Noriega narrowly avoided a runoff election by receiving 51 percent of the vote in the March 4, 2008 Democratic primary. His opponents were Gene Kelly (a perennial candidate), Ray McMurrey, and Rhett Smith. Prior to the filing deadline, trial attorney Mikal Watts withdrew from his bid for the Democratic nomination on October 23, 2007.[11] Noriega faced Republican incumbent John Cornyn, who outraised him financially and who received 81 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, in the November 4 general election.[12] Noriega was ultimately defeated by Cornyn in the general election.
Personal life
Noriega is a Mexican American the father of two sons, and grandfather to 1 granddaughter, and 1 great granddaughter.[13]
Noriega proposed a comprehensive plan to help struggling families keep their homes during the 2008 economic downturn, focusing on revamping bankruptcy law, increased funding of counseling for struggling homeowners, and a tax credit of $2000 for homeowners who refinance into a fixed-rate loan. He also proposed funding to allow homeowners to refinance into FHA (Federal Housing Administration) backed loans, which generally provide lower rates of interest than private commercial loans.
Domestic security and immigration
Noriega served the National Guard as commander of the Laredo sector during Operation Jump Start, which deployed approximately 18,000 Guardsmen to the US/Mexico border in 2006 to provide increased border security until an improved immigration reform package could be approved on Capitol Hill. Noriega focused on curtailing human trafficking and drug smuggling at the border, and called for more advanced surveillance technology to be deployed at the border as well as for more Guardsmen to be deployed there. Noriega opposed the use of a border fence to curb illegal immigration and trafficking.[14]
Noriega also authored HB 2546, a bill passed by the Texas legislature that restricts the sale of ammonium nitrate in order to prevent its use in criminal or terrorist activity such as the Oklahoma City bombing.[15]
Post-Senate race activities
In 2011 Noriega, then a colonel, was named commander of the Texas National Guard's 71st Theater Information Operations Group.[16]
Noriega was selected for promotion to brigadier general in 2013[17] and assigned as Assistant Division Commander—Support for the 36th Infantry Division.[18] He then served as the Assistant Adjutant General-Army for the Texas National Guard. Noriega retired effective January 31, 2018, and received an honorific promotion to major general on the state's retired list of National Guard officers.
In his civilian career Noriega was Chief Executive Officer of the Ronald McDonald House Houston, a non-profit organization that offers a home away from home for critically ill children receiving treatment and care in the Texas Medical Center. Effective September, 2020, Noriega became the Chief Information Officer for Harris County, Texas, the third most populous county in the United States.[19]
↑ "Political People and their Moves." Texas Weekly. Retrieved on November 22, 2011. "In focus groups for his campaign, it wasn't uncommon to hear inquiries about how to pronounce "Noriega" and people saying they wouldn't be voting for him if he called himself "Mexican-American" instead of plain ol' American."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
