This series is called Meet the Candidates. Over the next two months, I’ll spotlight a handful of Democratic races each month, mainly in the Legislature and in Congress. These aren’t endorsements. They’re introductions, a way to understand who’s running, the districts they hope to represent, and what’s at stake for people across Texas.
Who is Ebony Turner?
Ebony Turner is a criminal defense and parole attorney running for Texas HD96. She knows the Capitol, too. Turner is a former legislative intern for HD27 and a former legislative attorney. She also taught criminal justice and constitutional law as an adjunct professor. That puts her one Constitution ahead of a good chunk of the current Texas House.
Turner founded the EMTLAW Future Lawyers Internship Program (FLIP), which trains the next generation of attorneys. She belongs to the L. Clifford Davis Legal Association, the MaryEllen Hicks Black Women Lawyers Association of Tarrant County, and the Dallas Black Criminal Bar Association.
She founded Black Mansfield Moms, a group with 3,500 members. She serves as president of the Historic West Mansfield Texas Community Development Corporation. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and UnboundNOW.
Her platform spells out P.E.R.S.O.N.A.L. Property tax relief. Educational excellence for all students. Resources for special needs students. Secure and affordable healthcare. Opportunities for economic growth and development. No vouchers. Accountability and enforcement of special education IEPs. Livable wages for all Texans.
The district.
HD96 sits entirely inside Tarrant County and holds about 9% of it. On paper, it looks like the Republican suburb. Look closer, and you’ll see it isn’t so safe.
Per capita income runs $44,823, above the state’s $40,752. More than half of households (53.1%) bring in $100,000 or more, compared to 39.2% statewide. The poverty rate is 7.3%, about half the state’s 13.8%. Nearly 37% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Almost 70% of housing units are owner-occupied, against 57% statewide. The average home is worth $391,015. Almost half the housing stock went up between 1990 and 2009. That is a built-out suburb full of people who open their appraisal notice every spring and curse loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
Renters here are getting squeezed harder. Average gross rent is $1,869, compared to $1,502 statewide. Over 80% of renters pay $1,250 a month or more, and 40.1% hand over at least 35% of their income for the privilege.
It is also a family-oriented district. Three out of four households are families. Kids ages 5 to 17 make up 20.8% of the population. Of everyone enrolled in school, 70.6% are in public pre-K through 12th grade. Tell those parents how excited you are to send $1 billion to voucher accounts.
Almost 42% of workers commute 30 minutes or more, compared to a third statewide.
Anglos make up 50.2% of the district. Black residents make up 21.5%, a full seven points above the state. Hispanic residents are 21.2%. Asian residents are 6.1%.
Here is the number that should keep the Tarrant GOP up at night. According to the 2020 Census, the district’s voting-age population is 56.8% Anglo. Its population under 18 is not. Subtract the adults from the total, and the kids are about 40% Anglo, 27% Hispanic, and 26% Black. The next generation of HD96 voters is majority non-Anglo, and they are already in the district’s public schools.
In 2024, Republican incumbent David Cook beat Turner 57.4% to 42.6%. That is a 12,538-vote gap. Now read the rest of the ballot.
Trump carried the district by 10.7 points. Ted Cruz carried it by just 5.1 points, and 4,472 votes. Colin Allred got 40,311 votes here. Turner got 36,276. Cook got 48,814. Cruz got 44,783. That is roughly 4,000 votes separating Allred from Turner and roughly 4,000 votes separating Cruz from Cook. The numbers are consistent with a few thousand Allred voters crossing over to back the incumbent. Cook even outpolled Trump by 1,223 votes.
Cook is not on the ballot this year. The incumbent favorability leaves with him.
The baseline is not Turner’s 14.8-point loss. The baseline is Allred’s 5.1-point loss in a presidential year that went badly for Democrats everywhere. Close that gap and HD96 flips.
Three things have to happen.
First, Democrats have to hold their own voters all the way down the ballot. In 2024, 2,034 people voted for Kamala Harris and then either skipped the state rep race or voted for Cook.
Second, Black voters must turn out, as the district depends on them. Black residents are 18.2% of the voting-age population here. That is the single largest pool of Democratic votes in HD96, and Turner built her organizing base in it.
Third, the suburban homeowners who split their tickets for Cook have to hear something about property taxes and public schools that sounds better than what Austin gave them.
The Hispanic swing helps, but it cannot carry this district alone. Spanish-surname voters make up only 11.7% of registered voters here, less than half the state’s 24.7%. If Hispanic voters here turned out at the district’s 2024 rate and moved 10 points toward Democrats, that nets roughly 1,000 votes. Useful. Not enough by itself against a 12,538-vote gap. The math says the road to HD96 runs through Black turnout and ticket-splitters first.
The Republican.
Ellen Fleischmann is a “Mom for Liberty” and the daughter of Tarrant County DA Phil Sorrells. She’s also the granddaughter of Kent Hance, former Texas Legislator, Railroad Commissioner, and Texas Tech Chancellor.
DA Phil Sorrells has been elbows-deep in the dead inmate scandal that has continued to happen at Tarrant County jails. And Fleischmann’s grandfather helped buy Sorrells that seat in the first place. When Sorrells ran for DA in 2022, his largest donations after oilman Robert Patton’s $100,000 came from Kent and Susie Hance, $25,000 each.
Fleischmann comes from a long line of dirty wheeling and dealing from Republicans in charge. Now, she feels like it’s her turn to step up to the plate, find a way to enrich herself, and hurt working people in Texas.
On education, her pitch promises to shut down DEI policies, which is a white supremacist dog-whistle. She wants to ensure parental choice, which is code for vouchers. And she received an endorsement directly from Greg Abbott, which tells you which side she’ll vote on.
In Ebony Turner’s own words.
Below are some questions I asked Turner, based on previous reader polls, along with her answers.
Q: Do you support a statewide minimum wage increase to at least $15/hour?
Yes. Texas has not had a statewide minimum wage increase in years. Texas ranks #1 in food insecurity. We need to raise the minimum wage to give Texans to help combat the affordability crisis our state is currently facing.
Q: Should Texas end tax subsidies and abatements for large corporations?
I don’t believe Texas should give away our tax dollars without ensuring that we are getting a return on our investments. Subsidies and abatements shouldn’t come at the expense of taxpayers paying more to foot the bill for a property tax reduction given to a large corporation, for example. The subsidies should come with conditions, such as that the incentivized jobs must meet specified wage standards, or the company may have to repay some or all of the incentives if it leaves early or fails to follow through on promised commitments. There can be an expiration date put on the incentives that requires the legislature to affirmatively renew them. Finally, we would want to ensure that the large corporate tax breaks don’t put small businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
Q: Do you oppose school vouchers and efforts to privatize public education?
Absolutely. In fact, the first bill I intend to file if elected in November will be to repeal the voucher law. This law has done exactly what was predicted, and that is to act as a coupon for the people who already had their children or could afford to have their children in private school. It has not helped students of low socioeconomic status or with special needs the way it purported it would when it was proposed.
Q: Should higher education in Texas be free or debt-free at public institutions?
Absolutely. Student loans are a hindrance to being able to create wealth, especially generational wealth, as wages have not kept up with the enormous costs of college tuition and the large amounts of student loan debt incurred as a result. Making higher education free or debt-free would help to alleviate that problem.
Q: Should Texas guarantee free school meals to all K–12 students, regardless of income?
Yes. Again, Texas is #1 in food insecurity. Providing free meals would help combat that problem. Studies show school children have greater academic success when they have food security. They have less stress, better attendance and engagement, fewer behavioral issues, and perform better in math and science.
Q: Would you support redirecting state subsidies from fossil fuels to fund community-owned solar, wind, and battery projects in low-income and rural areas?
Yes as long as substantial benefits to the communities can be achieved such as: lower energy costs for participating residents; community ownership; benefits for low-income households; and measurable emissions reductions.
Q: Do you support closing or downsizing state prisons and redirecting that funding to community-based alternatives like mental health care, housing, and youth programs?
I support funding for community-based alternatives to incarceration like mental health care, housing, and youth programs. I don’t know that closing or downsizing state prisons is the answer because we do have to house people who are incarcerated for legitimate criminal offenses. I do believe in diversion programs for mental health and youthful offenders that offer housing as a component. I do not support the privatization of the prison system in any form.
Bonus Question: What does being a Democrat mean to you in 2026?
It means ensuring that every citizen has a right to food security, health care, housing, education, and a livable wage. It means being on the side of social justice: ensuring that every eligible citizen has a right to vote and choose who represents him/her/them; that we have free and fair elections; that we decriminalize mental health and ensure that no person is deprived of life or liberty without due process of law. It means that we uphold the Constitution and that we take America back from extremists.
HD96 is an open seat in a district Ted Cruz carried by five points in a bad year for Democrats.
On one side, a criminal defense attorney who built a 3,500-member organization from the ground up. On the other, the DA’s daughter, the chancellor’s granddaughter, with Greg Abbott’s name on her endorsement page. One of them has spent a career organizing her neighbors. The other was born into the network. The next generation of HD96 is already sitting in its public schools. Let’s give them a representative who won’t sell those schools off to the highest bidder.
You can learn more about Ebony Turner on her website, Facebook, and Instagram.
37 days until the November election!
Last Day to Register to Vote: October 5, 2026
First Day of Early Voting: October 19, 2026
Last Day to Apply for Ballot by Mail: October 23, 2026
Last Day of Early Voting: October 30, 2026
Election Day: November 3, 2026
Did you know you can find links to all the previous Meet the Candidate articles on these lists?:
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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Just shared on bsky. We could sure use her in Austin too!!! Thank you, Michelle!