Texas Tribune state politics reporter Cassi Pollock sat down with former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat, for a discussion on her bid for state Senate, the response to the coronavirus outbreak and how the pandemic has reshaped her campaign. In March, she declared her candidacy for Senate District 14, left vacant by former Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who retired. She is one of six candidates running in a special election for the seat.

Here are some of Eckhardt’s responses to questions during the interview:

What motivated Eckhardt to run for state Senate, and how has her campaign been affected by the coronavirus outbreak?

• “I’ve loved every minute of being Travis County judge and I’m always going to miss that,” Eckhardt said. “At the local level, we’ve done a really good job working through collaborative leadership. We find ways to cross partisan divides, geographic divides even, to get things done … and I think I’d like to take a little bit of that to the state Senate.”

What distinguishes Eckhardt from her opponents, and what kind of state senator would she be?

What are Eckhardt’s thoughts on the local and state response to the coronavirus outbreak? What challenges brought on by the pandemic does she intend to address in the state Senate if she is elected?

Eckhardt became Travis County’s first female county judge in 2015 and presided over the county’s commissioners court. Previously, she spent eight years as an assistant Travis County attorney and was elected to represent Precinct 2 on the county commissioners court in 2006. Eckhardt also served as vice chair of membership on the Texas Conference of Urban Counties’ board of directors.

In the state Senate race, Eckhardt will face off against state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, a Democrat; Republicans Don Zimmerman, a former Austin City Council member, and Waller Thomas Burns II; Pat Dixon, a Libertarian; and Jeff Ridgeway, an independent.

The interview was streamed on the Tribune’s website, Facebook page and Twitter, as well as by our media partners at KXAN and KPRC2 to a live audience of more than 3,400 viewers.

Disclosure: The Texas secretary of state and the Texas Conference of Urban Counties have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Our conversation series is presented by AT&T, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, TEXAS 2036 and Walmart. Media support is provided by KXAN and KPRC2.

Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.

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