Rep. Vikki Goodwin has served in the TX House since 2019; she knows her sh*t and is an absolute workhorse. In the initial March primary I was definitely considering her runoff opponent, Marcos Velez, because he has the support of the labor movement. But a Houston Chronicle article revealed that Velez doesn't seem to know even the basics about the Texas legislature... troubling for someone who would be running the TX Senate if elected.

For context: The average person has no idea who the Lt. Governor is (Dan Patrick). This office is arguably more powerful than the Governor in getting laws passed because they are the head of the Texas Senate and control which bills move forward to a vote there (many more bills get filed each session than can possibly get voted on). ALL of his 2025 priorities made it into law, including a requirement that local law enforcement cooperate with ICE, as well as banning drag story time and THC in Texas.

This is the top lawyer for the State of Texas, and since 2014 the role has been held by Ken Paxton, best known for his own personal legal and ethical controversies and his attacks on vulnerable communities. Paxton is now running for U.S. Senate so this is an open seat. This office has the power to enforce consumer protections and it would be great to have someone who's actually focused on that, not suing drag queens and families of trans kids.

Jaworski was formerly mayor of Galveston, and Nathan Johnson has served as a Texas State Senator since 2019. I softly leaned toward Jaworski in the March primary, but now in the runoff I am softly leaning the other way for a few reasons...

Initially I gave Jaworski the edge for being the more progressive choice (honestly mainly on the recommendation of the Texas Progressive Caucus, who I usually agree with).

Here's why I shifted now that we're in the runoff...

Some of the claims against Johnson not being progressive enough are due to one of the practical side effects of being a member of the minority party in the Texas Senate... you don't always have the luxury of ideological purity if you want to actually accomplish anything. So leftist purists won't agree with his every vote, understandably so. And Jaworski simply has less of a record to scrutinize, having only served as mayor.

In recent days, enormous sums of money have gone into the runoff on the Republican side for this seat, and whoever wins THAT race is clearly going to have a ton of financial support. On the D side, Johnson has proven to be the better fundraiser, which will be really important in a general election where neither of the Democratic candidates have much name recognition statewide and the Rs are so well-financed.

Another point for me in Johnson's favor is that I know how hard he has worked as a state senator to protect the environment (he's worked closely with my old colleagues at the Texas Sierra Club). I think it would be really powerful to have someone in the AG's office (an office that could go after polluters if they wanted to!) who is already very well-informed on environmental issues in the state.

I also really liked Johnson's responses in this Texas Tribune interview: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/23/texas-2026-attorney-general-democrats-runoff-nathan-johnson-joe-jaworski/

Across the board, everyone I’ve spoken to in every corner of Texas politics LOVES Montserrat Garibay and thinks she would be an ideal state rep. Her depth and breadth of experience are impressive.

The Texas State Board of Education decides what gets taught in Texas public schools. The Republican-majority board has given into pressure from far-right groups who want any mention of LGBTQIA+ people stricken from health curriculum, they've introduced Bible-infused curriculum with thousands of errors that had to be corrected, and they are currently considering changes to social studies curriculum that prioritize the input of far-right 'advisors' over the opinions of actual Texas teachers. The board also approves charter school applications and decides how to spend the $60 billion+ Texas Permanent School Fund.

Since writing my initial primary guide, I've talked to more public education advocates and learned that Stephanie is the candidate that charter school proponents are pushing for. Charter schools might not be 100% bad all the time, but the consensus among public education advocates is that they drain limited resources from our struggling public schools. Since the SBOE approves charter schools, I definitely lean toward having a board member represent me who is more skeptical of charters. And as I mentioned in my initial primary guide: Whoever wins this safe Democrat seat will have to work closely with the board's Republican members to accomplish anything, so style is going to count for a lot. In watching candidate forums, veteran educator Allison Bush had a style and demeanor that felt as though her own report card might read 'works well with others.'

Read my newsletter that gives a deep dive on this race: https://mailchi.mp/democrasexy/primaryrunoffandmore