Every election is called “important.” Most are. Some are defining.
The election of 2026 in the Rio Grande Valley may be one of them - not because of personalities, but because of what is quietly at stake: whether we fix what is broken or keep pretending it is not.
For years, families here have done what Americans are supposed to do. They have worked hard, paid their bills, raised children, cared for parents, and built small businesses. They have kept faith with their communities.
Yet, too many find that their efforts are no longer enough.
Housing is harder to afford. Childcare is harder to find. Healthcare remains uncertain. Public schools are stretched thin. Paychecks lag behind rising costs. Infrastructure strains under growth. Services for seniors and people with disabilities fall behind demand.
These are not partisan talking points. They are daily realities.
They reflect something deeper: a system that has grown comfortable with delay.
I am running for Texas House District 41 because comfort with delay is no longer acceptable. I’m running because I know how to fight – because I have been my whole life.
I grew up in a working-class family of public servants. My dad is a retired teacher & football coach from La Joya HS and mother a retired nurse at DHR. Like many families here, we learned early that stability is fragile, that opportunity must be protected, and that government decisions - good or bad - are felt immediately at the kitchen table.
Those values shaped my path.
It took me from Sharyland ISD to public service in Congress, the Texas Capitol, and city government. It took me through my master’s degree in public policy at The University of Texas. It guides my work today advocating for working families here in the Valley when I am in the Texas Capitol or in Washington, DC.
Public service is not about performance. It is about doing the work.
It means showing up prepared. It means reading the bills. It means understanding budgets. It means staying after the headlines fade.
I have always believed that good intentions matter only when they become outcomes.
That belief guided my work helping pass the PACT Act in 2022, which expanded healthcare for over 5 million veterans exposed to toxic substances. It shaped my efforts to change laws in the Texas Legislature to expand housing so families could remain in their communities. It drove my advocacy to expand access to childcare so parents could work without sacrificing their children’s well-being. It led me to fight for programs that ensure children are fed during the summer months, when school meals disappear.
These were not symbolic victories. They were practical ones.
They required coalition-building, attention to detail, and persistence - the unglamorous work of governing.
When housing becomes unaffordable, families postpone stability. When childcare is scarce, careers are interrupted. When healthcare is uncertain, illnesses are delayed. When children go hungry in the summer, learning suffers. When schools are constrained by rigid systems, curiosity narrows. None of these failures dominate headlines. Together, they reshape lives. They also weaken communities slowly, invisibly, and persistently.
Too often, politics rewards visibility over responsibility. It favors political positioning over problem-solving. Problems are acknowledged and postponed.
Meanwhile, families suffer.
The Valley is changing. Our population is younger. Our economy is more complex. Our needs are more interconnected.
Leadership must keep pace.
Too often, caution replaces courage. Delay substitutes for decision. Responsibility is diffused.
That quiet resignation should concern us.
2026 offers a chance to reverse it - not through rhetoric, but through responsibility.
My campaign has been built through conversations - in living rooms, at school events, at community meetings, on front porches. A “living room campaign”.
People do not ask for perfection. They ask for seriousness.
They want representatives who understand how laws translate into real consequences. Who knows that small provisions in large bills often matter most. Who treats public office as work, not as an entitlement or a platform.
People want to be taken seriously.
Democracy works best when voters are offered real choices. One choice is the same path - knowing what to expect, even when it is insufficient.
I offer a new direction: thoughtful reform, practical solutions, sustained effort.
I am running because I believe our Valley deserves a new direction.
Not slogans. Solutions.
Not for the powerful. For the people.
Standing still is not neutral. It is a decision.
In 2026, I hope we choose to move forward — carefully, responsibly, and together.
Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by Eric Holguín, a Democratic Party candidate for Texas State Representative – District 41.
