Rep. Jolanda Jones is busy. In the Texas House, she represents District 147, which includes Midtown, Downtown, Montrose, Third Ward and the Texas Medical Center. And in the past few months, the two-term Democrat has been campaigning for local judges, hosting town halls for her constituents and criticizing Senate hopeful James Talarico for his lack of investment in Black voters.
“Talarico is giving out money to white GOTV (get-out-the-vote) organizations and white infrastructure and Hispanic infrastructure, but he’s not giving it to black infrastructure,” she said in a July interview.
Talarico then quickly pledged $25 million in Black voter outreach.
It was Jones at her best: An outspoken, happily controversial advocate who appeals to people who want a fighter on their side. With Talarico, that approach appears to have been effective: That outreach money could encourage turnout that might finally turn Texas blue.
Sometimes, though, Jones picks fights that are counterproductive. While she was on the Houston ISD board, she sparred very publicly with fellow board members, contributing to the dysfunction that led up to the state takeover of the district. (But to be fair, Jones wasn’t the board member who pled guilty after accepting a bag-of-cash bribe in a Walmart parking lot.)
But Jones isn’t just a passionate fighter. She can be a shrewd strategist too. In the Legislature, she’s managed to wrangle bipartisan support for commonsense criminal justice reforms, such as making sure low-level defendants don’t languish in pretrial detention beyond the maximum term. Unfortunately, the governor vetoed that bill — but she had more success with a bill adding civics instruction to the public high school curriculum.
In fact, Jones is so shrewd, she decided not to meet with the editorial board to screen with us. She said she was busy campaigning for other candidates. We believe her. And besides, we already know her — good and bad — after meeting with her on a multitude of occasions.
Republican challenger Theodis Daniel didn’t meet with us either. The Navy veteran and one-time homeless dad has run for several offices before. His young son with pediatric cancer was made an honorary police officer by some 1,300 law enforcement agencies and was even a guest at President Donald Trump’s 2025 State of the Union speech.
Daniel once turned his other son over to police after the teen bragged about stealing guns and police equipment and committing robberies. To say the least, he’s led a compelling life.
But Jones has heaps of grit and resilience in her own biography too: She grew up in poverty, became a track and field star and an Olympian, survived domestic abuse and more. And on top of that, she has a proven track record. Voters know what they’ll be getting.
We urge voters to send Jones back to fight for them in Austin.