Cesar Blanco

César Jose Blanco is an American Politician who is currently serving as a member of the Texas Senate.

César Blanco
Member of the Texas Senate from the 29th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2021
Preceded by	José R. Rodríguez
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 76th district
In office January 13, 2015 – January 12, 2021
Preceded by	Naomi Gonzalez
Succeeded by	Claudia Ordaz Perez
Personal details
Born	April 23, 1976
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Texas at El Paso (BA)
Occupation	Consultant
Website	https://www.cesarfortexas.com

Early life and Education

Blanco was raised in El Paso by a single mother and graduated from Eastwood High School. Before perusing a college education, Blanco served in the U.S. Navy as a missile stinger gunner and military intelligence analyst.[1] With the help of the G.I. Bill, he attended the University of Texas at El Paso and graduated with a B.A. in political science with a minor in history.[2]

Career

Blanco's work in politics began when he worked for U.S. Congressman Sivestre Reyes as a caseworker and field representative.

He then served as chief of staff to U.S. Representatives Pete Gallego and Ciro Rodriguez, from Texas's 23rd congressional district. He also worked as a Congressional Relations Officer for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.[1]

In February 2016, he was named Political Director of the Latino Victory Project, becoming the group's interim president later that year.[3][4]

Texas House of Representatives

In 2014, Blanco ran for the Texas House 76th seat and won. He ran unopposed and was reelected in 2016 and in 2018.

For two terms, Blanco served as the whip for the House Democratic Caucus. While for all three of his terms he served as Chairman of the Texas House Border Caucus and was a member of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and LGBTQ Caucus.[2][5] In 2017, Blanco served as the Vice-Chair on the House Committee on Defense and Veterans' Affairs.[6]

In 2015, Texas Monthly named him one of the best Texas legislators of the year.[7]

Texas Senate

In 2020, Blanco defeated republican candidate and small business owner Bethany Hatch to be elected to the Texas Senate seat for the 29th District. He was elected with 176,360 votes or 67.3% of the total vote.[8]

In an October 2020 interview with the El Paso Times, Blanco cited public and higher education, healthcare, and infrastructure as his top three priorities.

Blanco serves on Senate Committee on Health & Human Services; Higher Education; Transportation; Veteran Affairs & Border Security.[9]

References

1. "Cesar Blanco" (PDF). Legislative Reference Library of Texas. 24 February 2017.
2. "Questionnaire: Cesar Blanco, candidate for Texas Senate, District 29". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
3. Schladen, Marty (February 25, 2016). "Blanco takes political reins of Latino group". El Paso Times. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
4. Gamboa, Suzanne (June 6, 2016). "Latino Victory Project President to Work For Clinton". NBC News. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
5. "Members". TX LGBTQ CAUCUS. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
6. "Legislative Reference Library | Committees | Committee overview". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
7. "THE BEST: Representative César Blanco". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
8. "Texas State Senate District 29". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
9. "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Member profile". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-31.

External links

• Campaign website
• Legislative page
• César Blanco at the Texas Tribune