Texas Primary: Filipina American tops Congressional race but faces runoff

ORTIZ JONES CAMPAIGN

Gina Ortiz Jones spoke to a Filipino/American group during her Congressional campaign.

(Editor's Note: Updated March 7 9 a.m. PST with final vote tally.)

IN HER FIRST bid for office, Gina Ortiz Jones showed that she can be a formidable candidate by easily winning the March 6 Democratic primary for the 23rd Congressional District in Texas.

The Filipina/American, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, got 18,382 votes besting  her nearest rival, Rick Tevino who garnered 7,748 votes.

Although she got the most votes of the five Democrats running for the office, she received only 41.5% of the vote, more than double the votes that went to Trevino, who got 17.5% of the votes. That means that Jones and Trevino will face off on May 22 to determine who will run against the incumbent Republican, Rep. Will Hurd.

"We’ve run the campaign we knew we needed to run from day one, a campaign that reflects the priorities of this district,” Jones told the San Antonio Express-News. “We will keep talking about the ways we will fight for this district.”

“There are a lot of things that point in that direction,” she said about Hurd’s vulnerability.

The district, which has a nearly even partisan split, will be among the most closely watched in the country this year, with Democrats needing a net gain of 24 seats to regain control of the U.S. House.

In Texas' District 23, Democrats came out in force Tuesday, which should worry Hurd. The total number of Democratic voters was about 42,000 and Republicans turned out around 30,000. If the voters come out in similar numbers in November, the district could flip in favor of the Democrats.

RELATED: Texas Filipina American running for Congress

Hurd, a former CIA operative, easily beat back challenger Alma Arredondo-Lynch. He has a sizeable war chest to help him in his reelection bid this November.

If victorious in November, Jones woud become the first openly lesbian Asian/American representatives in Congress. She would also become the first Filipina to gain a House seat.

District 23 is a giant district, about the size of New Jersey, spanning from San Antonio in the south to El Paso in the north and including hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. It has long been considered one of the country’s most competitive districts. 

With a large Mexican/American population, immigration is a big issue, which could play in Jones favor, whose mother, an immigrant from the Philippines, raised her two daughter on her own.

Like many first-time candidates this cycle, Ortiz Jones was inspired to run with the election of Donald Trump. “The [2016 presidential] election...gave me a gut check, as a woman, as a veteran, as a member of the LGBT community,” Ortiz Jones says.

“I did serve in [the Trump administration] for five and a half months, but it became increasingly clear, personally and professionally, that I was going to have to serve in a different way,” she says.

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Help make your parents become U.S. citizens

Rep. Gene Wu in the Texas House of Representative

By Rep. Gene Wu
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF NEW AMERICA MEDIA
LIKE MILLIONS of other immigrant families, my family came to this country with not much more than the change in our pockets. Born in Guangzhou, China, I was four years old when we moved to the United States. I grew up in southwest Houston, where I now have the honor of serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

While my family’s specific story may differ, our experiences echo those of other immigrants. Our fathers suffered long and brutal days working for little money in jobs that didn’t respect their intelligence or education. Our mothers scrimped and sacrificed to make ends meet, and to give us the best education possible. Our parents endured the physical hardships, endured the insults of people strange to them, and continued demeaning jobs because they believed in something better. Something better for us.

Over the decades, hard work and perseverance has lifted our family into middle class. Today, I am an attorney and state representative in one of the most diverse cities in America. Our family’s story is the story of immigrant families repeated countless times across the United States. Today, our families run successful businesses, employ millions of people, and we have a lifestyle envied by the entire world. We owe a debt of gratitude to our parents that is often unsaid, but felt deeply in the bonds of our families.

There is one perfect way to pay our parents back: give them power, give them respect, give them voice. Help them become citizens, and take them to vote.

In the nine years that I have been a volunteer with our monthly Citizenship and Immigration Forum, I have meet thousands of eligible people who have lived in this nation for decades without applying for citizenship. Some didn’t know that the law only required that they have a Green Card for five years, some never applied out of complacency. But, no matter the reason, the result has been that millions of immigrants are forgoing citizenship. 

Citizenship means respect. As a citizen, you are a formal member of American society. You are able to vote and direct our democracy. You are able to enjoy the benefits and respect of being a citizen. You can look that one guy in the eyes and, when he asks you where you’re from for the third time, you just say: “the United States of America.” 

Citizenship is voice. None of the horrible things that have been said about immigrants in this election year are new. They were said to our parents’ faces, and whispered behind our backs. The difference is that it’s now being said at a national level. Voting is a way to yell back at those who mock and demean us. While your voice may not feel very loud on its own, when enough people are shouting, it starts adding up. Voting will give your immigrant community political power that is far greater than its physical presence.

I come from a culture where, even as an elected official, my parents cautioned me not to “rock the boat.” But, America is a nation where no one will address your community’s issues unless you are willing to create some waves. I and many other officials from immigrant communities would not have been elected without the help of voters from those communities. The only effective way to combat those who attack our communities is by voting. We must elect people who hear our voices, and are willing to engage in our causes.

In honor of Citizenship Day, Sept. 17, organizations across the country and collaborations like the New Americans Campaign are hosting workshops to provide free and low-cost help to those applying for citizenship. If your parents have not been naturalized to become U.S. citizens, ask them why. Find a citizenship workshop near you where you can get help applying. Push them to fill out the forms. Help them get it in the mail. If you and your family are already citizens, make sure you’re registered to vote. Then take them to vote this fall. Tell them it’s time for them to speak up and be respected, be powerful, and be heard. They have built a wonderful life in America; help them stand proud.

Gene Wu is a member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 137 in Houston. This column is part of a series of op-eds by public officials about citizenship, published by New America Media in collaboration with the national, nonpartisan network New Americans Campaign. For more information about upcoming citizenship workshops near you, go to: newamericanscampaign.org/events.

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