She didn’t win the election, but now with President Joe Biden in the White House, she has been nominated for a role in his administration to be the undersecretary of the Air Force.
Jones’ career has largely been spent in the national security sector, having worked as an intelligence officer in the Air Force and then later as the director for investment at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under the Obama administration.
In 2018, Jones narrowly lost an election by less than 1,000 votes against Will Hurd, then the Republican incumbent of the large border district that stretches from San Antonio to El Paso.
The following year, Jones announced that she would be running for the seat again, but shortly thereafter, Hurd announced his retirement from Congress.
Jones spent $7 million throughout the 2019-2020 election cycle, more than twice the amount of her eventual Republican opponent, Tony Gonzales.
But in the 2020 election, Gonzales won the seat against Jones by a wider margin than his predecessor, with 51 percent compared to Jones’ 47 percent of the vote.
With border counties swinging more toward Republicans in recent years and the upcoming redistricting that will likely shore up GOP support in competitive seats, Jones’ chances of winning the seat are shrinking.
If her nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Jones’ return to the Pentagon could signal her withdrawal from Texas politics for the foreseeable future.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
