Richard Peña Raymond is the State Representative for the 42nd District in Texas.

Representative Raymond was born in Alice, Texas and raised in Benavides, Texas. He became involved in politics at a very young age fighting political corruption in his home county of Duval.  Before being elected to the Texas Legislature, he worked for United States Senators Lloyd Bentsen from Texas and Paul Simon from Illinois. He gained further experience in Texas government working for Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro and Texas Railroad Commissioner Bob Krueger.

In 1992, Rep. Raymond first ran for and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, to represent seven rural South Texas counties.

After serving in the Texas House for 6 years, he ran for Texas Land Commissioner.  Two years later, Raymond was again elected to the Texas House of Representatives, this time by the voters of Laredo and has continuously served in the House since.

Rep. Raymond currently serves as Chairman of the Committee on Defense and Veterans Affairs and also as a member of the State Affairs Committee.  Rep. Raymond also served as Chairman of the House Human Services Committee for eight years, as Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and also served on the Ways & Means Committee, Energy Committee, Border and International Affairs Committee and is also currently on the HHSC Transition Legislative Oversight Committee.

Representative Raymond has authored and passed many bills during his career regarding public safety, lower property taxes, job creation, higher and public education, transportation and  health care.  He authored and passed the law that placed the words “In God We Trust” in the Texas House of Representatives Chamber and on Texas License plates.

Representative Raymond received a Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He is a lifelong and die hard Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorns fan!