Richard Joel "Rick" Noriega (born January 8, 1958) was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 145 in eastern Houston, first elected in 1998. He was the 2008 Democratic nominee for the United States Senate against one term Republican incumbent John Cornyn. Noriega is married to Melissa Noriega, a member of the Houston City Council, a nominally nonpartisan position, and they have two sons. Noriega is a Mexican American.