Meet The Candidates: Pooja Sethi For Texas House District 47
History is on the ballot in HD47. And she's ready for it.
This series is called Meet The Candidates. Over the next five 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 Pooja Sethi?
Pooja Sethi has been inside the machine. As Chief of Staff to Representative Vikki Goodwin in HD47, she spent nearly four years in the Texas Legislature doing the unglamorous work that actually moves legislation, including shaping strategy, driving policy development, advancing constituent advocacy, and showing up when the cameras aren’t on.
Before the Capitol, she was an immigration attorney with Catholic Charities, representing families tangled up in a system designed to grind them down.
She’s also the former Chair of the Travis County Democratic Party. Over 150 elected officials and precinct chairs across Travis County have endorsed her campaign.
Her community ties run deep and wide. The past President of the Indian American Coalition of Central Texas, board member at the Austin Artists Project, and serving on Planned Parenthood Texas, Emerge Texas, the City of Austin’s Asian American Quality of Life Commission, and the ACC Regional Board. She’s shown up at constituent coffees every single month in HD47, because that’s apparently just who she is.
When she wins in November, Pooja Sethi will be the first Asian Democratic woman, the first Indian American, and the first Hindu ever to serve in the Texas Legislature.
The district.
This is a safe blue seat. Sethi starts with a floor in the high 50s and a ceiling that goes higher with strong turnout infrastructure, which, given that she literally built Travis County’s organizing operation, Sethi is pretty much a shoo-in.
This is a high-education, high-income, majority-Anglo district in western Travis County. Bee Cave, Lakeway, and West Austin. 63% Anglo, 69% of residents 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (statewide: 33%). Per capita income is $76,703, compared with a state average of $39,446. Three-quarters of owner-occupied homes are worth $500K+. Average home value is $805K. This is not a working-class district.
The Asian population at 14.6% is more than double the state share (6.3%), relevant given Sethi’s background and community ties.
The district is 34% remote workers, more than double the state rate. Highly educated, tech/professional/finance-heavy workforce. These are people who care about schools, traffic safety, grid reliability, and reproductive rights, which maps almost exactly onto Sethi’s priority list.
The incumbent.
This is/was Vikki Goodwin’s seat. However, she’s running for Lt. Governor, leaving HD47 open.
Pooja Sethi, as Goodwin’s Chief of Staff and former Travis County Democratic Party Chair, is the most obvious and natural successor.
In Pooja Seethi’s own words.
Below are some questions I asked Sethi, based on previous reader polls, along with her answers.
Q: Do you support a statewide minimum wage increase to at least $15/hour?
Yes, in Rep. Goodwin’s office, we had filed legislation on this every cycle, and I plan to continue to do so.
Q: Should Texas end tax subsidies and abatements for large corporations?
Yes. Large corporations should not receive massive tax subsidies and abatements while working families struggle with rising costs and underfunded public services. Those resources should be invested back into our communities, schools, infrastructure, and health care.
Q: Do you oppose school vouchers and efforts to privatize public education?
Yes. We spent all of last session fighting against vouchers, and I will continue to do so. I also oppose charter schools. Our tax dollars need to go towards our public schools, which have trustees that we elect.
Q: Should Texas guarantee free school meals to all K–12 students, regardless of income?
Yes, no child should go hungry at school because their family is struggling financially. I strongly support free school meals for all K-12 students, and cutting summer lunch programs is unacceptable when so many Texas families are already dealing with rising costs.
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, Texas should be investing in the future, not continuing to hand out subsidies to fossil fuel companies while communities struggle with high energy costs and grid failures. I support redirecting those investments toward community-owned solar, wind, battery storage, microgrids, and expanded net metering.
Q: Should Texas stop funding Operation Lone Star and redirect that money to border community infrastructure and services?
Yes. I have been saying this for years. Immigration can be handled responsibly and humanely if we invest in more immigration judges, more case workers, better border infrastructure, and partnerships with nonprofits and local communities. We should process claims faster, allow people to work legally while their cases move forward, and stop forcing families to sit in detention centers for months or years.
Bonus Question: What does being a Democrat mean to you in 2026?
It means fighting for affordability, healthcare, and our schools. Honestly, it means fighting for our lives.
Texas needs more Pooja Sethis.
Attorneys who’ve sat across from families in detention centers. Organizers who built the infrastructure before they needed it for themselves. People who know exactly how the sausage gets made in Austin and have spent years making sure it doesn’t poison everyone.
HD47 will be fine in November. That’s not the point. The point is that the Texas Legislature is about to get someone who has been fighting these battles from inside the building for four years, who knows every procedural trap, and who is done watching cruelty win.
History gets made in November. Make sure you’re part of it.
You can find out more about Pooja Sethi on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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Thanks for the informative article. Wishing Pooja all success in this election and beyond.
Love Pooja! Go! She'll be my Rep--energetic and smart as a whip.