The Texas Democratic primary runoff selects a candidate for the lieutenant governor race
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DALLAS – Texas Democratic voters elected Rep. The state’s Vikki Goodwin was nominated for Lieutenant Governor on Tuesday night, defeating Marcos Vélez in the party’s primary list and setting up a November contest against Republican incumbent Dan Patrick.
The contest became a test of what direction Texas Democrats want to take in the general election.
Goodwin, who took office in 2019, campaigned to increase public school funding and teacher pay, expand Medicaid, invest in water infrastructure and end Texas’ abortion ban.
Meanwhile, Vélez, who worked in Texas refineries and is a member of the United Steelworkers union, focused on his campaign for property tax relief, raising the minimum wage and affordability measures aimed at working families and seniors.
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State Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin has campaigned as a longtime advocate for public schools, while focusing on housing affordability, water infrastructure, abortion access and expanding Medicaid. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman/Getty Images)
The lieutenant governor’s office presides over the Senate, controls the chamber’s agenda, appoints committee chairs and can break tie votes — powers that give the position significant influence over which bills reach the governor’s desk.
The Lieutenant Governor also helps craft the state budget as co-chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and serves on the Legislative Redistricting Board, which redraws political maps when lawmakers fail to do so.
Polls closed across Texas at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and turnout is expected to be significantly lower than during the March primary.
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Marcos Velez is the governor of the Democratic Alliance in the 2026 election. (Gabriel V. Cardenas/Reuters)
During his ten years as lieutenant governor, Patrick pushed the Legislature slightly to the right and built a strong network of Republican allies within the Senate. Political observers say his defeat in November will create a major vacuum in Texas Republican politics and dramatically change the dynamics within the Legislature.
However, while the lieutenant governor wields considerable authority, most of that power comes from Senate bills approved at the beginning of each legislative session.
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The Democratic candidates for Texas lieutenant governor faced off in Tuesday’s primary election, with the winner successfully challenging incumbent Republican Dan Patrick in November. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg)
If a Democrat were to win office in November, the Republican-controlled Senate could move to rewrite those laws and reduce the lieutenant governor’s powers, potentially changing the way the chamber operates.
