Meet The Candidates: Junior Ezeonu For Texas House District 101
A new generation enters the HD101 race.
This series is called Meet The Candidates. Over the next eleven 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 Junior Ezeonu?
Junior Ezeonu is a lifelong Texan with deep roots in North Texas. Born in Nigeria, he moved to Texas at just two years old and was raised in Grand Prairie. His story is a familiar one in Texas. An immigrant family putting down roots, investing in public schools, and raising a child who would go on to give back to the community that raised him.
After graduating from high school, Ezeonu attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. At just twenty-two years old, he ran for Grand Prairie City Council and defeated a twelve-year incumbent in a runoff election. His victory made him the youngest person ever elected to the council and one of the first African-American councilmembers the city had seen since the early 1990s.
During his time on the city council, Ezeonu built a record focused on cost-of-living issues and public investment. He helped lower the Grand Prairie property tax rate, raised the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour for part-time employees and $17.82 for full-time workers, supported affordable housing initiatives, and helped create an affordable transportation program for residents. His work has also included climate-focused policies aimed at long-term sustainability and infrastructure resilience. In June 2025, at age twenty-six, he became the youngest Mayor Pro Tem in Grand Prairie’s history.
The district.
I do deep dives on so many districts; this is the first time I’m doing one on my own HD.
House District 101 is a majority Non-Anglo district. Roughly three-quarters of the district’s population is Non-Anglo. Black residents make up just over a third of the district, Latinos account for roughly another third, and Asian residents represent a meaningful and growing share of the electorate. Importantly, this diversity carries through to the voting-age population as well, which remains overwhelmingly Non-Anglo.
HD101 is a family-heavy, kid-heavy district compared to Texas as a whole. Nearly one in four residents is under the age of eighteen, while the share of seniors is significantly smaller than the statewide average. Households here tend to be larger, with an average size well above the state norm, and more than three-quarters of households are family households. Over half of those families are raising children at home.
Educational attainment in HD101 broadly mirrors the state as a whole, but with important nuances. About one-third of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, while a notable share of residents did not complete high school. The district also includes a sizable population of college, graduate, and professional students, reflecting both proximity to higher-education institutions and a community still actively pursuing upward mobility.
HD101 is a working-family suburban district, and commute pressure is a defining feature of daily life. Most residents rely on private vehicles to get to work, with relatively few able to work from home. Commute times tend to be long, with a substantial portion of workers spending 30 minutes or more each way on the road, and many exceeding 45 minutes. Employment in the district skews toward hands-on, essential sectors, including education, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and transportation.
HD101 is a young, diverse, family-centered district anchored in Arlington and Grand Prairie, shaped by long commutes, rising housing costs, and a clear multiracial coalition reality. It is a district where Black and Latino voters form the core of the electorate, Asian communities hold growing influence, and economic policy is felt immediately in household budgets.
The incumbent.
This is a safe blue district held by long-time Democratic Representative Chris Turner.
Representative Turner has been in the Texas House for 12 years and was the previous House Democratic Caucus Chair. Although he isn’t in the progressive caucus, he has a relatively progressive voting record. Seeing that HD101 is my district and Rep. Turner is my Representative, I wanted to make some things clear.
Ezeonu is a sitting City Council member, a community leader, and a progressive. Because of that, this is a competitive primary. In a competitive primary like this, it’s only fair for me to give each candidate equal coverage, and I will.
In Junior Ezeonu’s own words.
Below are some questions I asked Ezeonu, based on previous reader polls, along with his answers.
Q: Should Texas end tax subsidies and abatements for large corporations?
Yes. Working families do not receive those tax subsidies and abatements, and as a result, large corporations should not and should pay their fair share in taxes. Workers earn less than the wealthy corporations but pay a large share of the taxes that the state collects. This cannot continue.
Q: Do you oppose school vouchers and efforts to privatize public education?
Yes. Private school vouchers and the continued efforts to privatize public education are an attack on the future of our students and the future of our state. Private school vouchers are a long-term plan to destroy public schools by siphoning public tax dollars away from them and giving them to private schools that are unaccountable to the public. Private schools will be able to receive public tax dollars, but at the same time refuse students who don't meet their criteria or are disabled and need accommodations. We cannot give our public tax dollars to entities that are not accountable or accessible to the public. This is unfair and needs to be repealed to ensure our public schools have the funding necessary to support all of our students and educators.
Q: Should Texas guarantee free school meals to all K–12 students, regardless of income?
Yes. In one of the wealthiest states in the wealthiest nation on earth, it should not be a question whether students should receive free meals at school. A child who has a full belly has the ability to learn, thrive, and grow in their school. I am a product of public schools but also a beneficiary of the free lunch program, and without it, I would've been very hungry at school. But I do remember days when my fellow students would make fun of me for receiving free lunch and told me I received it because I was poor. This stigma can also be removed by making free school meals a universal program for all Texas students.
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?
100%. Clean energy is the future and will provide thousands of jobs to Texans as well as provide cheaper, more sustainable alternatives to energy. We need to subsidize clean energy to give it the runway needed to grow and become more adopted statewide.
Q: Should Texas stop funding Operation Lone Star and redirect that money to border community infrastructure and services?
Yes. It is not the job of the state government to enforce or create its own immigration law. Immigration enforcement is the job of federal lawmakers. The funding for Operation Lone Star should be redirected to support border communities’ infrastructure and services to ensure that the residents are supported and basic needs are met
Bonus Question: What does being a Democrat mean to you in 2026?
Being a Democrat in 2026 means fighting to improve the lives of your constituents every single day. Whether that is ensuring that they are getting paid a living wage, or preventing a data center from coming into their community and increasing their electric bill, or making sure healthcare is accessible and affordable. To be a Democrat is to be a fighter, a believer that a better tomorrow is not just possible but attainable. But only attainable when we make it happen.
House District 101 is not short on political talent.
Junior Ezeonu enters the race with a record of local governance, a clear policy vision, and a generational perspective shaped by the realities facing working families in Arlington and Grand Prairie today.
As this series continues, I’ll be giving the same level of attention to every Democrat in this race. That’s the point of Meet the Candidates. Voters deserve to hear directly from the people seeking their vote and to understand how their ideas align with the district they want to represent.
HD101 is young, diverse, and economically stretched. The questions raised in this primary aren’t theoretical. They show up in daily life here. This race will ultimately be decided by which candidate voters believe is best prepared to fight for the district.
You can find out more about Junior Ezeonu on his website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
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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He has voted with the Republicans. I urge you to look through his voting records. Chris Turner has helped all of us. He is a fighter. When I was at the Arlington redistricting forum and the Republicans wouldn’t let me speak, Chris Turner makes sure that all the Tarrant Young Dems plus 3 moms, all speak. He made sure that Chairman Wu stayed and listed to us. He has been there for us, all of us in North Texas and helps dems down the ballot.
Fair treatment for an engaging young leader. I understand younger citizens wanting a "share of the pie". My own thought though is that the current Representative, Chris Turner, will have better opportunity to support those in his District because he knows more about working in the House itself. Their philosophy is not so different that a younger candidate is needed. Junior Ezeonu should continue to seek public office, but he should choose one is in dire need of people-centered representation. All my opinion of course.