16 union-first candidates on November ballot chart a new path for Texas politics
TEXAS – Today, the Texas AFL-CIO released their list of 16 union-first candidates running for office in the November election. This comes as Texas union membership reached its highest level in 25 years and trust in unions greatly exceeds the trust of both political parties.
“Unions are among the most credible groups in the country, and our union-first candidates are uniquely connecting with voters,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar. “These candidates are ready to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with us, all to take on corrupt politicians who care more about their billionaire donors than they do about making our lives better. This November, we’ll be voting for the change we need and taking back our state.”
This week, the national AFL-CIO released new polling that surveyed thousands of working people, including both union members and those not yet in a union. Key findings include:
- Trust in unions exceeds trust in the Democratic Party by 20 points (52% to 32%), and workers are twice as likely to trust unions than to trust the Republican Party (52% to 26%).
- Young workers ages 18–30 trust labor unions (61%) more than twice as much as they trust the Democratic Party (28%) or the Republican Party (22%). Among young men, the trust gap is 40 points between unions and Democrats (63% to 23%) and 43 points between unions and Republicans (63% to 20%).
- The only group workers trust more than unions is their own neighbors (75%).
- For five years running, 7 in 10 Americans say they support unions—the highest level of support in a generation.
Union-first candidates include current union members in good-standing who joined an AFL-CIO-affiliated union before running for office. These individuals have also earned the endorsement of the Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE).
Texas Union-First Candidates
Texas Supreme Court, Place 1 | Maggie Ellis |
Texas Supreme Court, Place 8 | Gisela Triana |
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9 | Holly Taylor |
State Board of Education, District 4 (Special Election) | Coretta Mallet-Fontenot |
State Board of Education, District 6 | Michelle Palmer |
U.S. House, District 19 | Kyle Rable |
U.S. House, District 27 | Tanya Lloyd |
U.S. House, District 33 | Colin Allred |
Texas Senate, District 9 | Taylor Rehmet, incumbent |
Texas House, District 28 | Sandy Ibáñez |
Texas House, District 41 | Julio Salinas |
Texas House, District 47 | Pooja Sethi |
Texas House, District 49 | Montserrat Garibay |
Texas House, District 70 | Mihaela Plesa, incumbent |
Texas House, District 125 | Adrian Reyna |
Texas House, District 146 | Lauren Ashley Simmons, incumbent |
This fall, hundreds of Texas union volunteers will contact thousands of voters at the door, on the phone, at worksites, and online to ensure that working people lead the charge to take back our country from the billionaires and wealthy elites.
Background
In June 2025, union delegates passed a resolution calling for the Texas AFL-CIO to recruit, equip, and empower Texas union members to run for office. In Oct. 2025, the organization graduated its first class of 16 members, which included Montserrat Garibay who's running for Texas House District 49.
See all of the Texas AFL-CIO’s 2026 endorsements at texasaflcio.org/endorsements
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The Texas AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is the state labor federation consisting of more than 250,000 affiliated union members and advocates for working people in Texas. Learn more at texasaflcio.org