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Union-First Candidates Gain Ground in Texas While Union Popularity Surges

Texas AFL-CIO
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TEXAS – This primary election, the Texas AFL-CIO is backing 16 union-first candidates for office — the largest slate of labor candidates in recent memory — all while union membership reached its highest level in 25 years.

“As state parties try to reconnect with the working class, union endorsements mean more than they ever have before and our union candidates are actually connecting with Texas voters,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar. “These candidates are ready to fight alongside Texas workers, because they’re workers themselves. Our slate stands with workers over billionaires, every day.” 

The slate of union-first candidates includes: 

  1. Lieutenant Governor: Marcos Vélez, Assistant Director of USW District 13
  2. Commissioner of General Land Office: Jose Loya, Staff representative for USW District 13, Veterans of Steel Coordinator
  3. Texas Supreme Court, Place 1: Maggie Ellis, Member of AFSCME 1624 and TSEU (CWA 6186)
  4. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9: Holly Taylor, Member of AFSCME Texas Retiree Chapter 12
  5. U.S. House, District 19 (Lubbock): Kyle Rable, Member of TSEU (CWA 6186)
  6. U.S. House, District 27 (Victoria/Austin): Tanya Lloyd, Member of Texas AFT
  7. Texas Senate, District 9 (Fort Worth): Taylor Rehmet (incumbent), President of the IAM Texas State Council
  8. Texas House, District 28 (Richmond): Sandy Ibanez, Member of Fort Bend AFT
  9. Texas House, District 47 (Austin): Pooja Sethi, Member of TSEU (CWA 6186)
  10. Texas House, District 49 (Austin): Montserrat Garibay, Former Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer; Member of Education Austin
  11. Texas House, District 50 (Austin): Jeremy Hendricks, Assistant Business Manager, SWLDC, LIUNA
  12. Texas House, District 70 (Dallas): Mihaela Plesa (incumbent), Member of TSEU (CWA 6186)
  13. Texas House, District 120 (San Antonio): Jordan Brown, Member of Northside AFT
  14. Texas House, District 125 (San Antonio): Adrian Reyna, Member of San Antonio Alliance
  15. Texas House, District 142 (Houston): Danyahel (Danny) Norris, Member of AFSCME HOPE 123
  16. Texas House, District 146 (Houston): Lauren Ashley Simmons (incumbent), Member of TSEU (CWA 6186) & CWA 1180

 

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. 

Coverage Highlights: 

  • Texas Observer: Can labor candidates help Texas Dems win back power? — by Josephine Lee
    • Aguilar: “People are tired of the same old politics. The working people of Texas are looking for somebody that is actually going through what they are, who can understand what their kitchen table issues are and make sure they have somebody that fights on their behalf.”
    • Garibay: “I am approaching this campaign with an organizing lens that every person I talk to is important and that every vote is what will make a difference on election day.”
    • Rable: “Nobody’s coming to save the working class and the regular American, so we might as well step up and save ourselves.”
  • Houston Chronicle: Unhappy with Democrats' performance, a wave of union members is running for office in Texas — by Benjamin Wermund
    • The AFL-CIO says it is the largest slate of labor candidates in recent memory and comes as union membership in Texas has reached its highest level in 25 years. New U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show Texas now has the fourth-most union members in the U.S., 673,000, behind California, New York and Illinois. The growth came as polling shows unions have record-high favorability nationally as workers seek greater control in a time of economic instability.
    • Loya: “It’s supposed to be about who is going to take care of you. We’ve gotten to the point where it’s been party over everything else, and I don’t think that’s right. We do have to look at who’s going to fight for us.”
    • Vélez: “We're fighting for our lives. We have lost so much when it comes to working people in this country. We really feel like if we don't do something drastic, there won't be anything left.”

Polling shows support for labor unions:

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The Texas AFL-CIO 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