James Cargas is an American energy attorney, and was the Democratic nominee in the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

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United States House of Representatives election in Texas' 7th Congressional District. He is a life-long Democrat. He had the highest vote percentage (44% in 2016, opposing

John Culberson John Abney Culberson (born August 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2019. A Republican, he served in in large portions of western Houston and surrounding Har ...

) of any Democrat in Texas Congressional District 7 between 1964 and 2018. Cargas ran for the Democratic nomination in District 7 again in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

but lost the primary to

Lizzie Fletcher Elizabeth Ann Fletcher (née Pannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Texas. A Democrat, she represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes much of western Houston ...

. In 2018, Democrat

defeated Culberson by a 52.3% to 47.7% margin.

Early life and career

In 1989 after graduating from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with a double major in English and Communications, James Cargas became the Deputy Press Secretary to

David Bonior David Edward Bonior (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Dem ...

, then Member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Michigan's 12th Congressional District. In 1992, he graduated from the

American University Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of no ...

where he served as President of the Environmental Law Society and Articles' Editor o
The American University Journal of International Law and Policy
Upon graduation, he worked first in a large law firm and later as environmental counsel to a major interstate pipeline company. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, Washington DC, Michigan and West Virginia. He left the private sector and joined the

Clinton White House Bill Clinton's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 42nd president of the United States began with First inauguration of Bill Clinton, his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democ ...

and the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. Cargas, Clinton, Papageorgiou

After leaving the White House to work on the Al Gore Presidential primary campaign in Washington DC, Iowa and Texas, Cargas rejoined the administration as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Department of Energy in th
Office of Fossil Energy
under Secretary of Energy

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was also the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary ...

. He also served as the Energy Department's liaison to the President's Southwest Border Task Force. He was awarded the Exceptional Service Award of the Department of Energy He permanently moved to Houston and became Deputy Director of the non-profit organizatio
North American Energy Standards Board
After three years, he returned to private practice where he represented several startup companies in the energy marketing,

directional drilling Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dire ...

, and other industries. In 2008,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Mayor Bill White hired Cargas as the Senior Assistant City Attorney for Energy of the

City of Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

responsible for advising the Mayor on all aspects of energy procurement and energy transactional matters. Today, he works for Mayor Sylvester Turner in the same function and also advises the City on contract, environmental, renewable energy, real estate and regulatory matters. Cargas is a founding member of th
Oil Patch Democrats
a Texas-based political organization promoting "realistic energy policy" and Democratic candidates. Cargas is married t
Dr. Dorina Papageorgiou
a

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

2012 Congressional Election

Cargas ran in the 2012 election for the United States House of Representatives, in Texas' 7th Congressional District. He won the Democratic nomination for Texas' 7th Congressional District after a contested primary. Cargas received 36.43% of the vote against incumbent

(R) in the general election on November 6, 2012. He has been endorsed by the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

The National Herald ''The National Herald'' is an English-language weekly newspaper, based in New York City, focusing on the Greek-American community. It was founded in 1997 and added a website in 2004. Its headquarters are in the Long Island City Long Island Cit ...

, NEO Magazine, and

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...

The Texas House of Representatives district maps were the subject of courtroom battles in the lead up to the 2012 election. Although the federal court rejected maps drawn by the State Legislature due to racial discrimination, the final court-appointed maps included several of the original boundaries at the request of the Texas attorney general. The 7th District lost Memorial Park, Montrose, Spring Branch and Rice University to the 2nd District. Cargas campaigned on a platform consisting of the following central issues: * Increasing federal funding for science and biotechnology. His positions are included in Research!America. * Comprehensive national energy policy * Protecting social safety nets * Protecting women’s rights * Enacting comprehensive immigration reform * Supporting public transportation

2014 Congressional Election

Cargas won the Democratic nomination in the 2014 Democratic Primary for Texas' 7th Congressional District with 62.2% of the vote following a
endorsement by the Houston Chronicle
In the general election on November 4, 2014 Cargas received 34.55% of the vote against incumbent John Culberson (R).

2016 Congressional Election

Cargas ran again in Texas' 7th Congressional District in 2016. Cargas garnered the highest vote percentage (44%) of any Democrat in Texas 7 since 1964, though he did so while losing a district that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton simultaneously carried in her unsuccessful bid for the presidency.

2018 Congressional Election

Cargas ran again in Texas' 7th Congressional District in 2018, but was defeated in the Democratic Primary.

References

External links

Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cargas, James 1966 births Living people Lawyers from Detroit Texas Democrats University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Lawyers from Houston People associated with renewable energy Politicians from Houston