Beth Van Duyne Bio
Elizabeth Ann Van Duyne (born November 16, 1970) is an American politician serving as the United States Representative for Texas’s 24th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as mayor of Irving, Texas, from 2011 to 2017 and was a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration. Her political work has focused on suburban Dallas–Fort Worth issues, local governance, and housing policy.
Before entering Congress, Van Duyne built a career that bridged municipal leadership and federal housing oversight. She has become a recurring voice in debates over election integrity, immigration, and federal spending. The Atlantic has described her as the new face of Trumpism in Texas.
Early Life and Background
Elizabeth Ann Van Duyne was born on November 16, 1970, in Albany, New York, and grew up in Amsterdam, New York, until the age of seven. Her family later lived in Cooperstown before relocating to Irving, Texas, in 1986. Growing up across upstate New York communities and later in the Dallas–Fort Worth region shaped her early interest in local government and community development.
She graduated from the Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, before attending Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. At Cornell, she earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with concentrations in city and regional planning, government, and law. Her coursework in planning and public policy laid the foundation for her later roles in zoning, housing, and municipal administration.
Path to US Politics
Van Duyne entered elected office at the local level in Irving, Texas, where she became dissatisfied with a Democratic city council member, Herbert Gears, over his handling of a zoning case in her neighborhood. She challenged Gears in the 2004 election and won a seat on the Irving City Council. Her early success established her as a persistent political figure in city hall, where she served until 2010.
After stepping down from the council, Van Duyne ran for mayor of Irving in 2011, defeating Gears, who had become mayor in 2005. She won a rematch against him in 2014, demonstrating sustained voter support across multiple election cycles. Her tenure as mayor included high-profile fights over religious liberty, immigration, and public safety, and she did not seek a third term in 2017.
Beth Van Duyne Career
Early Career (2004–2010)
Van Duyne’s first major political victory came in 2004, when she unseated incumbent Irving City Council member Herbert Gears. Her campaign focused on local zoning and neighborhood concerns, and the win launched her municipal career. She served on the council for six years, building a record on land use and community issues.
During her council years, Van Duyne became a familiar face in Irving civic life and laid the groundwork for a future run at the mayor’s office. She stepped down from the council in 2010 to prepare for that campaign.
Breakthrough (2011–2017)
Van Duyne won the 2011 Irving mayoral election, defeating Gears, and won a rematch in 2014, becoming one of the most visible local leaders in the Dallas–Fort Worth suburbs. In 2015, she pushed for a city council resolution supporting a Texas bill to ban foreign or Sharia law, and defended the Irving Police Department and a local high school after 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to class. She was briefly named a co-defendant in a defamation suit brought by Mohamed’s father, but a judge dismissed her from the case under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, and the entire suit was later thrown out for lack of evidence of discrimination.
In February 2017, Van Duyne announced she would not seek a third term as mayor. Months later, in May 2017, President Donald Trump appointed her as a regional administrator for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseeing Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas. She left HUD in 2019 to run for Congress after Representative Kenny Marchant announced his retirement.
Republican Era (2021–Present)
Van Duyne received President Trump’s endorsement in early 2020 and won the Republican primary for Texas’s 24th congressional district with about 65% of the vote. In the November 2020 general election, she defeated Democrat Candace Valenzuela, 48.8% to 47.5%, even as Joe Biden carried the district by five points. She has since won reelection, defeating Jan McDowell in 2022 and Sam Eppler in 2024 with roughly 60% of the vote.
In the House, Van Duyne has been an active member of the Republican caucus. She was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election by objecting to Pennsylvania’s electors on January 7, 2021. She voted against the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022, sponsored the American Tech Workforce Act of 2021 to reform the H-1B visa program, and was among 71 Republicans who voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. In March 2024, she was named to the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team.
Notable Events and Milestones
Van Duyne’s 2015 defense of Irving officials during the Ahmed Mohamed clock incident drew national attention and a brief defamation lawsuit that was later dismissed. Her narrow 2020 victory over Candace Valenzuela, despite the district tilting toward Biden, marked a high-profile suburban win for Texas Republicans. Following 2021 redistricting, her district became roughly 20 points more Republican, helping fuel her growing margins in 2022 and 2024.
Beth Van Duyne Career Wins
Beth Van Duyne’s electoral record spans two decades, beginning with a city council upset in 2004 and continuing through three congressional victories by 2024. She has consistently won in suburban North Texas by emphasizing public safety, economic growth, and opposition to federal mandates she views as overreaching.
Congressional Highlights
Van Duyne has won three races for Texas’s 24th congressional district. In 2020, she defeated Democrat Candace Valenzuela by roughly 1.3 percentage points, 48.8% to 47.5%, in one of the most-watched suburban races in the country. She went on to defeat Democrat Jan McDowell in 2022 with 59.75% of the vote and Democrat Sam Eppler in 2024 with about 60%, as redistricting made the seat considerably more Republican.
Other Wins & Achievements
Before Congress, Van Duyne won the 2011 Irving mayoral race against Herbert Gears and a 2014 rematch with him. She was also named a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2017, overseeing five states, and was added to the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in 2024.
Beth Van Duyne Family
Family Background and Public Service
Van Duyne was raised in upstate New York before her family moved to Irving, Texas, in 1986. Her upbringing across two very different regions informed her interest in local government and shaped the policy priorities she has carried into office.
Personal Life
Van Duyne met her former husband, Chris “Casey” Wallach, while they were both attending Cornell University. The couple married in 1995, had two children, and divorced in 2012 after 17 years of marriage. In 2024, she confirmed she was in a relationship with Georgia congressman Rich McCormick. Van Duyne is an Episcopalian and resides in Irving, Texas.