Tony Buzbee

Buzbee grew up in Atlanta, Texas, on a farm house with his parents and three siblings.[2] Buzbee earned a B.S. in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center.[3]

He began his legal career as an attorney at Susman Godfrey LLP in Houston. In 2000, he founded the Buzbee Law Firm.

Buzbee appeared on the cover of The New York Times magazine in November 2010 regarding his role in the litigation against BP following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The article described him as "one of the most successful trial lawyers in the country".[6]

In 2002, Buzbee unsuccessfully ran for the Texas state House as a Democrat.[7] From August 2003 to April 2005, Buzbee was chair of the Galveston County Democratic Party.[8]

In 2012, Buzbee supported Rick Perry's presidential campaign with financial support and the use of his private jet. Buzbee also served as one of Perry's debate coaches.[9][10] In 2016, Buzbee hosted a fundraiser at his River Oaks mansion for then presidential candidate Donald Trump. Later on, following the release of the Access Hollywood tape, Buzbee disavowed Trump and stated his intention to write-in veteran Dan Moran for president.[11] Subsequently, Buzbee gave $500,000 to Trump's inauguration committee.[12]

On October 30, 2018, Buzbee announced he would be running in the 2019 Houston mayoral election, challenging incumbent Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner, on a platform of universal pre-K, infrastructure improvement, crime reduction, and expanding access to 5G broadband.[13] Following the November 5, 2019, election Buzbee garnered 28% of the vote, enough to make it into a runoff with Turner who had 47% of the vote in unofficial returns;[14] in the end, Buzbee lost to Turner.

Buzbee married Zoe Benson in 1991 and they have four children together.[15][13] Buzbee and Benson divorced in 2017.[16]

In March 2016, Buzbee was arrested in Harris County on suspicion for driving while intoxicated.[17] In December of the same year, the Harris County District Attorney, Devon Anderson, personally dismissed the case.[18] Controversy ensued when it was revealed that Buzbee completed the year-long probation program in only eight months and had contributed to Anderson's election campaign in 2014.[17][18][19]