Gina Ortiz Jones

Gina Ortiz Jones (born February 1, 1981) is an American intelligence officer and politician. She was the 2018 Democratic nominee for Texas's 23rd congressional district, and was narrowly defeated by the incumbent Republican Will Hurd.[1] In May 2019, she launched a second campaign for the office, and in August 2019, Hurd announced that he would not seek another term in 2020.[2][3]

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Ortiz and the surname or paternal family name is Jones.
Gina Ortiz Jones
Personal details
Born (1981-02-01) February 1, 1981
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationBoston University (BA, MA)
United States Army Command and General Staff College (MMAS)
University of Kansas, Lawrence (MA)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service2003–2006
Rank Captain
Battles/warsIraq War

Raised in San Antonio, Texas, Ortiz Jones attended college on a Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship, after which she became a United States Air Force intelligence officer, served in the Iraq War, and eventually reached the rank of captain.

Early life and education

Born on February 1, 1981, in Arlington, Virginia,[4] Ortiz Jones grew up in San Antonio, Texas, as a first-generation American daughter of a single mother, Victorina Ortiz, an Ilocano from Pangasinan, Philippines.[5] Her mother emigrated to the U.S. and earned a teaching certificate.[6]

Ortiz Jones graduated from John Jay High School in 1999.[6] She earned a four-year Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) scholarship,[7] allowing her to enroll at Boston University. In 2003,[8] she graduated with a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies and a master's degree in economics.[8] A lesbian who came out to her mother at 15, Ortiz Jones served under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, where she was at risk of losing her AFROTC scholarship if her sexual orientation was disclosed.[9]

She later earned a master's degree in military arts and sciences at the School of Advanced Military Studies of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.[6]

Career

After graduating from college, Ortiz Jones joined the United States Air Force as an intelligence officer and deployed to Iraq during the Bush Administration.[10] After three years of active duty and reaching the rank of captain, she returned to Texas in 2006, working for a consulting company while caring for her mother, who had colon cancer (from which she eventually recovered).[7][11][12]

Ortiz Jones then returned to working as an intelligence analyst for United States Africa Command in Germany.[6] In 2008, she joined the Defense Intelligence Agency, where she specialized in Latin American topics;[7] ultimately she became a special adviser to the deputy director. In November 2016, she moved to the Executive Office of the President to serve under the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Having previously served under presidents of both parties, Ortiz Jones continued in her role during the Trump administration until June 2017, when she left her role, telling HuffPost, "The type of people that were brought in to be public servants were interested in neither the public nor the service ... That, to me, was a sign that I'm going to have to serve in a different way."[13] She returned to San Antonio to run for Congress,[7][14] living in the house where she grew up.[13]

2018 congressional campaign
Further information: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 23

In 2017, Ortiz Jones was the first Democrat to announce a challenge[14] to Republican Representative Will Hurd in Texas's predominantly Hispanic 23rd congressional district, which includes much of the border between Texas and Mexico.[15] Hillary Clinton won the district by three points in the 2016 United States presidential election[16] and neither party had controlled the congressional seat for more than two consecutive terms since 2007.[17]

Ortiz Jones finished first in the March 6, 2018, Democratic primary,[18] earning 41 percent of the vote in a field of five. Rick Treviño was second with 17.5 percent.[19] As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election was held on May 22, which Ortiz Jones won.[20] She faced Hurd in the November 6 general election, in what was called the most competitive congressional race in the state.[21][22] As of June 30, Ortiz Jones had raised $2.2 million while Hurd had raised $2.4 million in addition to the $1.5 million with which he entered the race. With four months remaining, Ortiz Jones was approaching the district's record for election fundraising by a Democrat ($2.7 million).[23]

Ortiz Jones was endorsed by EMILY's List,[24] the Asian American Action Fund, the Equality PAC,[25] VoteVets, and the LGBTQ Victory Fund, as well as Wendy Davis and Khizr Khan.[13]

Some journalists named Ortiz Jones as part of several "waves" of candidates from various backgrounds running as Democrats in 2018, including women,[16][18] LGBT people,[26][27] and military veterans.[28][29] A March 2018 Teen Vogue article noted that if elected, Ortiz Jones would be "the first openly gay woman of color from Texas elected to Congress, as well as the first Iraq War veteran to represent Texas in Congress. She'd also be the first woman to represent Texas's 23rd Congressional district."[25]

Ortiz Jones said she believed healthcare reform would play a big role in the election.[30] She and Hurd both broke fundraising records.[31][32]

Ortiz Jones lost to Hurd by 1,150 votes and conceded on November 19.[33][34]

2020 congressional campaign
Further information: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 23

In May 2019 Ortiz Jones launched a second campaign for Texas's 23rd congressional district.[2] She has raised over $1 million for her campaign, including $100,000 in the 24 hours following Hurd's August 2019 announcement that he would not seek reelection. In October 2019 The Texas Tribune reported that she was the primary front-runner. In May 2020, former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's Win the Era PAC endorsed Ortiz Jones.[2]

Personal life

Ortiz Jones has a younger sister who is an intelligence officer in the United States Navy.[35] She identifies as an Ilocano, a Filipino ethnolinguistic group.[5]

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References
  1. Esteban Estrada, Jade (May 9, 2018). "Keeping Up with Gina Ortiz Jones, Who Wants to Unseat Congressman Will Hurd". San Antonio Current. Retrieved May 25, 2018. Within the Texas Democratic Party, Jones, 37, says she is attempting to change the conversation of “who can enter into politics and who cannot.”
  2. "Gina Ortiz Jones running again to unseat Texas U.S. Rep. Will Hurd". texastribune.org. May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  3. "Texas Rep. Will Hurd, House's Only Black Republican, Won't Seek Reelection In 2020". NPR.org. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  4. "Candidate Conversation - Gina Ortiz Jones (D)". Inside Elections. December 1, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  5. Pastor, Rene. "Will Gina Ortiz-Jones become the first Filipina American in Congress? | INQUIRER.net". usa.inquirer.net. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  6. Scherer, Jasper (May 10, 2018). "West Side native Gina Ortiz Jones wants to create opportunity in CD 23". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. Malloy, Daniel (February 14, 2018). "This Lesbian Air Force Veteran is Setting Her Eyes on Congress". Ozy. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  8. Brown, Joel (June 18, 2018). "A Different Kind of Texas Candidate". BU Today. Boston University. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  9. Teeman, Tim (May 24, 2018). "Woman, Lesbian, Filipina-American, Iraq Veteran: How Gina Ortiz Jones Could Make Texas Political History". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  10. Ruiz-Grossman, Sarah (June 28, 2018). "These Candidates Could Make History In November". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  11. Rossi, Matt (December 8, 2017). "Female Veterans Lead 2018 Charge". Harvard Political Review. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  12. No One Had to Ask on YouTube
  13. Bendery, Jennifer (January 6, 2018). "She Quit Working For Trump. Now She's Running For Congress To Fight Him". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  14. Svitek, Patrick (August 2, 2017). "U.S. Rep. Will Hurd gets first major Democratic challenger for 2018". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  15. "Women candidates dominated at the polls". CNN. May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  16. Alter, Charlotte (January 29, 2018). "A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office". Time Magazine. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  17. Bendery, Jennifer (May 23, 2018). "Gina Ortiz Jones Wins Democratic Runoff In Texas Congressional Race". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  18. Voorhees, Josh. "Democratic Women Dominated in Texas on Tuesday". Slate Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  19. "Gina Ortiz Jones". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  20. "Former Air Force intelligence officer wins runoff for Texas seat". Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  21. Johnson, Chris (June 20, 2018). "Gina Ortiz Jones could be LGBT face of 2018 Dem victories". Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  22. Schrerer, Jasper (June 14, 2018). "Jones challenges Hurd to six debates in 23rd Congressional District race". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  23. Connolly, Griffin; Connolly, Griffin (July 9, 2018). "Hurd, Democratic Challenger on Pace to Shatter Fundraising Record". Roll Call. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  24. Livingston, Abby (July 9, 2018). "Emily's List gets involved in fifth Texas race for Congress". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  25. Young, Lauren (March 5, 2018). "Gina Ortiz Jones is Running for Texas's 23rd District in March 6 Texas Primary". Teen Vogue. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  26. Kuhr, Elizabeth (June 4, 2018). "Texas sees historic number of LGBTQ candidates running for office". NBC News. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  27. Tumulty, Karen (May 30, 2018). "Opinion | There's an election wave you probably haven't heard of yet — and it's important". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  28. John, Arit (June 27, 2018). "Can a New Generation of Vets Deliver The House to the Democrats?". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  29. Singer, Emily (July 11, 2018). "Female veterans are raking in major cash for their congressional bids". Mic. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  30. "Texas Democrat Takes on Powerful Incumbent Hurd (Audio)". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  31. Connolly, Griffin; Connolly, Griffin (July 9, 2018). "Hurd, Democratic Challenger on Pace to Shatter Fundraising Record". Roll Call. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  32. "Jones reports three-month haul of $1.2 million in bid to unseat Hurd". San Antonio Express-News. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  33. https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/gina-ortiz-jones-concedes-race-to-incumbent-will-hurd
  34. Greenwood, Max. "Ortiz Jones ends House bid against Hurd in Texas". The Hill. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  35. Gustin, Marene (May 3, 2018). "COVER STORY: Breaking Down Borders". OutSmart Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
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