USW Members Have Strong Showing in Texas Primary Election

USW Local 227 member and Assistant to USW District 13 Director Marcos Velez is now in a runoff election in his campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Texas after a strong showing in the March 3 primary.

USW Local 487 member and Staff Representative Jose Loya also appeared on the ballot in the March 3 primary election as a candidate for Texas Land Commissioner.

Velez won a majority of votes in more than 80 counties statewide. 

“This underdog campaign has been powered by our neighbors: teachers, nurses, oil and chemical workers,” Velez said. “No one understands what is broken in Texas better than the people who built it. And no one is more qualified to fix it than the people who do the work to power our state every day.”

While Loya fell short of advancing to a runoff election for Texas Commissioner, he earned the votes of nearly 900,000 Texans.

“Moving forward, we hope to see others emulate the example that Marcos and Jose set,” said USW District 13 Director Larry Burchfield. “We need more union members to run for public office so that we can level the playing field for working families and ensure that the government serves all people, not just the rich.”

The runoff election will be held on May 26, and early voting runs from May 18-22.