State Representative, District 49
State House District 49; Texas
My vote power
High
Election date
March 3, 2026 · Primary election
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: High · 73 out of 100
This district is a small slice of its state, so each vote here carries much more weight than a vote in a statewide race. About 200,815 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(30,188,424 ÷ 200,815) ÷ ln(50,000) = 73.17, measured against a statewide vote in TX (grades: 66+ high, 33+ normal, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No analyst ratings or past results for this contest yet.
High representation → My vote power: High.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
About this office
- Voting on how much you pay in state taxes
- Voting on how much money your local public schools get
- Voting on which roads and highways get built or repaired
Affects: AI Regulation, Healthcare Affordability, Environment and Public Health,
Candidates
Democratic · declared
Gigs Hodges is an educator, organizer, former Texas legislative director and staffer, and Democratic candidate for Texas House District 49. He has worked in the Legislature across two regular sessions and six special sessions.
Records: Civil Rights 2 for, Housing Affordability 1 for, Labor Rights 1 for,
Democratic · declared
Josh Reyna is an attorney, Texas Senate chief of staff and general counsel, and Democratic candidate for Texas House District 49. He has sixteen years of legislative experience, including work on housing legislation.
Records: Environment and Public Health 1 for, Housing Affordability 1 for, Public Education Quality 1 for
Democratic · declared
Kathie Tovo is a former Austin City Council member, former Austin mayor pro tem, university lecturer, and Democratic candidate for Texas House District 49. She served on the City Council from 2011 through 2023 and as mayor pro tem from 2015 through 2019.
Democratic · declared
Kimmie Ellison is a nurse, clinical program director, and Democratic candidate for Texas House District 49. She directs a hospital program serving uninsured breast-cancer patients and holds a government degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Records: Civil Rights 1 for, Environment and Public Health 1 for, Healthcare Affordability 1 for,
Democratic · declared
Montserrat Garibay is a former Austin ISD pre-K teacher, labor leader, former U.S. Department of Education official, and Democratic nominee for Texas House District 49. She previously served as an assistant deputy secretary at the Department of Education.
Records: Housing Affordability 2 for, Civil Rights 1 for
Democratic · declared
Robin Jennifer Lerner is a former U.S. State Department official, attorney, nonprofit executive, and Democratic candidate for Texas House District 49. Her experience includes service as a State Department appointee, ACLU attorney, and chief executive of the Texas International Education Consortium.
Records: Housing Affordability 1 for
Democratic · declared
Sam Slade is a Democratic political organizer and candidate for Texas House District 49. He has worked as a field director for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns and Julián Castro's presidential campaign, teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, and serves as a Travis County Democratic precinct chair.
Records: Civil Rights 1 for, Gun Control 1 for, Labor Rights 1 for,
Democratic · declared
Shenghao "Daniel" Wang is an electricity-regulation attorney, elected Place 2 member of the Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors, and Democratic candidate for Texas House District 49. He holds degrees from MIT and Harvard Law School and works on ERCOT compliance, permitting, and grid infrastructure.
Records: Environment and Public Health 1 for, Healthcare Affordability 1 for, Housing Affordability 1 for,
Sources: votetravis.gov2 · txelectionresults.com