Gina Ortiz Jones

Gina Ortiz Jones (born February 1, 1981) is an American Iraq War veteran, intelligence officer, and political candidate. She was the 2018 Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative in Texas's 23rd congressional district, and was narrowly defeated by incumbent Republican Will Hurd. In May 2019 she launched a second campaign for the office.

Raised in San Antonio, Texas, Ortiz Jones attended college on an ROTC scholarship, after which she became a United States Air Force intelligence officer and eventually reached the rank of captain.

Early life and education
Ortiz Jones grew up in Texas as the first-generation American daughter of a single mother, Victorina Ortiz, an Ilocano from Pangasinan, Philippines. Her mother emigrated to the U.S. and earned a teaching certificate.

Ortiz Jones attended John Jay High School, serving on the student council. She earned a four-year Air Force ROTC scholarship, allowing her to enroll at Boston University. In 2003, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies and a master's degree in economics. A lesbian who came out to her mother at 15, Ortiz Jones served under the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell” policy, where she was at risk of losing her ROTC scholarship if her sexual orientation became public knowledge.

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

Career
After graduating from college, Ortiz Jones joined the US Air Force as an intelligence officer and deployed to Iraq under the Bush administration. 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).

Ortiz Jones then returned to working as an intelligence analyst for US Africa Command in Germany. In 2008, she joined the Defense Intelligence Agency, where she specialized in Latin American topics; ultimately she became a special adviser to the deputy director. In November 2016, she moved to the Executive Office of the President (then Barack Obama) to serve under the U.S. 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 the 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." She returned to San Antonio to run for Congress, living in the house where she grew up.

2018 U.S. House of Representatives candidacy
In 2017, Ortiz Jones was the first Democrat to announce a challenge to Republican Representative Will Hurd in Texas's predominantly Hispanic 23rd congressional district, which includes much of the border between Texas and Mexico. Democrat Hillary Clinton won the district by three points in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and neither party has controlled the congressional seat for more than two consecutive terms since 2007.

Ortiz Jones finished first in the March 6, 2018, Democratic primary, earning 41% of the vote in a field of five. Rick Treviño was second with 17.5%. Because no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election was held on May 22, which Ortiz Jones won. She faced Hurd in the November 6 general election, in what was called the most competitive congressional race in the state. 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).

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

Some journalists named Ortiz Jones as part of several "waves" of candidates from various backgrounds running as Democrats in 2018, including women, LGBT people,  and military veterans. 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."

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

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

2020 congressional campaign
In May 2019 Ortiz Jones launched a second campaign for Texas' 23rd congressional district. She has raised over $1 million for her campaign, including $100,000 in the 24-hour period 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.

Personal life
Ortiz Jones has a younger sister who is in the Navy. Like her mother, she identifies as an Ilocano, a Filipino ethnolinguistic group.