About this office
Your State Representative is one of 150 people who write Texas law, and yours is elected to represent your area of Hays County. Every two years they decide how much money your kids' school gets, whether your property tax bill goes up or down, and whether Texas takes federal money for health care or turns it away. Big decisions, made by a small group — and one seat is yours to fill.
Candidates
Janis HoltJanis Holt spent a decade teaching 4th grade before she started raising Angus cattle on her own ranch.
About Janis
Holt taught public school and worked as a dental assistant before becoming a Silsbee ISD school board trustee in 2014, where she's now board president. She and her husband of 33 years co-own an air-purification business and a cattle ranch. She won her Texas House seat in 2024 after Governor Abbott poured over $700,000 into her primary campaign against an incumbent who wouldn't back private-school vouchers.
Valorie BartonValorie Barton worked as a government contractor supporting U.S. troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom while putting herself through college as a single mom of three.
About Valorie
Barton is a former Dayton City Councilwoman who now manages multi-billion-dollar supply chain contracts in construction, power, and fleet services. Raised by her grandmother in a household that relied on public assistance, she paid her own way through college and put her three kids through school on her own. A domestic-violence survivor, she calls herself a 'conservative, common-sense Democrat' running on veterans' benefits, gun-safety measures, and women's health choices.