*Correction appended.

Twenty-nine Texans who weren’t in the state Legislature last session will take their seats as new members of the Texas House and Senate in January. All but three of them are Republicans. Some of them are filling seats left vacant by representatives and senators who pursued statewide offices in one of the most open fields Texas has seen in years, and others are replacing people they challenged in either the primaries or the general election.

Explore the list of fresh faces below to learn about the new lawmakers.  In addition to the newbies listed here, the Texas Senate will include three members who served last session in the Texas House — Van Taylor, Brandon Creighton and Charles Perry.

 

Editor’s note: This story incorrectly stated that Mike Schofield was married, and lived in Houston. Schofield is not married and lives in Katy.

//

 Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Becca Aaronson was the first product manager at the Tribune, where she worked from 2010 to 2018. As product manager, Becca managed the Tribune's website redesign, coordinates cross-departmental projects...

Bobby Blanchard joined The Texas Tribune’s audience team in 2016 and led the team from 2021 to 2023, strategizing to expand the organization’s reach and engagement across all platforms. A graduate...

Christine Ayala was a Texas Tribune fellow, focusing on reporting and newsletter production, in 2014 and 2015. Before joining the Tribune, Christine interned for the Austin American-Statesman features...