Meet the Texas Democrats vying to challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in November

Three Texas Democrats are running for a chance to snatch the state’s lieutenant governor seat from Republican rule. If successful, it would be the first time Democrats held the influential position since the GOP took control of it in 1999.

But before taking on incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in November, the trio of candidates — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, labor advocate Marcos Vélez, and software company manager Courtney Head — must first face off against each other in March’s Democratic primary.

The stakes are high given the strength the office holds, especially in Texas.

“The Texas lieutenant governor is one of the top five most powerful in the country,”  said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. “Historically, the lieutenant governor is thought of as as powerful, and sometimes more powerful, than the governor.”

Among the role’s responsibilities are wielding control of the Texas Senate, selecting the chamber’s pivotal committee chair roles, and ultimately deciding which bills move forward in the Senate — and which legislation never sees the light of day.

This power is something current Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has used to his advantage since assuming the role in 2015. That includes Patrick’s 2021 move to change key legislative rules, making it possible for Republicans to more easily push partisan legislation forward.

“[Rick] Perry didn’t do this, and [David] Dewhurst didn’t do this,” Rottinghaus said, “because they had to work with senators on both sides.

His recent shows of force include successfully pushing a ban on THC through the Texas Legislature, despite strong opposition from veterans and business groups (though Gov. Abbott ultimately vetoed the measure).

Patrick is also often considered the main reason pushes to expand legalized gambling in Texas fall short.

But all that isn’t deterring Texas Democrats from vying for their party’s nomination to challenge Patrick in the general election this fall.

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin: ‘It’s time for change’

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin is a four-term Democrat from Travis County who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. 

Goodwin told The Texas Newsroom she decided to run for lieutenant governor after seeing how decades of GOP control has shaped Texas.

“We’ve had 30 years of Republican leadership and it’s time for change,” Goodwin said.

One of her main gripes with current leadership is how they’ve handled the state’s public school system.

“I want to make sure that we’re funding them appropriately, that we are not diverting our public tax dollars to private schools, that we’re supporting our teachers, our students, and a system that serves over 90% of the kids in Texas,” said Goodwin.

She also believes Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Patrick, are not listening to Texans — citing the Patrick-backed THC ban as an example.

“We had over 600 people come to the Capitol to testify against the ban on THC,” Goodwin said. “You don’t see that very often.”

She thinks marijuana should be fully legal in Texas, saying the state should “treat marijuana, THC, what have you, the same as we do alcohol.”

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Marcos Vélez: ‘Pay has not kept up with productivity’

Marcos Vélez is a union labor advocate from Pasadena. He told The Texas Newsroom he came up working in oil refineries before becoming involved in workplace safety and labor organizing.

His main issue in his campaign is the economy and affordability, especially for those entering the workforce.

“I look at my son now, college-educated. He delivers pizzas,” said Vélez. “I’m not knocking my son. What I’m saying is even with $100,000 education, you can’t secure a $100,000-a-year job — even with all the resources and connections in the world.”

Vélez says the American dream of buying a home, retiring at a reasonable age and having money to live off of is no longer attainable for most Texans.

“Pay has not kept up with productivity in this country… It’s not like there’s a lack of money in this state. We’re just not prioritizing things that benefit everyday Texans,” Vélez said.

If elected, he says he would work to legalize THC and gambling in the state, then use that revenue to lower property taxes.

“There’s all these different things that we could legalize, we could regulate, and we can use the profit from those things to bring people’s property taxes down,” Vélez said.

While Vélez said he respects Lt. Gov. Patrick’s distaste for gambling due to his religious beliefs, he says the Republican isn’t following public opinion — which is costing the state. 

“Would you rather your neighbor that is already gambling, he’s just going across the state line to gamble in Louisiana or gamble in Oklahoma, would you rather him gamble here and your property taxes come down?” Vélez said.

While the race is largely viewed as a contest between Democrats Goodwin and Vélez, there will be a third candidate on the primary ballot in March: Courtney Head of San Antonio.

According to recent fundraising disclosures, Rep. Goodwin has close to $159,000 cash on hand for her campaign, while Vélez has nearly $46,000. Head has just over $330.

Head works for a software company and, like her opponents, wants to legalize cannabis, expand Medicaid and fund a high-speed rail system.

She has also said she would work to repeal the state’s school voucher program.

An uphill battle

All in all, no matter their ideas, it costs money to run a campaign. And when it comes to that, the incumbent has an enviable war chest.

According to Lt. Gov. Patrick, he has $38 million cash on hand, and raised $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.

To put that into perspective, getting a 30-second ad to air in major cities in Texas costs upwards of $10,000 during prime time.

“If you don’t have the ability to advertise and to convince people that you have a better policy set than your opponent, then it’s hard for them to be able to really understand why you’re running,” said Rottinghaus.

But that’s not anything Democrats don’t already expect.

“Republicans are always going to have more money than us. That’s just life,” said Kendall Scudder, chair of the Texas Democratic Party. “They are the party of the billionaires, and we are the part of people.”

Overall, Scudder says Democrats are remaining optimistic about this year’s race for lieutenant governor of Texas — a feeling only buoyed by the recent Democratic upset

in Texas Senate District 9. The Republican who lost that special election outspent her Democratic opponent by $2 million.

“I think that if you learn anything from the election… Number one, it should be that people are pissed off,” Scudder said. “And number two, it should be that there’s a ceiling to what impact this money has.”

For his part, Lt. Gov. Patrick doesn’t seem worried. In fact, someone taking a quick look at the incumbent Republican’s social media accounts could reasonably assume he wasn’t up for reelection at all.

Patrick is mostly focused on what he wants to do during the Texas Legislature’s next regular session in 2027. He’s already released several plans, including another push to lower property taxes for certain residents in the state.

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