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
Erica GillumErica Gillum made history as the first Black woman to serve as Mayor of Hempstead, Texas.
About Erica
Gillum is a lifelong Texan who spent two decades as a Realtor, real estate investor, and coach before serving on the Hempstead City Council and then as the city's mayor from 2022 to 2024. As mayor she secured over $9 million for drainage and infrastructure projects and negotiated with H-E-B to direct a share of new distribution-center jobs to local residents; she's running for the Senate on promises to fund schools, lower housing and childcare costs, and secure water for farmers.
Lois KolkhorstLois Kolkhorst runs a family petroleum business in Brenham and used to captain the Texas Christian University women's golf team.
About Lois
Kolkhorst is a sixth-generation Texan from Brenham who spent seven terms in the Texas House before winning her State Senate seat in a 2014 special election. She's now one of the Senate's most powerful members, chairing the committee that oversees health and human services, and she's built her career around property tax cuts, abortion restrictions, and election law.