San Antonio, This One’s On You
In a safe blue district, the real fight is happening now.
There are 52 days until the early voting starts for the primary runoff elections. We’ve already discussed some of the runoffs, but there are so many more to get to. HD125 is a safe blue seat; the person who will win this runoff in May will likely be sworn in during the 90th Legislative Session. So, this election matters.
Not only will we have another Democrat coming into the House next year, but one of the Democrats running, Adrian Reyna, is a solid progressive. And this race matters for the ideological battle.
The ideological battle.
Obviously, the biggest ideological battle is Democrats versus Republicans, but there are still plenty of Conservative Democrats left, where we need more progressives to cancel them out. We need more progressives to fight for policies that are right for working people, tackle climate change, and hold corporations accountable. And these “safe blue seats” are where we need to move progressives in.
And there are new progressives headed to the House, and we’ll have to talk about them later because there are several. I’m interested to see which ones will join the progressive caucus.
This ideological split determines whether a bill has teeth or just talking points, whether corporate loopholes stay intact. Whether climate policy is real or symbolic. Whether working people get relief or another study committee.
And in Texas, where Republicans still control the chamber, that internal Democratic alignment matters even more. If the caucus isn’t unified around a clear, working-class agenda, it becomes easier for Republican leadership to peel off a few conservative Democrats and reshape outcomes behind the scenes.
The district.
House District 125 sits in Bexar County, anchored in San Antonio, with portions in Leon Valley and surrounding areas. It’s a deeply blue, majority-Hispanic district, which is why the real fight here is almost always in the Democratic primary, not the general. In 2024, Democrats were clearing nearly 60% in top-of-ticket races here, while Republicans lagged far behind, which tells you everything you need to know about how this seat behaves politically. This is a working-class district, a heavily Latino district, and a district where representation actually matters in a very real, material way.
And that brings us to this primary.
With longtime incumbent Ray Lopez stepping aside, this seat opened up for the first time in years, and you saw that immediately in the numbers. A crowded Democratic field split the vote, with Adrian Reyna finishing first but well short of a majority, forcing a runoff with Michelle Barrientes Vela.
Donovon Rodriguez, who had the backing of Lopez, came in third. That endorsement mattered, but it wasn’t enough to carry him into the runoff. Instead, voters broke toward Reyna and Barrientes Vela, setting up a final round that’s less about name recognition and more about direction.
And to be totally honest, the retiring incumbent Representative Lopez was far from a radical. The Lopez endorsement showed where the existing power structure wanted this to go. The results showed that voters weren’t entirely on board with just handing that off.
The candidates.
Now, we should talk about the other dynamic that briefly hovered over this race, because it tells you something about both the district and the voters.
Michelle Barrientes Vela comes into this runoff with a very different background from Reyna. Former Bexar County constable, law enforcement, prior time in office. Her campaign leans heavily into criminal justice, public safety, “tough issues,” the language of someone who’s been inside the system and wants to take that to the Legislature.
But it also comes with baggage. Barrientes Vela was at the center of multiple investigations. While a conviction tied to her time in office was later overturned, the history remains part of the conversation, whether campaigns want it to or not. In a lower-turnout runoff, where voters are paying closer attention, that kind of record doesn’t just disappear.
So what you end up with in this runoff is a pretty clear contrast.
On one side, you have Reyna, an educator and union leader, deeply rooted in the district, coming out of public schools and labor organizing. On the other hand, you have Barrientes Vela, a law enforcement background, institutional experience, a more traditional “public safety” profile, but with a complicated past that voters have to weigh.
In a district like HD125, it’s about what kind of experience voters trust to represent them.
Lone Star Left endorsed Adrian Reyna for Texas House District 125.
I’ve already made my position on this race clear.
I endorsed Adrian Reyna in the primary, and that endorsement carries through to this runoff. Nothing about this race has changed that. If anything, the contrast is even sharper now.
Reyna’s platform is rooted in the actual conditions that people in HD125 face every day. Fully funding public schools without shifting the burden onto local property taxes. Fixing a school finance system that punishes low-income districts. Expanding access to healthcare, including CHIP and mental health services. Taking on housing affordability and property tax pressure. Strengthening labor protections and wages for working families. These are material changes that would directly impact this district
And just as important, he understands where power actually sits. He’s been in the classroom. He’s been in the union. He’s been in the fight for wages, for jobs, for stability. That matters in a place like Bexar County, where so many families are balancing rising costs with stagnant pay and a state government that keeps diverting resources from public systems rather than investing in them.
HD125 doesn’t need another placeholder, Democrat. It doesn’t need someone who will go to Austin and adjust around the edges. It needs someone willing to push, to organize, and to fight for the kind of policies that actually move the needle for working people.
That’s why I endorsed Reyna then. And that’s why I’m standing by it now.
HD125 is safe blue.
What isn’t decided is whether that seat gets filled by someone who will go to Austin and manage the status quo, or someone who is actually willing to challenge it.
Because these races add up.
One seat becomes a bloc. A bloc becomes leverage. And leverage is how you start forcing change in a chamber that was never designed to give it up easily.
Bexar County has the opportunity here to send someone to the House who reflects the district's reality. Working class. Public school rooted. Labor aligned. Someone who understands that policy isn’t theoretical, it’s lived.
So if you’re in HD125, this is your race.
And if you’re watching from the rest of Texas, this is exactly the kind of seat we need to be paying attention to.
Because the future of the Democratic Party in Texas isn’t just decided in swing districts. It’s decided here too.
April 2, 2026: Last day to register to vote (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
April 20, 2026: Last day to apply to vote by mail (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
April 20, 2026: First day of early voting (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
April 27, 2026: Last day to register to vote (Democratic primary runoff elections)
April 28, 2026: Last day of early voting (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
May 2, 2026: Last day to receive ballot by mail (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
May 2, 2026: Election day! (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
May 15, 2026: Last day to apply to vote by mail (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 18, 2026: First day of early voting (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 22, 2026: Last day of early voting (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 26, 2026: Last day to receive ballot by mail (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 26, 2026: Election day! (Democratic primary runoff elections)
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Glad you put this out before tomorrow's avalanche of No Kings posts! Already shared on bsky.