Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards (born November 24, 1951), American politician, is the Democratic congressman who has represented a Central Texas district in U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. First elected from the 11th District of Texas, he was elected from the 17th District in 2004 due to the 2003 Texas redistricting. A resident of Waco, his district includes the town of Crawford, which makes him President Bush's Congressman.

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, he was educated at Texas A&M University, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and at Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA.

Edwards was elected to the Texas Senate in 1981, serving until his election to Congress in 1991. In the state Senate, Edwards was considered one of its brightest and hard-working members and was named by Texas Monthly as one of the "Ten Best" legislators during his tenure.

He is a member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committees, the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee (of which he is the ranking member), and the Energy and Water Subcommittee. Edwards is one of only six House members to serve on both the Budget and Appropriations committees.

Starting in the 109th session of Congress, Rep. Edwards is one of only two House Democrats serving on three subcommittees, Military Quality of Life (formerly known as Military Construction), Energy and Water Development and Homeland Security.

After the 2003 Texas redistricting moved him into a district designed for Republican State Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth, Edwards waged a tough campaign and won the 2004 election, by 9,260 votes or approximately a 3.8% margin, making him the only Democratic congressman targeted by the redistricting to win reelection.

Edwards ran for reelection against Republican Van Taylor, a former Marine Corp reservist and Iraq War veteran, and Libertarian Party candidate Guillermo Acosta, an Army veteran, in the 2006 House of Representatives election. Edwards won with an eighteen point margin over Van Taylor.