Patty Garcia, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s chief of staff, is being thrust into the spotlight.
The Democratic congressman surprised many this week by deciding not to seek reelection next year — and quickly shifted his political organization’s resources to helping Patty Garcia, 40, take his place. In interviews, Chuy Garcia has said he made the decision not to run last week, leaving his team to collect 2,500 signatures for his chief of staff over the weekend, ahead of Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Patty Garcia plans on kicking off her congressional campaign, alongside friends and supporters, next week. And while she’s respected by her peers and in the Latino community, she will have to address criticism over the last-minute maneuver that led to her being on the ballot. The controversial move prompted 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez to explore a run for the 4th Congressional District as an independent candidate.
And if Democrats decide to craft new legislative maps, the race to succeed Chuy Garcia may grow even more complicated.
Here’s what we know about Patty Garcia so far.
Patty Garcia, no relation to the congressman, became Chuy Garcia’s chief of staff and district director in February 2023. She had served as district director since he entered Congress in January 2019.
She previously served as the vice president of programs and operations for the Latino Center for Leadership Development, where she oversaw the training of Latino and Black candidates seeking policy roles. With the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, she worked with prominent Latino elected officials throughout the country. She also worked as a deputy director with NALEO’s Educational Fund, which trained Latino policymakers.
Patty Garcia graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2011 with a focus on Latina/o studies. She also earned a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies at U of I.
She was born and raised in the 4th Congressional District and now lives in Cicero. Her job with Chuy Garcia led her back home, after spending time in Washington, D.C., and Texas. Patty Garcia helped train several Texas House Democrats who came to Chicago in August to deny Republicans a quorum needed to approve new maps to expand the state’s GOP congressional majority.
She has not commented publicly about her campaign.
A required Patty Garcia for Congress statement of organization was filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.