The Texas State Capitol Building, Dec. 18, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
With the Texas primary election just three months away, candidates seeking seats in the Texas Legislature have begun campaigning in earnest across the Austin area.
Travis County voters will choose among nearly two dozen candidates vying for six Texas House on the March 3 primary ballot.
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Rep. Sheryl Cole, D – Austin, speaks at a news conference with members of the House Democratic Caucus at the Capitol Monday January 13, 2025.
Jay Janner/American-Statesman
The region’s lone state Senate seat will not appear on the ballot in 2026. Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat whose term does not expire until 2028, recently announced a bid for Texas comptroller after abandoning plans to challenge longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul.
Three incumbent Democrats — Reps. Donna Howard, Lulu Flores and Sheryl Cole — are seeking re-election to the Texas House without facing primary opposition.
Howard and Flores each have a single Republican challenger in November, while Cole will run unopposed in both the primary and general election.
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The most competitive contests are in districts where incumbents are stepping aside to pursue higher office.
In Central Austin’s House District 49, eight Democrats have filed for a chance to replace Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who is running for governor. No Republican candidates entered the race for the heavily Democratic seat.
Texas Reps. Gina Hinojosa, left, Donna Howard, Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, listen to speakers during the Fight The Trump Takeover Rally at the Texas State Capitol on Thursday. Several hundred gathered to protest against President Donald Trump’s request for redistricting in Texas before proceeding inside to give public comment.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Just north of that district, seven Democratic candidates are competing in House District 50, currently represented by Democrat James Talarico. The seat was previously held by Democrat Celia Israel for more than a decade and has drawn one Republican candidate.
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Read More: Here are the major candidates running in Texas and Austin in the 2026 midterm
Talarico is running for the U.S. Senate in a Democratic primary race that has already attracted national attention.
The American-Statesman combed through campaign filings and websites to compile information on each candidate. For those who do not have websites, the newspaper requested written statements on campaign priorities.
House District 47
For the past four years, Pooja Sethi has served as chief of staff to Rep. Vikki Goodwin, the Democrat who flipped the West Austin district in 2018. With Goodwin leaving the House to run for lieutenant governor, Sethi is seeking the seat as a Democrat.
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On her campaign website, Sethi says raising a child in Texas motivated her to run. She has criticized the Legislature’s response to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting and the state’s new school voucher system, which allows Texas families to use public funds to pay for private education.
If elected, Sethi said one of her top priorities would be to fully fund neighborhood schools by “fixing” the state’s school finance system, which sends money from property-rich school districts like Austin to smaller, property-poor districts in a process known as recapture.
Before joining Goodwin’s office, Sethi chaired the Travis County Democratic Party and ran for Austin City Council District 10 in 2020, earning 18% of the vote.
Read More: Austin Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin launches bid for lieutenant governor
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Joseph Kopser is a special adviser for military and veteran affairs at the University of Texas and president of Grayline Group, a technology consulting firm. He previously ran for Congress in 2018 and served 20 years in the U.S. Army.
Kopser’s campaign priorities include supporting teachers, expanding access to affordable health care, increasing housing supply and supporting small businesses. “We need new voices and skill sets in the Democratic Party,” he wrote on his website, calling for a shift away from culture wars and toward policies that benefit working Texans
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Jennifer Mushtaler, the only Republican to file for the seat, in the Nov. 3 general election. Mushtaler is an Austin-area obstetrician who entered politics with an unsuccessful run for Austin City Council District 6 in 2020.
On her campaign website, Mushtaler says she would take a “pragmatic approach” to addressing issues facing the West Austin district, such as rising home insurance costs, wildfire risk and access to clean, reliable water. She also cites her experience as a physician as an asset in shaping health care policy.
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After her 2020 loss, Mushtaler served two terms on Austin’s Planning Commission, a volunteer advisory panel that guides City Council decision-making on housing and land use issues. During that time, Mushtaler voted against the HOME initiative, a set of housing reforms adopted by the City Council in 2023 and 2024 that loosened development restrictions in single-family neighborhoods.
The House chamber is empty at the Capitol in Austin, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, after the House and Senate adjourned Sine Die.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
House District 49
Josh Reyna has lived in Austin for 20 years and spent most of that time working at the Texas Capitol. For the past four years, he has served as chief of staff to state Sen. César Blanco, an El Paso Democrat.
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Reyna points to relationships built during 16 years in state government as a key advantage. On his website, he said the experience has shown him the importance of building coalitions outside the Capitol to advance legislation.
In a written statement, Reyna said lowering costs for families would be a top priority, including strengthening renter protections, increasing affordable housing and expanding transit options.
Kimberly Ellison is a nurse practitioner at a nonprofit clinic and clinical director at a breast cancer clinic serving uninsured women. Previously, she served in the Peace Corps in Ghana. Ellison describes herself as a policy-focused candidate rather than a career politician. Her stated priorities include public education, labor rights, health care access and affordability.
Read More: Gina Hinojosa is clear Democratic frontrunner to take on Gov. Greg Abbott, poll finds
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Robin Lerner spent most of her career in the U.S. State Department, working to strengthen partnerships with foreign governments..That experience, Lerner says on her website, exposed her to threats to democracy she now sees emerging in Texas.
If elected, Lerner said she would respond to those threats by working to protect voting rights and academic freedom while limiting state and federal overreach.
Her platform also includes preparing Austinites for an AI-driven economy by strengthening colleges and workforce training programs
Kathie Tovo is a former Austin City Council member and 2024 mayoral candidate. The district she represented largely overlaps with House District 49. During 11 years on council, Tovo aligned with neighborhood groups opposed to major land-use changes and voted against lifting the city’s public camping ban in 2019.
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“The government of Texas is destroying our state’s quality of life,” Tovo said in a statement, citing attacks on public schools, book bans and restrictions on personal freedoms
Montserrat Garibay, a former vice president of Education Austin, the union representing Austin school district teachers and campus staff, says public education would be her top priority.Key goals, according to her website, include increasing per-student funding, indexing that sum to inflation and expanding state-funded universal prekindergarten She also supports expanding bilingual education programs and reversing policies that have led to book bans.
Garibay previously worked in the U.S. Department of Education under President Joe Biden and served as an officer with the Texas AFL-CIO.
Gigs Hodges, who identifies as a democratic socialist, says she is running to “challenge the political establishment” in the Texas House.
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Hodges previously served as legislative director for Dallas-area Rep. Aicha Davis, an experience that she said taught her how to advance legislation and block harmful bills.
In a written statement. Hodges said her top priority would be improving healthcare access by pushing to expand Medicare, increasing provider reimbursement rates, lowering prescription drug costs and expanding preventative services such as mental, dental and vision care.
LaToya Forbins raises a fist as activists protest against mid-decade redistricting at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. Organizations gathered to demand that Gov. Greg Abbott and state representatives release Texas House Democrats confined to the House Chamber, pass flood relief and reject redistricting maps.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Daniel Wang serves on the Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors and works in electricity regulation. His priorities include affordability, public school funding, health care access and modernizing the electric grid while investing in renewable energy. “In the Legislature, Daniel will do what he’s always done: fight back against right-wing extremism, defend our democracy, and protect Texans’ freedom to live, love, and learn without government interference,” his website says.
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Sam Slade has worked for political campaigns and elected officials for the past two decades and served as a Democratic precinct chair in two counties. The Texas Legislature approved a resolution commending Slade for his service following a nomination from Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
In a statement, Slade criticized Democratic leaders for failing to speak forcefully enough on issues including infrastructure failure, hunger, wages and homelessness.
House District 50
Jeremy Hendricks is assistant business manager and legislative and policy director for the Southwest Laborers District Council. Previously a political director for now-retired Oklahoma Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, Hendricks has served on numerous local boards including a stint as president of the Windsor Hills Neighborhood Association.
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Hendricks’ priorities include supporting working families, affordable healthcare, public education, clean energy,reproductive rights and mental health care. “Every morning, I wake up thinking about how we can make life better for working folks—and I wish more lawmakers did the same,” his website says. “We need leaders who will roll up their sleeves, fight for safer jobs, and expand real opportunities for all Texans.”
Samantha Lopez-Resendez has worked at the Capitol for seven years, including four years as chief of staff to state Rep. Donna Howard. During that time, she worked on major school finance legislation passed in 2019 and 2025.
In a statement, Lopez-Resendez said her priorities include building on those funding increases, opposing efforts to privatize public education and addressing rising housing costs, particularly for teachers and state employees. She also cited grid reliability, emergency preparedness and wildfire mitigation as key issues.
Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows gavels to adjourn Sine Die on the last day of the 89th Texas Legislature at the Capitol in Austin, Monday, June 2, 2025.
Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is an immigration attorney and member of Austin’s Commission on Immigrant Affairs. She founded El Bus Sin Fronteras, a mobile legal aid project serving immigrant communities statewide. She describes herself as a “mom, small business owner, and community advocate running to fight for real people at the Texas Capitol.”
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Political newcomer Nathan Boynton has worked in sales and marketing roles in the auto and cable industries. He said his campaign is focused on making health care more affordable, supporting rural hospitals and restoring reproductive rights and personal medical freedom.
John Hash is a stay-at-home parent who previously worked in youth outreach at a
San Antonio high school and at the University of Texas at Austin. His platform includes public education, health care access, clean water, affordable housing, reducing homelessness and ending gun violence.
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William Rannefeld, an Austin native, has worked in technology and public service, including roles at the Texas Ethics Commission and Texas Legislative Council. He said his priorities include protecting the rights of immigrants and LGBTQ Texans, property tax relief, increased school funding and reducing gun violence.
Other candidates include Anthony Gupta, the Republican challenging Howard in HD 48; Howard Olsen, the lone Republican in the HD 50 race; and Jessica Martinez, the Republican challenging Rep. Lulu Flores in HD 51. They could not be reached for comment and appear to have no campaign websites or social media profiles.