About this office
There are only 31 State Senators for all of Texas, and every bill has to get past them. Who you elect as your State Senator can be the difference between a bill becoming a law that changes lives for the better — or being left to die. Yours represents Hays County and the counties around it, and once elected, sits for four years. It's a small club with a lot of quiet power, and this is one of the few times you get a say in who's in it.
Candidates
José MenéndezHe took over his family's small San Antonio business at 22 and ran it for years before ever winning office.
About José
José Menéndez grew up working at his family's business on San Antonio's West Side, the son of immigrants. He worked his way up from San Antonio City Council to the Texas House and, since 2015, the Texas Senate, where he has authored over 200 bills touching schools, seniors, veterans, and cyberbullying protections for kids (David's Law). He's running for re-election to keep representing District 26.
Julian VillarrealHe's an MIT-trained materials scientist with a PhD from UT Austin who's running for State Senate for a second time.
About Julian
Born and raised in San Antonio, Julián Villarreal is a scientist who studied materials science at MIT and later earned a PhD in the field at UT Austin. He first ran for this Senate seat in 2020, winning over 50,000 votes, and is running again as the Green Party's nominee to give District 26 voters a choice beyond the two major parties. He campaigns on clean energy, environmental justice, and affordability for working-class San Antonio families, and refuses money from corporate PACs, lobbyists, and wealthy donors.