Democrat · Texas's 29th District · 2026
Sylvia Garcia
Garcia was the eighth of ten children on a South Texas farm, where the family picked cotton and watermelons.
Biography
Sylvia Garcia grew up picking cotton and watermelons on her family's South Texas farm, the eighth of ten children.1 She has recalled that getting the whole family around required a small bus.1
A scholarship took her from Palito Blanco to Texas Woman's University, where she studied social work and political science.2 She worked several jobs to pay for law school at Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, earning her law degree in 1978.32 Her early professional work included social work and legal aid representation.2
Garcia served as Houston's municipal court presiding judge, city controller, a Harris County commissioner and a Texas senator before entering Congress in January 2019.3 In July 2026, she launched a discharge petition seeking a House vote on the American Dream and Promise Act, legislation offering eligible immigrant groups paths to permanent legal status and citizenship.4
Her current platform supports affordable housing, organized labor, abortion access and protections for immigrants and LGBTQ+ people.5 She also favors expanding Temporary Protected Status and changing immigration law to provide a route to citizenship for Dreamers.5 Republican Martha Fierro is her November opponent, offering voters a choice on health care, immigration and the federal government's role in Houston communities.657