Marcos Isaias Velez

Lieutenant Governor · Democrat Primary 2026

Democrat

About ✓ Verified

Assistant Director of United Steelworkers union running as working-class candidate with strong labor support and recent momentum from major endorsements, including new Latino Victory Fund backing.

Key Positions ✓ Verified

Lowering costs for families
Raising wages and rebuilding the middle class
Fully funding public schools and raising teacher pay
Protecting rural Texas communities
Government accountability to working families
THC product legalization
Casino gambling legalization

Strengths Sourced

Strong labor union backing and credibility
Proven track record negotiating for workers
Growing momentum with major endorsements
Appeals to working-class voter base

Concerns Sourced

Limited political experience or legislative knowledge
Significantly lower fundraising than Goodwin
Not included in major polling
Relatively unknown statewide

Endorsements ✓ Verified

Texas AFL-CIO (labor union)
Latino Victory Fund (advocacy group)
Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus (advocacy group)
Houston Progressive Caucus (political organization)
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas (political organization)
Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio (political organization)
Bay Area Democratic Movement (political organization)
Texas Majority PAC (political organization)

Polling ✓ Verified

Not included in public polling data available

Fundraising ✓ Verified

$46,000 cash on hand (confirmed in February 2026 reporting)

Sources (20)

Union leader is sleeper in Dems' Texas lieutenant governor race (2026-02-24)
Steelworkers union leader emerges as sleeper in Texas' Democratic lieutenant governor primary (2026-02-24)
The Race For Lieutenant Governor (2026-02-24)
Meet the Texas Democrats vying to challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in November | Texas Standard (2026-02-24)
Top candidates in the 2026 Texas lieutenant governor's race (2026-02-24)
Steelworkers union leader emerges as sleeper in Texas’ Democratic lieutenant governor primary | Houston Public Media (2026-02-24)
Democrats Goodwin, Head and Vélez vie for Lt. Governor nomination (2026-02-24)
Q&A: Get to know the Democratic primary candidates for Texas lieutenant governor | Community Impact (2026-02-24)
Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary) - Ballotpedia (2026-02-24)
Meet the Texas Democrats vying to challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in November | KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station (2026-02-24)
Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 - Ballotpedia (2026-02-24)
Texas Primaries 2026 | University of Houston (2026-02-24)
Who’s leading in Texas’ 2026 election? New poll offers clues | khou.com (2026-02-24)
2026 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election - Wikipedia (2026-02-24)
Texas lieutenant governor primary: Who is running and what to know (2026-02-24)
Top candidates in the 2026 Texas governor's race primary (2026-02-24)
Democratic early voting surges in Texas primary, far outpacing previous elections | KERA News (2026-02-24)
Travis County commissioner candidates vow to keep ICE out, protect the environment and add housing (2026-02-24)
Meet the Texas Democrats vying to challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in November – Houston Public Media (2026-02-24)
Courtney Head - Ballotpedia (2026-02-24)

Data last verified: Mar 3, 2026 · 20 sources cited

See something wrong? Let us know and we'll fix it.

Data Confidence
✓ Verified backed by official sources (Ballotpedia, Vote Smart, .gov)
Sourced from web sources cited below
AI-inferred generated by AI from available information