 with 67% of the vote.
During the fall of 2014, O'Rourke donated at least $28,000 from his own campaign funds to fellow Democratic candidates for House seats.[32]
2016
In October 2015, O'Rourke announced his bid for a third term in 2016.[33] He won the Democratic primary and defeated his Green and Libertarian opponents in the general election.[34]
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
2018 Senate campaign
On March 31, 2017, O'Rourke formally announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Party member Ted Cruz.[37] O'Rourke raised $2 million within the first three months, mostly from small donations. O'Rourke pledged during the campaign not to accept PAC contributions for his Senate campaign.[38][39]
In March 2018, O'Rourke became the Democratic Party nominee, winning 61.8% of the primary vote.[40] He received his first major organizational endorsement from End Citizens United in June 2017,[41] which found that he had tripled fundraising of Cruz without using corporate special interest money.[42]
Political views
Beto O'Rourke is a member of the New Democrat Coalition which is described as moderate or centrist.[43] O'Rourke is sometimes considered to be a progressive or liberal Democrat.[44][45] The non-partisan National Journal gave O'Rourke a composite ideology of 85% liberal and 15% conservative in 2013.[46] Describing himself, O'Rourke has said that he does not know where he falls on the political spectrum and he has sponsored bipartisan bills as well as broke with his party on issues like free trade.[47] GovTrack places Representative O'Rourke near the ideological center of the House Democrats, being to the right of some and to the left of others; the American Civil Liberties Union, a liberal organization, gave him an 88% rating while the United States Chamber of Commerce, a more fiscally conservative group, gave him a 47% rating.[48] According to Five ThirtyEight, which tracks Congressional voting records, O'Rourke has voted in line with President Trump's position on legislation 28.7% of the time as of August, 2018.[49]
Drug policy
O'Rourke favors the legalization of cannabis on grounds that the war against narcotics cannot be won.[23] In 2011 O'Rourke co-authored a book, Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico, which in part argues for an end to the prohibition on marijuana.[50] O’Rourke has tweeted his opposition to the War on Drugs.[51]
Abortion
O'Rourke has a lifetime score of 100% from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and a rating of 100% from NARAL Pro-Choice America.[52][53] He voted against the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017, which made a permanent prohibition on the use of federal funds for abortions and made reforms to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to prohibit qualified health plans from including coverage for abortions.[54][non-primary source needed]
LGBT rights
O'Rourke told the Dallas Voice that he called marriage equality a core civil rights issue during his House primary campaign. While on the El Paso City Council, O’Rourke led a successful fight to overturn the domestic partnership ban.[55] He was a co-sponsor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013 (H.R. 3135).[56]
Immigration
O'Rourke favors comprehensive immigration reform.[57] O'Rourke opposed Trump's decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which granted temporary stay to some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors.[58][59] O'Rourke said it is a "top priority" to protect DREAMers.[58] He has criticized President Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration, saying that Trump is "constantly stoking anxiety and fear about Mexicans, immigrants and the border with Mexico. Unfortunately this President takes another step into a dark world of fear, isolation and separation."[7][60]
Ted Cruz asserted in 2018 that O'Rourke wanted "open borders and wants to take our guns."[61] PolitiFact found that Cruz's claims were "false," noting that O'Rourke had "not called for opening the borders or for government agents to take guns from law-abiding residents."[61]
O'Rourke asserted in 2018 that "precisely zero terrorists, terrorist groups or terror plots have ever been connected with the U.S.-Mexico border to do harm to people within the United States." PolitiFact found that O'Rourke's claim was "false"; noting that O'Rourke's claim was consistent with the State Department's declarations (the department found no credible information on terrorists operating on the border) and that experts believed instances of terrorists operating on the border to be extremely rare, but that "zero means nothing--and it's not so that there have been absolutely no cases of terrorists or terrorist plots tied to the border."[62]
Beto O'Rourke recently led protests in Tornillo, Texas, a city located right outside of the congressional district that he represents, protesting against the separation of children of immigrant families. The city is located just miles from the Rio Grande, the river that creates the border of the United States and Mexico in the state of Texas. The city is now home to a "tent-city" where separated children are being held without their parents. O'Rourke called this "Un-American" and is the responsibility of all Americans.[63][64]
Health care
O'Rourke has expressed support for single-payer legislation to achieve universal health coverage,[65] but has released a statement saying he's critical of Bernie Sanders' Medicare For All bill (HR 676) for not allocating funds towards for-profit healthcare providers.[66] He supports stabilization of the insurance markets to improve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He also supports the expansion of Medicaid[67][68] and is a co-sponsor of the Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017.[69]
Gun policy
On the evening of June 22, 2016, O'Rourke participated in the sit-in in the House of Representatives that attempted to force a vote on gun control legislation. When the Republicans ordered C-SPAN to turn off its normal coverage of the chamber, O'Rourke and Representative Scott Peters transmitted images by cell phone to social media for C-SPAN to broadcast.[70]
He supports universal background checks for gun purchases.[71] On March 7, 2018, O'Rourke told Alisyn Camerota of CNN that "We have a great tradition and culture of gun ownership and gun safety for hunting, for sport, for self-defense... I think that can allow Texas to take the lead on a really tough issue, which the country is waiting for leadership and action on."[72] He has called for a complete ban on assault rifles.[73]
Trump
In July 2018, O'Rourke said that Trump's performance while attending the 2018 Russia–United States summit in Helsinki warranted impeachment.[74] Addressing the Trump-Putin joint press conference of July 16, he stated that standing "on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country, and to side with him over the United States — if I were asked to vote on this I would vote to impeach the president".[75]
Other
O'Rourke has signed the Pro-Truth Pledge [76]
2016 endorsements
In 2016, when Nancy Pelosi faced a leadership challenge from Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, O'Rourke backed Ryan.[77] O'Rourke said that he believed in term limits, and therefore that it was time for new leadership.[77]
In June 2016, O'Rourke endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. As a sitting member of Congress, O'Rourke was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention.[78]
Personal life
O'Rourke married Amy Hoover Sanders, the daughter of Louann and William Sanders of El Paso, on September 24, 2005 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The couple has three children.[10] Sanders is the director of education development for the La Fe Community Development Corporation and executive director of the La Fe Preparatory charter school.[79]
In 2013, LegiStorm reported that O'Rourke may have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which prohibits members of Congress from participating in the initial public offering (IPO) of company stocks. O'Rourke had purchased seven stocks, including stock in Twitter, at IPO prices, seeing a 39 percent increase on shares that he sold either the same day or within days of IPOs. After being contacted by LegiStorm, O'Rourke reported himself to the United States House Committee on Ethics.[80][81] The case was closed by the ethics committee after O'Rourke acknowledged that he may have violated the law and agreed to sell his remaining IPO shares and surrender his $7,136 in profit to the U.S. Treasury.[82][83]
Publications
- O'Rourke, Beto and Byrd, Susie (2011). Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico, Cinco Puntos Press ISBN 1933693940
References
- ^ Draper, Robert (November 14, 2014). "Texas, 3 Ways". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ Fernandez, Manny (February 17, 2016). "Pope's Presence Crosses Border Into U.S., Even if He Doesn't". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Obituaries from the El Paso Times, July 1-7, 2001
- ^ Stanton, John (October 14, 2014). "Juarez's Biggest Booster Is An Irish-American Congressman". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "`So he changed his name to Beto and hid it with a grin.' On the deeper purposes of the Cruz jingle. - First Reading".
- ^ a b Bill Lambrecht, "From border to brink of Senate run," San Antonio Express-News, March 17, 2017, pp. 1, A9
- ^ "A Chat With Beto O'Rourke, the Ex-Punk Bassist Running for Ted Cruz's Senate Seat". Spin. October 4, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
- ^ "Does Beto O'Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz?". www.texasmonthly.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "Beto O'Rourke (D)". projects.wsj.com. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
- ^ "New Silvestre Reyes ad attacks Beto O'Rourke's character". The El Paso Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|dead-url=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Fernandez, Manny. "Texas Incumbent Loses In Democratic Primary". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas)". Washington Post. December 25, 2012.
- ^ "New Silvestre Reyes ad attacks Beto O'Rourke's character". The El Paso Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|dead-url=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Controlling Cyberspace: What's at stake with net neutrality". KFOX TV. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke". Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- ^ Lovegrove, Jamie (March 31, 2017). "Beto O'Rourke launches 2018 Senate campaign in underdog bid to unseat Ted Cruz". Dallas News. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "El Paso City Council District 8 Race – May 07, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ "2005 General Election". Elpasotexas.gov. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Our Campaigns – El Paso City Council District 8 Race – May 12, 2007". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Low turnout not as big a surprise as voting trends". El Paso Times.com.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Smith, Philipp S. (February 16, 2010). "The First City in America to Criminalize Marijuana Passes Resolution Criticizing Drug War". AlterNet. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ Smith, Jordan (January 12, 2009). "El Paso Council Wants to End the War on Drugs". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "El Paso's small step". The Economist. September 24, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Sledge, Matt (April 18, 2012). "Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Challenger Beto O'Rourke Square Off Over Drug War In Fierce Texas Primary". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Crowder, David (January 9, 2009). "O'Rourke in national headlights over 12 words in Drug War resolution". Newspaper Tree. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|dead-url=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Beto O'Rourke defeats Silvestre Reyes in 2012 primary election for Congress". El Paso Times.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Taffet, David (January 4, 2013). "El Paso's Beto O'Rourke among strongest new LGBT allies in Congress". Dallas Voice. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ Ortiz Uribe, Mónica (May 14, 2012). "West Texas Congressional Race Could Yield Surprises". Fronteras Desk. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ Tribune, The Texas. "U.S. House District 16 | The Texas Tribune". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Willis, Derek (November 2, 2014). "House Democrats Dig Deep for Cash, From Their Colleagues' Campaigns". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "Congressman O'Rourke to seek re-election". El Paso Times. October 13, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "Texas U.S. House 16th District Results: Beto O'Rourke Wins". Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- ^ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ "Rep. Beto O'Rourke to launch Senate run against Ted Cruz Friday". The Texas Tribune. March 29, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ "Democratic congressman raises $2M in bid against Sen. Ted Cruz". USA Today. July 13, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ Rahman, Fauzeya (July 27, 2017). "Checking Beto O'Rourke on near-uniqueness not taking PAC aid". @politifact. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ "Texas Primary Election Results". Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ "Well-funded anti-Citizens United group backs O'Rourke in Senate challenge against Cruz". Dallas News.
- ^ "A Democrat no one's heard of just raised triple the amount Ted Cruz did, despite rejecting special interest money". Business Insider.
- ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ Rice, Andrew. "Can a Democrat Ever Win in Texas? Beto O'Rourke Says Yes". Daily Intelligencer. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ CNN, Eric Bradner,. "Why Democrats everywhere are watching Beto O'Rourke's Senate campaign in Texas". CNN. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke Doesn't Want to Be Democrats' Next National Cause". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke, Representative for Texas's 16th Congressional District - GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ Bycoffe, Aaron (January 30, 2017). "Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke's El Paso roots may be key in his uphill battle against Ted Cruz". March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke on Twitter".
- ^ Baumann, Michael (February 28, 2018). "How Beto O'Rourke Explains America". The Ringer. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "Beto O'Rourke - NARAL Pro-Choice America". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ O'Rourke, Rep Beto (January 26, 2017). "Why I voted no on H.R. 7".
- ^ "El Paso's Beto O'Rourke among strongest new LGBT allies in Congress - Dallas Voice". January 4, 2013.
- ^ Mark, Pocan, (January 22, 2014). "Cosponsors - H.R.3135 - 113th Congress (2013-2014): Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013". www.congress.gov.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ O'Keefe, Ed (March 6, 2018). "Ted Cruz calls out challenger Beto O'Rourke in a sign of a tough fight to come in Texas". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "Protecting 'Dreamers' top priority, O'Rourke says at State of Congress luncheon". El Paso Times. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "O'Rourke addresses needs, concerns related to DACA". El Paso Times. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ O'Rourke, Rep Beto (March 1, 2017). "Thoughts on the joint session of Congress". Rep. Beto O'Rourke. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "Ted Cruz: Beto O'Rourke wants open border and to take guns". @politifact. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Silver, Jonathan (May 3, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke: Zero terror plots at U.S.-Mexico border". @politifact. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/immigration/2018/06/17/beto-orourke-leads-protest-against-separation-immigrant-families-tornillo-tent-city-children/708562002/
- ^ http://ktla.com/2018/06/17/separating-children-from-parents-at-border-is-un-american-and-on-all-of-us-texas-rep-beto-orourke-says/
- ^ "Where do Texas Democrats Stand on Single-Payer Health Care?". The Texas Observer. September 20, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Universal Health Care". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ gevans@news-journal.com, Glenn Evans. "In Longview stop, O'Rourke says he's confident gun measure will pass".
- ^ "Healthcare - Beto for Senate".
- ^ Brian, Higgins, (October 27, 2017). "H.R.4094 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017". www.congress.gov.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Woolf, Nicky (June 23, 2016). "Democrats stream gun control sit-in on Periscope after Republicans turn TV cameras off". the Guardian. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Benson, Eric (December 21, 2017). "Does Beto O'Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz?". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ CNN, Veronica Stracqualursi,. "O'Rourke defends gun control stance in Texas Senate race".
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Tribune, The Texas (February 23, 2018). "We asked all 38 Texans in Congress about gun control after the Florida school shooting. Ten answered".
- ^ Hagen, Lisa. "Russia raises problems for GOP candidates". The Hill. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Panetta, Grace. "A major Democratic Senate candidate just called for Trump's impeachment after his press conference with Putin". Business Insider. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "Public Figures and Organizations That Signed the Pledge". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Svitek, Patrick (September 23, 2017). "O'Rourke praises Pelosi but doesn't want her help in Senate bid". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Moore, Robert (June 10, 2016). "Rep. Beto O'Rourke endorses Hillary Clinton". El Paso Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "U.S. Rep. Robert "Beto" O'Rourke". Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Congressman may have broken ethics rules with Twitter stock purchase". The Denver Post. November 26, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Phillips, Lauren (November 26, 2013). "El Paso congressman's IPO stake in Twitter questioned". Dallas News. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Horwitz, Jeff (May 7, 2015). "Millionaire Florida Congressman flipped shares in IPO despite US law". Business Insider. Associated Press. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ "Congressman Disgorges IPO Stock Profits". Roll Call. November 29, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
External links
- Representative Beto O'Rourke official U.S. House website
- Beto O'Rourke for Senate
- Beto O'Rourke at Curlie
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Beto leading "Bike-To-Work Week"
- (subscription required)The Bloody Border, Time, April 23, 2009
- Lights, Camera, Mayhem!, Texas Observer
- 1972 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American people of Irish descent
- American Roman Catholics
- Columbia University alumni
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- El Paso City Council members
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- People from El Paso, Texas
- Texas Democrats
- Ted Cruz