Henry Roberto Cuellar (born September 19, 1955) is the U.S Representative for Texas's 28th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district extends from the Rio Grande to the suburbs of San Antonio, including Guadalupe County and nearby Wilson County.

Outside of politics, he has served as a professor at the Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) in Laredo, TX. The son of migrant workers who never made it past the fifth grade, Cuellar has positioned himself as a strong advocate for education and has often described himself as “the most degreed member of Congress,” having earned an A.D., a Bachelor's in Foreign Service, a Master's in International Trade, and a law degree and Ph.D. in government. Two schools in Laredo are named for him.

Cuellar was born in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in southern Texas, where he has resided most of his life. Cuellar's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Cuellar, Sr., were migrant workers who never completed schooling beyond the fifth grade. He is the oldest of eight children. His brother, Martin Cuellar, Jr., is the sheriff of Webb County, having been elected in 2008 over the incumbent fellow Democrat Rick Flores. A sister, Rosie Cuellar-Castillo, is the Laredo municipal judge, having won a nonpartisan runoff election held on December 11, 2010.

Rajiv “Raj” Shah (born March 9, 1973) is an American politician who is the currently the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He was confirmed by the Senate on December 24, 2009, replacing acting chief Alonzo Fulgham. In this capacity, he has led USAID in efforts to provide relief to the earthquake victims in Haiti and to flood victims in Pakistan.

Prior to his appointment at USAID, Shah worked in a range of leadership roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation including Director of Agricultural Development, Director of Financial Services, leader of the Strategic Opportunities initiative and manager of the Foundation’s $1.5 billion commitment to the Vaccine Fund. He also came up with the idea for the International Finance Facility for Immunization to transform the global system of vaccine financing, and worked to secure donor commitments of more than $5 billion for this facility. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Shah was a health care policy advisor on the Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000 and a member of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's transition committee on health.

Kenneth Michael "Mike" Conaway, (born June 11, 1948) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 11th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is located in West Texas and includes Midland, Odessa, San Angelo, Brownwood and Fredericksburg.

Conaway was born in Borger in the Texas Panhandle northeast of Amarillo. He graduated in 1966 from Permian High School in Odessa in Ector County. He is a 1970 graduate of East Texas State University (since renamed Texas A&M University–Commerce). He is married to Suzanne Conaway and has four children.^{[citation needed]}

Conaway served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972, was an accountant and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1974, chief financial officer at a bank, and from 1981 to 1986 was the chief financial officer of Arbusto Energy Inc, an oil and gas exploration firm operated by George W. Bush.

Soon after Bush was elected governor of Texas, he appointed Conaway to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, which regulates accountancy in Texas. He served on the board as a volunteer for seven years, the last five as chairman.^{[citation needed]}

William "Bill" Press (born 1940) is a US talk radio host, political commentator and author. He was chair of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996.

Press has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Niagara University and Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg. He started his broadcasting career in Los Angeles for TV stations KABC-TV and KCOP-TV. He has worked as a political commentator for CNN and MSNBC. He is best known for co-hosting CNN's Spin Room opposite Tucker Carlson, and Crossfire and MSNBC's Buchanan and Press.

Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. Press also contributes blogs to the online version of Washington, D.C.'s nonpartisan newspaper, The Hill. In January 2012, Press filled in for Keith Olbermann on Current TV's coverage of the Florida GOP primary elections.

Press was the chair of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996. He has previously served in different appointed positions such as a chief of staff to Republican California State Senator Peter Behr from 1971 to 1973, and as director of the California Office of Planning and Research under Democratic Governor Jerry Brown from 1975 to 1979.