Francisco Canseco

Francisco Raul "Quico" Canseco
U. S. Representative for Texas' 23rd congressional district
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Ciro Rodriguez
Succeeded by	Pete Gallego
Born	July 30, 1949 Laredo Texas, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gloria Canseco (married 1979)
Children	Three children
Residence	San Antonio, Texas
Alma mater	Saint Louis University Saint Louis University School of Law
Occupation	Attorney Banker Real estate developer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Francisco Raul Canseco, known as Quico Canseco (born July 30, 1949), is an attorney, businessman and Republican former U. S. Representative for Texas' 23rd congressional district.

Canseco was born and reared in Laredo in Webb County in south Texas, the eldest of eight children of the former Consuelo Sada Rangel, of Shephardic Jewish descent, and Dr. Francisco Manuel Canseco, an Italian-American. Both parents were born in Monterrey, Mexico,^[1]

Canseco earned a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1972 from the private Roman Catholic Saint Louis University and a Juris Doctorate n 1975 from the SLU School of Law. He is a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon international fraternity. Canseco and his wife, Gloria, have been married since 1979. After living for years in Laredo, the couple relocated to San Antonio. They are Roman Catholics and have three children.^[2]

In 1975, Canseco began his legal career as an attorney with the Laredo firm of Mann, Castillon, Fried and Kazen. Afterwards, he operated his own practice for five years. Then he joined Person, Whitworth, Ramos, Borchers, and Morales also in Laredo, as a participating associate. In 1987, he left that firm to become general counsel at Union National Bank of Texas, at which he remained for five years. From 2003 to 2007, Canseco was counsel to Escamilla and Ponek. From 2001 to 2007, he was the chairman of Texas Heritage Bancshares.

Since 1988, Canseco has been president and director of FMC Developers, which includes Canseco Investments, incorporated in 1993. Working with chairman James William Danner, Sr., Canseco took Hondo National Bank from being a failing institution at one location into a bank with $180 million in assests and four branch banks. Canseco has been the board president since 1995.^[3]

Elections

2004

In 2004, Canseco was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination of Texas' newly redrawn 28th congressional district. In the Republican primary, he and attorney Jim Hopson qualified for a run-off election. Canseco got just 21 percent of the vote, while Hopson got 49 percent (barely missing the threshold to win the primary).^[4] In the run-off election, Hopson defeated Canseco 65 to 35 percent^[5]

2008

In 2008, Canseco was defeated in the primary, 62 to 38 percent, for House District 23 by a Moderate Republican, Lyle Larson, a Bexar County Commissioner and former San Antonio city councilman.^[6][7]

2010

In 2010, Canseco again sought the Republican nomination in House District 23. This time he was successful, 53 to 47 percent, having defeated in a party runoff another Moderate Republican, Will Hurd, an African-American who was formerly employed by the Central Intelligence Agency. In the general election, Canseco faced incumbent liberal Democratic U. S. Representative Ciro Rodriguez, also of San Antonio. The Republican National Committee gave strong financial support to Canseco in an effort to regain the seat for the Republicans. As of October 13, 2010, Rodriguez had raised more cash overall ($1,481,520 versus Canseco's $980,821), but Canseco had more cash on hand ($147,961 versus Rodriguez's $90,915).^[8][9]

Canseco defeated Rodriguez 49 to 44 percent to claim the seat.^[10] In the 2010 campaign, Canseco obtained two loans totaling $88,000 from his family-owned enterprises. The money was taken from a bank account of a subsidiary company with an address in Mexico. He also provided $86,000 in his own funds as a campaign loan. When he ran in 2014, federal regulators audited his campaign funds to see if he had violated the rules on corporate contributions and a longstanding ban on political donations made by foreign nationals, corporations, partnerships, and associations.^[11]

2012

In 2012, former Representative Ciro Rodriguez entered the District 23 U.S. House seat,^[12] but he lost the Democratic primary to State Representative Pete Gallego of Alpine in Brewster County, 55 to 45 percent.^[13]

In the general election of November 6, 2012, Gallego unseated Canseco, 50 to 46 percent. Two minor candidates held the remaining 4.1 percent of the ballots.^[14] The race was contested amid allegations of voter fraud and irregularities.^[15] On November 9, Canseco conceded to Gallego, citing the high costs and lengthy period of time required to contest the election. Although Canseco continued to allege numerous irregularities, he had concluded that "a full investigation and recount would be expensive and time-consuming," considering that the 23rd District embraces all or parts of twenty-nine counties.^[16] Canseco carried the portion of Bexar County, home to more than half of the population of the district's population. However, it was not enough to overcome Gallego's margins in the central and western portions of the district, which also included Gallego's former Texas House seat. Gallego also dominated the heavily Hispanic border areas.

2014

In 2014, Canseco again sought to returns to Congress and polled 10,204 votes (40.4 percent) in the Republican primary on March 4. He finished a close second to Will Hurd, his intra-party rival from 2010. Hurd received 10,348 votes (40.9 percent). The remaining but critical 4,723 votes (18.7 percent) went to a third candidate, Robert Lowry.^[17] In the May 27 runoff election, Hurd handily defeated Canseco, 8,698 votes (59.5 percent) to 5,924 (40.5 percent)^[18] Hurd then unseated the one-term Representative Pete Gallego in the November 4 general election.^[19]

2018

In 2018, Canseco contested the District 21 U.S. House seat vacated by the retiring Republican Lamar Smith. He finished in a multi-candidate field with 4 percent of the ballots cast.^[20] Chip Roy, who carried the backing of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, narrowly won the Republican runoff contest and then the general election on November 6, 2018.

House committee assignments

Canseco in his single term in Congress served on these committees:

• • United States House Committee on Financial Services
  • House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
  • House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Canseco on the issues

Canseco described himself as a "limited-government conservative." He supported restrictions on illegal aliens, the repeal of President Barack H. Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. During the campaign, Canseco openly identified with the Tea Party.^[21]

Canseco was a member of the Republican Study Committee; at the time one of only four Latino members to have served on the panel. He was also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference. In 2012, he delivered the Spanish language version of the Republican response to the State of the Union Address.^[22]

In summer 2011, Canseco was criticized after initially declining to introduce a bill allowing for a swap of land between the U.S. government and Bexar County, Texas. The bill, which was supported by United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and sponsored by the retiring U. S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, expanded the development of the San Antonio River to the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.^[23]

In October 2011, however, Canseco reversed himself and introduced the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act in the House, which mirrored Hutchison's Senate bill.^[24] The legislation would cost roughly $4 million over four years though the land was donated.

In April 2012, while at the San Antonio International Airport, Canseco claimed that he was assaulted by the Transportation Security Administration when an officer "was patting me down where no one is supposed to go." The TSA officer said that he was assaulted by Canseco, but no arrests were made. Canseco advocated for changes in security procedures.^[25]

Canseco reportedly voted with his party 96 percent of the time on all recorded issues.^[26]