Josh Reyna
Josh Reyna (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Texas House of Representatives to represent District 49. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.
Reyna completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Josh Reyna earned a bachelor's degree from St. Edward's University and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. His career experience includes working as a chief of staff.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 26, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary runoff
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 49
Montserrat Garibay (D) and Kathie Tovo (D) are running in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 49 on May 26, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Montserrat Garibay  | |
 | Kathie Tovo | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 49
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 49 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Montserrat Garibay | 32.9 | 13,332 |
| ✔ | | Kathie Tovo | 28.2 | 11,419 |
 | Josh Reyna | 8.9 | 3,584 | |
 | Robin Lerner | 7.6 | 3,076 | |
 | Gigs Hodges | 7.0 | 2,853 | |
 | Shenghao Wang | 6.8 | 2,756 | |
 | Kimmie Ellison | 6.0 | 2,415 | |
 | Sam Slade | 2.6 | 1,053 | |
| Total votes: 40,488 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled.
Green Party convention
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Green convention for Texas House of Representatives District 49
Arshia Papari (G) ran in the Green Party convention for Texas House of Representatives District 49 on March 14, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Arshia Papari | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Josh Reyna completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Reyna's responses.
| Collapse all
For 16 years, I’ve worked in the Texas House and Senate as a policy expert, legislative lawyer, Senate Chief of Staff, and General Counsel. I’ve helped write major legislation, pass strong bipartisan bills, and stop harmful ones. I was part of the team that helped pass the largest increase in public school funding in recent Texas history because I believe every child deserves a great public education. But this campaign isn’t about résumés - it’s about results. Families in our district are feeling squeezed by rising housing costs, high property taxes, expensive healthcare, and everyday bills that just keep going up. Voters consistently say they want leaders who will lower costs, protect public schools, expand access to healthcare, and keep our communities safe. As a new father, these issues are personal. I’m running to build a Texas where families can afford a home, access affordable healthcare, send their kids to strong public schools, and live free from political extremism that divides us.
I’ve spent my career working behind the scenes to get good policy across the finish line. Now I’m running to take that experience to the front lines –– to deliver practical solutions that put working families first.- I’m a public servant and new dad running to make Texas more affordable and more free. Families in HD-49 are working hard, but housing, healthcare, and everyday costs keep rising. I’m running to lower costs, protect public schools, expand access to healthcare, and make sure our state government works for everyone – no matter how well off you are.
- Experience matters. For 16 years, I’ve worked in the Texas House and Senate as a legislative lawyer, policy expert, Senate Chief of Staff, and General Counsel. I’ve helped write and pass major legislation - including the largest increase in public school funding in recent history, expanding SNAP food assistance, and passing gun safety legislation after the El Paso Wal-Mart mass-shooting - and I know how to deliver results, build coalitions, and stop harmful bills.
- We can protect freedom and opportunity at the same time. I will defend voting rights, protect LGBTQ+ Texans’ freedom to live and love openly, roll back censorship in classrooms and on college campuses, stand up for common-sense gun violence prevention, end gerrymandering, and protect our communities and Dreamers from ICE.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Texas House of Representatives District 49 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 12, 2026
