Terrance John Cox (born July 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the
U.S. representative
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 c ...
for
California's 21st congressional district
California's 21st congressional district (or CA-21) is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. It is located in the San Joaquin Valley and includes Kings County and portions of Fresno, Kern, and Tulare counties. The distric ...
from 2019 to 2021. The son of
Chinese American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
and
Filipino American
Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...
parents, Cox was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, he was defeated in his
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
rematch with
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
David Valadao
David Goncalves Valadao ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American politician and dairy farmer serving as the U.S. representative for California's 22nd congressional district since 2023. His district comprises part of the San Joaquin Valley. A me ...
.
In August 2022, Cox was arrested by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
on 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud.
Early life and career
Cox was born in
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek ser ...
. His father is a
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
professor who immigrated from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and his mother is from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. He received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...
in 1986 and a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
. He started two businesses that process nuts and also managed a community development enterprise.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
Cox previously ran for the
United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
in in the
2006 election, losing to incumbent
George Radanovich
George Purdy Radanovich (born June 20, 1955) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2011. The district includes most of northern Fresno, as well as several rural areas northeast of the city. He did not ...
. In the
2018 elections, Cox again ran for the United States House of Representatives, this time in . Cox began this congressional bid in 2017, competing in
California's 10th district primary race against several other Democratic candidates.
However, Emilio Huerta, the only Democratic challenger in the 21st district, withdrew from the race prior to the filing deadline to appear on the primary election ballot.
Cox withdrew from the 10th district race to instead run in the 21st district against incumbent Representative
David Valadao
David Goncalves Valadao ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American politician and dairy farmer serving as the U.S. representative for California's 22nd congressional district since 2023. His district comprises part of the San Joaquin Valley. A me ...
.
He and Valadao advanced from the June 5 top-two
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
to the November 6 general election.
On election night, and for several days after the election, Valadao had more votes, but Cox's vote count pulled into the lead on November 26. By November 28, major news sources called the race for Cox, with Valadao conceding the race the following week. Cox's victory was considered an upset, as most election forecasters rated Valadao as the favorite. Cox won by a narrow 862 vote margin.
2020
Cox ran for reelection in 2020 against Valadao, whom he beat in 2018.
Cox was criticized for pushing to gain preferential access into
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
over the July 4 weekend. In October 2020, Cox's campaign acknowledged fabricating a
tweet to make it appear as if Valadao had retweeted a message from President Trump saying "California is going to hell. Vote Trump!"
Valadao defeated Cox in the election. The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
called the election for Valadao on November 27, 2020, more than three weeks after the election, and Cox conceded defeat on December 4, 2020. Cox underperformed Biden's near 11 point win margin by about 5 points, leaving Valadao with the most Democratic district of any congressional Republican according to
Cook Political Report
''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...
's
Partisan Voter Index.
2022
Shortly after his loss in the 2020 election, Cox announced his intention to run for the seat again in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. However, on November 17, 2021, Cox endorsed
Rudy Salas
Rudy Salas (born March 12, 1977) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat representing the 32nd Assembly district, which encompasses Kings County and parts of northwestern Kern County. Pri ...
removing himself from the contest.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Agriculture
**
Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
**
Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research
*
Committee on Natural Resources
**
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chair)
**
Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife
Legal troubles
When Cox made an updated financial disclosure in 2019, it was discovered that he had failed to disclose business interests as a candidate in 2018.
It was also discovered that Cox failed to timely pay wages owed to three employees of Constellation Mines, a company where Cox was a director until early 2019.
In January 2020, the IRS placed a tax lien on Cox for approximately $87,000 in unpaid income tax for 2016 and approximately $57,000 in unpaid income tax for 2017. Cox was also subject to a $50,000 IRS tax lien in 2017. In March 2020, Cox voted against a bill that would require members of Congress to disclose tax liens.
In August 2021, state filings revealed that 35% of the spending from Cox's "VoterPAC", created with funds remaining from his campaign, went to MJTJ, LLC, an organization wholly-owned by Cox that was originally created for real estate investments.
VoterPAC was created to engage in voter registration. MJTJ, LLC, was reportedly illegally created for fundraising purposes.
In August 2022, Cox was arrested by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
on 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud. If convicted, Cox faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
[
]
Electoral history
Personal life
Cox has four children with his wife, pediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
Kathleen Murphy.
See also
*
References
External links
Campaign website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, TJ
1963 births
American chemical engineers
California politicians of Chinese descent
American politicians of Filipino descent
California politicians of Filipino descent
Living people
Members of the United States Congress of Chinese descent
Members of the United States Congress of Filipino descent
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Asian-American members of the United States House of Representatives
People from Walnut Creek, California
People from Fresno, California
Southern Methodist University alumni
University of Nevada, Reno alumni