Incumbents Veronica Escobar, Tony Gonzales win reelection to Congress

The two incumbent U.S. representatives for El Paso -- one a Democrat and one a Republican -- are on their way to reelection, according to early voting results which show each with a sizable lead.

In the race for U.S. House District 16, which encompasses the majority of El Paso, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar was well ahead, garnering 65% of the early vote. Her opponent, Republican Irene Armendariz-Jackson, also unsuccessfully challenged Escobar in 2020.

In the race to represent U.S. House District 23, which stretches from east El Paso to San Antonio, Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales was well ahead with 57% of the initial early vote in the district.

In El Paso County, however, Democratic opponent John Lira had 53% of the vote.

A third opponent in the race, independent Frank Lopez Jr., had 6% of the overall vote in the district, including 10% in El Paso County.  

While both candidates in District 16 said the economy was the key issue, their local campaigns mirrored the national partisan divides. Escobar, just like most Democrats, was in favor of abortion rights, was pushing for gun safety legislation and said that comprehensive immigration reform is needed. Meanwhile, Armendariz-Jackson remained focused on national GOP issues, including opposing abortion and any assault weapon bans.

Escobar and Gonzales both outraised their opponents. The national Democratic Party largely ignored the U.S. House District 23 race in favor of more competitive South Texas congressional races. The Texas Legislature redrew District 23’s boundaries last year to make the longtime swing district more winnable for Republicans.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.