State Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin won a runoff election to be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, beating a Houston labor leader and first-time candidate who had indirectly received support from the party’s top campaign partner and racked up a variety of endorsements.
Goodwin defeated Marcos Vélez and in November will face Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the popular GOP leader who is sitting on more than $30 million in his campaign coffers and won his own primary in March by the widest margin since he became the state’s second-highest executive 11 years ago.
Goodwin and Vélez advanced to the runoff after neither secured more than 50% of the vote during the March primary.
On the campaign trail, Goodwin pitched herself to voters as a public schools advocate who will also fight for affordability, healthcare access and water infrastructure. Vélez, meanwhile, cast himself as a blue collar union leader who has a finger on the pulse of a working class that wants a lieutenant governor focused on affordability.
Goodwin will face an uphill battle to unseat Patrick, a close ally of President Donald Trump who has steadily pushed the Texas Senate, which he presides over, ever to the right. Most of the job’s authorities are derived from the rules passed by senators at the beginning of each legislative session.
Should Goodwin oust Patrick, the Legislature’s upper chamber would likely still be controlled by a GOP majority that would likely overhaul the position’s responsibilities and powers — shaking up power dynamics in Austin.
Goodwin and Vélez clashed several times but perhaps most notably about Vélez’s indirect support from Texas Majority PAC, the Texas Democratic Party’s campaign arm that does not get involved in primaries as a general rule. The group is funded by George Soros.
TMP appeared to give the steelworkers union leader more than $500,000 by donating to a PAC called Houstonians for Working Families that then contributed to Vélez via direct donations as well as a launch video that cost $25,000. TMP’s executive director, Katherine Fischer, also contributed $500, according to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the state ahead of Tuesday’s election.
TMP also gave $400,000 to a group called Relentless PAC, which a day later gave a $388,000 in-kind contribution to Vélez.
Goodwin knocked the group, roasting it for supporting Vélez, who in an interview with The Houston Chronicle editorial board could not name his state representative when asked by Goodwin.
Still, a week out from election day, Goodwin outgunned Vélez financially — reporting $145,994 cash on hand to his $81,589.
