Wherever decisions are made about us, they cannot be made without us.
Our members have told us that one of their biggest concerns is the lack of educator input into state-level policies like testing, school funding, licensure, and evaluation. And we have seen the results.
Teachers and school staff must participate in every level of the democratic process so they can have a voice at every table — at the school board, at the state Capitol, in the halls of Congress, and at the ballot box.
Texas Primary Election
Texas AFT COPE Endorsements
As of Jan. 27, 2026
All endorsements have been recommended by our Texas AFT Committee on Political Education (COPE) and approved by our state federation’s executive council. The following represent Texas AFT COPE’s first round of endorsements for the March 3 primary election. You can expect this page to update with subsequent endorsements as we get closer to the November general election.
Jump to endorsements:
Our Endorsement Process
For a candidate or incumbent to earn Texas AFT’s COPE endorsement, they must demonstrate a solid understanding of and commitment to our members’ priorities, including:
- Fully funded public schools
- Safe, sustainable working conditions
- Wages that reflect the worth of their work
- Rejection of privatization efforts, whether through vouchers or charters
- An end to excessive standardized testing
In deciding on our union’s endorsements, Texas AFT COPE weighs several factors:
- Incumbent voting records on public education issues from the most recent legislative session and previous sessions
- Answers to our candidate questionnaire
- Perspectives from our labor siblings at the Texas AFL-CIO and regional labor councils
- Campaign contributions from individuals and PACs aligned with anti-public education or privatizer viewpoints
Texas AFT COPE does not endorse in all races. Our primary focus is on the Texas Legislature, the State Board of Education, and other statewide offices. Sometimes we also endorse congressional candidates.
Endorsements for U.S. Congress
Texas AFT is proud to endorse a slate of pro-public education candidates for U.S. Congress. Nationally, Congress sets several important policies that affect Texas educators including standardized testing requirements, education funding grants, and Social Security fairness, among many others. It is vital that Texas sends a pro-public education delegation to Washington, D.C.
U.S. House
- CD 30 Rev. Frederick Haynes
- CD 37 Greg Casar
Earning Our Union’s Endorsement
Spotlight: Rep. Gina Hinojosa
Your children’s teachers, bus drivers, school nurses, adjunct professors, librarians, and more have generously put their checkbooks to work, trying to elect real public education allies to office. Texas AFT COPE takes our job as a steward of those dollars seriously, and we only endorse candidates and incumbents who share a similar commitment.
Endorsements for Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature controls school funding formulas, curriculum requirements, and class size limits, among a variety of other issues. It is vital that we make sure candidates who support public education are elected to both chambers of the Legislature.
Governor
- Gina Hinojosa
Lieutenant Governor
- Vikki Goodwin
Land Commissioner
- Jose Loya
Agriculture Commissioner
- Clayton Tucker
Railroad Commissioner
- Jon Rosenthal
Texas House
- HD 27 Ron Reynolds
- HD 38 Erin Gamez
- HD 40 Terry Canales
- HD 45 Erin Zwiener
- HD 46 Sheryl Cole
- HD 47 Pooja Sethi
- HD 48 Donna Howard
- HD 49 Montserrat Garibay
- HD 50 Jeremy Hendricks
- HD 51 Lulu Flores
- HD 70 Mihaela Plesa
- HD 75 Mary Gonzalez
- HD 76 Suleman Lalani
- HD 77 Vince Perez
- HD 78 Joe Moody
- HD 79 Claudia Ordaz
- HD 90 Ramon Romero Jr.
- HD 92 Salman Bhojani
- HD 95 Nicole Collier
- HD 100 Venton Jones
- HD 101 Chris Turner
- HD 102 Ana-Maria Ramos
- HD 103 Rafael Anchia
- HD 104 Jessica Gonzalez
- HD 105 Terry Meza
- HD 107 Linda Garcia
- HD 108 Allison Mitchell
- HD 109 Aicha Davis
- HD 110 Toni Rose
- HD 111 Yvonne Davis
- HD 113 Rhetta Andrews Bowers
- HD 114 John Bryant
- HD 115 Cassandra Hernandez
- HD 116 Trey Martinez Fischer
- HD 118 Kristian Carranza
- HD 124 Josey Garcia
- HD 134 Ann Johnson
- HD 135 Odus E. Evbagharu
- HD 136 John Bucy III
- HD 137 Gene Wu
- HD 139 Charlene Ward Johnson
- HD 140 Armando Walle
- HD 141 Senfronia Thompson
- HD 143 Ana Hernandez
- HD 144 Mary Ann Perez
- HD 145 Christina Morales
- HD 146 Lauren Simmons
- HD 148 Penny Morales Shaw
- HD 149 Hubert Vo
Pol. adv. paid for by Texas AFT COPE
Texas AFT under state law is not allowed to use member dues money for political contributions to candidates. So voluntary contributions from members to the Committee on Political Education (COPE) are the only means to provide direct financial support to candidates.