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Eddie Rodriguez (politician)

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For the actor, see Eddie Rodriguez.
Eddie Rodriguez
Rodriguez in 2021
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 51st district
In office
January 14, 2003 – January 10, 2023
Preceded byGlen Maxey
Succeeded byLulu Flores
Personal details
Born
Eduardo Rene Rodriguez

(1971-07-01) July 1, 1971 (age 53)
McAllen, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseChristine Rodriguez
Residence(s)Austin, Texas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA, JD)

Eduardo Rene Rodriguez[1] (born July 1, 1971) is an American politician served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives for the 51st district. Elected in November 2002, he assumed office in January 2003 and left office in 2023.

Early life and education

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Rodriguez was born and raised in Rio Grande Valley, where he graduated from McAllen Memorial High School. He studied government at the University of Texas at Austin and earned his Juris Doctor in 2008 from the University of Texas School of Law.

Career

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Before serving in the legislature, Rodriguez was an aide to state representative Glen Maxey.[2]

On February 18, 2020, State Senator Kirk Watson of the 14th Senate district announced his intention to resign.[3] On March 7, 2020, Rodriguez became the first candidate to launch a campaign for the seat.[4] On June 4, 2020, Rodriguez reported to the Texas Ethics Commission that his campaign raised $410,003.64, including donations from Valero PAC ($1,000), Chevron Employees PAC ($1,500), Marathon Oil Company Employees PAC ($2,000), NRG Energy PAC ($2,000), and ONCOR Texas State PAC ($3,500).[5][6] He faced five other candidates in the special election scheduled for July 14, 2020,[7] and finished in a distant second, behind fellow Democrat Sarah Eckhardt.[8]

On November 4, 2021, Rodriguez filed with the Federal Election Commission to declare his candidacy for Texas's 35th congressional district.[9] Rodriguez received criticism after publishing a mailer addressing opponent Greg Casar's efforts to reduce homelessness in Austin.[10][11][12] Rodriguez finished second after Casar in the March 1, 2022 Democratic primary for the seat, receiving 15.6% of the vote to Casar’s 61.3%.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Member profile". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  2. ^ Smith, Amy (4 March 2005). "Looking Like Texas". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  3. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (February 18, 2020). "State Sen. Kirk Watson to retire from Texas Senate". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (March 7, 2020). "State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez becomes first to enter race for Senate District 14". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ^ "Candidate/Officeholder Campaign Finance Report, Texas Ethics Commission" (PDF). Texas Ethics Commission. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  6. ^ Martin, Ken (2020-06-18). "Donors gave big bucks to Democrats in SD 14 election". The Austin Bulldog. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  7. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (May 13, 2020). "Six candidates, including two well-known Democrats, file in special Texas Senate election to replace Kirk Watson". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sarah Eckhardt wins special election for Texas Senate seat after Rep. Eddie Rodriguez forgoes a runoff". 27 July 2020.
  9. ^ "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1547140". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  10. ^ "Rodriguez Goes on Offense Against Homeless Camping in Democratic Primary". The Texas Observer. 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  11. ^ Sanders, Austin (January 29, 2022). "Rodriguez Attacks Casar Over Homelessness Policy". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  12. ^ "Austin American-Statesman". www.statesman.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  13. ^ Livingston, Abby (2022-03-02). "Greg Casar wins Democratic primary for Austin and San Antonio area congressional seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  14. ^ "Texas 35th Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. 2022-03-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
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