is the four times elected Dallas County Sheriff of Dallas, a former US Army Captain and former federal investigator. She is also the Lesbian grandchild of Mexican immigrants, a candidate who owed $12,000 in real estate taxes when she began her campaign.
Colin Allred brings to the table a life transformed by his reading Barack Obama's Dreams of My Father. He was moved by the experiences of a man like him -- a mixed race child raised by his white, single mom, confronting his aspirations and his identify. He changed his career interest from medicine to public service. His first career interest, though, was football. He played outside linebacker for the Tennessee Titans for five years. After law school at the University of California, his legal focus was civil rights.
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher is a tough, colorful, corporate lawyer. Her firm describes her as someone who wins cases. She has progressive positions on every issue except unions. Her law firm has opposed unions for corporations, which she does not disavow.
Ortiz Jones grew up poor. She was raised in public housing by her single mother, an immigrant from the Philipines. She became Director of Investment for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under President Obama and, briefly, under President Trump. She has attracted a national following. If this were a special election, she would be the next big thing.
Joseph Kopser volunteered to serve in Iraq. Convinced the Bush administration did not have a plan to succeed there, he hoped to be part of a plan that would succeed. He helped organize elections to replace the old regime. Those elections were not a solution. Genuine elections turned out to be impossible. So he sought combat. He joined the First Cavalry Division, fought, and lost friends in Iraq and Afghanistan. He carried on, dismayed with America's leadership in the war. When he returned home and to civilian life, he co-founded a technology company (for commuter navigation), served as CEO, sold it to Daimler Benz. Not long after that, he turned to politics.
Beto O'Rourke is just plain interesting as a candidate for the US Senate. He's not a liberal Democrat or a conservative one. He favors infrastructure, supported rebuilding downtown El Paso, and was accused of ties to his father-in-law's construction plans. In Congress, he has urged reconsideration of the War on Drugs and supports the legalization of marijuana. He has proposed legislation supporting children in foster care and education for veterans. He not only pressed for a vote on modest gun control legislation, but joined the Democratic sit-in to attempt to force a vote. When the Republican leadership turned off C-SPAN's coverage of the sit in, BetoO'Rourke was one of two congressmen to transmit cellphone videos to C-SPAN so it could continue coverage.