HD125: Four Democrats, One Safe Seat, And A Real Choice
Inside the Democratic primary to replace Ray Lopez.
Back to our coverage of the Democratic primary races, with another packed race in San Antonio full of hopefuls vying to be the next elected representative.
That’s right, we’re going to the heart of Bexar County for this next packed primary race. Representative Ray Lopez (D-HD125) is retiring, and four Democratic candidates are running to replace him.
HD125 is a west-to-northwest Bexar County seat that sits in the San Antonio metro, with lines that pull in parts of San Antonio, a big chunk of Leon Valley, and a smaller slice of Helotes.
Demographically, this is a majority-Latino district with a large Spanish-surname voter-registration base. Politically, it’s a Democratic-leaning seat, but not one where Republicans are irrelevant. In 2024, the district went 56.7% for Harris and 41.9% for Trump. However, there’s no risk of it flipping this election cycle.
And the “what do people need” part of this district is pretty clear in the numbers. Poverty is about 13.5%. Housing is a pressure point, too. Average rent is listed at $1,310, and among renters, 41.4% are paying 35% or more of their income on housing.
Who are the candidates?
Donovon Rodriguez comes out of the Capitol ecosystem and received Ray Lopez’s endorsement. He’s a longtime legislative advisor with over a decade of senior-level experience working on policy from the inside, around infrastructure, education, and economic development. His pitch is that he’s someone who already knows how Austin works, how funding flows, and how to move ideas from proposal to implementation.
Adrian Reyna is running explicitly as an educator-and-labor candidate. A third-generation public servant born and raised in HD125, Reyna has spent 15 years teaching US History in SAISD and has been deeply involved in union leadership, currently serving as Executive Vice President of San Antonio Alliance Local 67. His campaign centers on working-class politics, public education, and labor power.
Carlos Raymond is running on lived experience and faith-forward resilience. His campaign narrative centers on hardship, poverty, homelessness, wrongful job termination, legal battles with federal agencies, and long-term health struggles. A veteran and longtime San Antonio resident, Raymond presents himself as an outsider to political institutions, shaped by struggle rather than polish.
Michelle Barrientes Vela enters the race with a law enforcement background and a personal justice story. A former Precinct 2 Constable who was later fully exonerated, she has turned her experience with wrongful prosecution into the centerpiece of her campaign, arguing for systemic reform from someone who has seen the system fail from both sides. Alongside her public service, she brings decades of experience running a family business and working as a paralegal.
Their platforms.
Donovan Rodriguez is running on a moderate, mainstream Democratic platform, which makes a lot of sense given Lopez’s endorsement. His priorities center on fully funding public schools and improving teacher pay; investing in roads and transportation safety; and expanding access to affordable healthcare, with an emphasis on veterans’ services. The agenda is pragmatic and institutional, aimed at effective governance rather than ideological confrontation. You can also find him on Facebook or Instagram.
Adrian Reyna is the most progressive candidate in the race, with a platform explicitly rooted in labor, public education, and opposition to Republican power grabs. His education agenda goes well beyond funding increases, calling for structural reform of Texas’s school finance system, full funding for special education, and an end to attendance-based formulas that punish low-income districts. On healthcare, Reyna supports expanding CHIP, restoring reproductive rights, lowering prescription drug prices, and expanding mental health access. His platform also includes strong pro-labor policies, housing affordability, protections for seniors, public transit, broadband expansion, and a clear commitment to defending local control and voting rights. This is a left-leaning, systems-focused platform aimed at rebuilding public institutions. You can also find him on Facebook and Instagram.
Carlos Raymond occupies a more populist, ideologically mixed lane, with pro-labor economics and socially conservative, faith-forward framing. He supports unions, opposes school vouchers, backs Medicaid expansion, and emphasizes infrastructure investment and property tax relief for working families and seniors. At the same time, his platform stresses traditional values, public safety funding, and what he describes as compassionate conservatism.
Michelle Barrientes Vela does not present a traditional policy platform on her website. You can also find her on Facebook.
My two cents.
Longtime Lone Star Left readers are already going to know what I’m going to say. Let’s rip the band-aid off, go as far left under a social democracy as we can. So, naturally, I’m almost always going to favor the most progressive of the bunch. In this case, Adrien Reyna, but Donovan Rodriguez received Ray Lopez’s endorsement and is well-known in Austin, which also matters.
Let’s take a look at the money.
In my opinion, Carlos Raymond and Michelle Barrientes Vela won’t make it out of the primary, and Adrien Reyna and Donovan Rodriguez will go to a runoff unless Adrien Reyna wins outright.
Texas Democrats are hungry for progressives with bold progressive policies, and we’re seeing it across the state. There are friends and acquaintances of mine who have worked in Texas politics for years and have told me it’s business as usual, but I’m not so sure. I look at races like this, where the progressive candidate is outraising the assumed shoo-in, and here in North Texas, where Zeeshan Hafeez has grown a huge grassroots movement, and I wonder whether progressives will see big wins on March 3rd?
I really hope so. But am I living on hopium?
So where does that leave us?
HD125 is a safe Democratic seat, but this primary is still a real choice between continuity and change. That’s why races like this matter more than they sometimes get credit for.
Tomorrow, I’ll be hosting two Lone Star Left Substack Lives, one at 11 am and another at 12 pm, featuring four candidates across races. So stay tuned for that. I also have two more Meet the Candidate episodes dropping this weekend.
There are 33 days until Election Day, and we still have a lot to talk about.
February 2, 2026: Last Day to Register to Vote
February 17, 2026: First Day to Early Vote
March 3, 2026: Primary Election
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Thank you for all your effort on this one, Michelle! Shared on Bsky.