Quotes from Pete Gallego

I learned long ago you run unopposed, or you run scared.

One of the things in my experience about changing parties: There are very few exceptions to the general rule. And the general rule has been, people are going to invite you into the church, but they are not going to make you a deacon.

In the old way of doing business, it was fine to disagree and then go to dinner. Now it's personal and more partisan, and a disagreement on one issue leads to a disagreement on another issue.

In Mexico, they don't have birth certificates... They don't have registration cards for voters. They have one national ID. We don't have a national ID.

It's important we understand our system seeks justice and not revenge.

Sequestration will make it extremely challenging - and in many cases impossible - for employees to meet their mortgage payments, pay their healthcare expenses, plan for retirement, or help their children attend college. To be blunt, these families are at risk.

Our voting records are not necessarily the same, but, you know, we're all Texans, and at the end of the day, we try to help each other out.

The fact that I am Latino is not a secret. There's not much I can do about that. It is what it is. I think people know that my last name ends in a vowel. What can I tell you?

This is pool. This is setting up your next shot, and I always want to make sure when we're setting up San Antonio's next shot we have a good shot at making sure that we continue to build our infrastructure in such a way that San Antonio will be a player for years to come in national defense issues.

As an incumbent, if you are winning, your commercials are about motherhood and apple pie and the flag.

It's just so unfortunate that, as we get adjusted to this global economy, that the U.S. is even thinking about building walls.

A lawmaker cannot be pro-sequester while also purporting to be pro-national security or supportive of a strong economy.

Congress is more broken than ever. Congressman Will Hurd has quickly become part of the problem.

I like having a battleground district because I think that's real-life America.

PACs don't vote in the district; people do.

Every decision I make in Congress will be centered on the needs of the district.

It was in the best interests of Zavala and other counties that we move forward with a farm bill and provide certainty to ranchers, farmers, food banks, and other providers.

As the polarization in D.C. spreads, the people willing to come to the middle find less and less acceptance.

HB 2 leaves 90% of the children behind. The disconnect between this bill and the basic needs of Texas schoolchildren is appalling.

California - with more cars, more drivers and more people - still has less DWI-related deaths than Texas does.

It's always bothersome when California does something better than Texas.

I have never been in favor of gay marriage, and I am not in favor of gay marriage.

It takes a certain personality to thrive as a member of the House.

There's this fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, and until that fight gets settled - because they're the majority - there's a lot of things that are pretty much on hold.