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
Arshia PapariA UT student running for the Texas House — on the Green Party ticket.
About Arshia
Papari, a University of Texas at Austin student, entered the House District 49 race as the Green Party candidate, offering voters a third option in a heavily Democratic seat.
Montserrat GaribayA bilingual pre-K teacher who rose to the Biden White House — and is now running for the seat covering UT.
About Montserrat
Garibay taught pre-K in Austin ISD for eight years, became the first Latina elected secretary-treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO, and served in the Biden Education Department before winning the 2026 Democratic primary.