Charles Augustine González (born May 5, 1945) is an American Democratic politician from Texas. He represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2013. He served as Chairman of Latinos for Obama and National Co-Chair of President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. Early life, education, and legal career González was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Bertha Marie (née Cuellar) and Henry B. González, who represented the 20th from 1961 until his son took over in 1999. His parents, of Mexican descent, were both Texas-born. Charlie graduated from Thomas A. Edison High School. He received his bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1969, and then later earned his Juris Doctor degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio in 1972. As a youth, he was a Boy Scout in Troop 90 of San Antonio. His father was the Scoutmaster. González served as a technical sergeant in the Texas Air National Guard from 1969 until 1975. He then began practicing law until 1982 when he began rising through the ranks of the court system. He served first as a municipal court judge, then later as a judge in county and then district court, both of which are elected positions. U.S. House of Representatives Elections Henry González, of Texas's 20th congressional district, had long groomed his son to be his successor. When his father didn't seek a full 19th term in 1998, Charlie ran for the seat. In a crowded seven-way Democratic primary, Gonzalez led the field with 44%, missing the 50% threshold to avoid a run-off. In that election, he defeated San Antonio City Councilwoman Maria Antonietta Berriozabal 62%-38%. In the general election, he defeated Republican James Walker 63%-36%. He became only the fourth person to represent the 20th District since its creation in 1935. In fact, Charlie's first race was the first open-seat race in the district's 64-year history. However, he had effectively assured himself of succeeding his father with his primary win. The 20th is a heavily Democratic, majority-Hispanic district; the Republicans have only put up nominal candidates in this district since Henry won it in a 1961 special election. Charlie kept this tradition going. He was re-elected six more times, and never won re-election with less than 63% of the vote. He only faced a Republican challenger three times, in 2004, 2008 and 2010. He