A sampling of government graduates who have entered politics:
• The Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison, B.A. 1962, has been U.S. Senator from Texas since 1993 — the first and only woman elected by Texas to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.
• The Hon. Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. 1998, is a three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives currently representing the state’s 28th district in South Texas. Cuellar’s political career began as a member of the Texas House of Representatives in 1987, and in 2001 he became the Texas Secretary of State.
• Paul Begala, B.A. 1983, is a political consultant, former advisor to President Bill Clinton, and former host of CNN’s “Crossfire.”
• Dan Bartlett, B.A. 2000, is president and CEO of Public Strategies, Inc., the business advisory firm headquartered in Austin. Bartlett was previously counselor to President George W. Bush, and is an adjunct faculty member at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
• Kim Wallace, B.A. 1982, was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
• Lance Gooden, B.A. 2004, has won the Republican primary for Texas State Representative for Henderson and Kaufman Counties and, facing no Democratic opponent in the November election, is set to become the youngest member of the Texas House.