Sylvia Garcia
Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat who has represented Texas's 29th congressional district since 2019 and previously served in the Texas Senate, seeks re-election in 2026 against Republican Martha Fierro.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Sylvia Garcia.
- Born
- September 6, 1950
- Birthplace
- San Diego, Texas
- Education
- Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School
Texas Woman's University (degree in social work)
Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Juris Doctor)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Sylvia Garcia was born on September 6, 1950, in San Diego, Texas, and was raised in Palito Blanco in Jim Wells County, the eighth of ten children of Luis and Antonia Rodriguez Garcia. After graduating from Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School, she attended Texas Woman's University on a scholarship, earned a degree in social work and began a career as a social worker. She later received a Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.
Career
In the early 1980s Houston Mayor Kathryn Whitmire appointed Garcia presiding judge of the Houston Municipal System, a post she held for five terms under two mayors, and in 1998 she became Houston city controller.
She was elected to the Harris County Commissioner's Court in 2002, the first woman and first Latina elected to that post in her own right, and lost re-election in 2010 to Republican Jack Morman.
In 2013 she won a special election runoff against Carol Alvarado for the Texas Senate seat of the late Mario Gallegos, and she served there until her election to Congress.
When Gene Green retired from the 29th district, Garcia won the 2018 Democratic primary with 63% of the vote and then the November 6 general election; she and Veronica Escobar became the first Latina congresswomen from Texas.
On January 15, 2020, she was selected as one of seven House impeachment managers for the Senate trial of President Donald Trump.
She serves on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the Judiciary and belongs to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
2026 race
Sylvia Garcia is seeking re-election in the 29th district, which covers much of north Houston, including Lindale Park, Acres Homes, Aldine, Greenspoint and George Bush Intercontinental Airport. She was re-elected there with 65.2% of the vote in 2024.
In the 2026 Democratic primary she won 58.2% of the vote against former state representative Jarvis Johnson and business owner Robert Slater. In the November 3, 2026, general election Garcia faces Republican Martha Fierro, a director who was unopposed in the Republican primary.