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Joy Diaz
Joy Diaz (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Texas. She lost in the Democratic primary on March 1, 2022.
Diaz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Joy Diaz earned a bachelor's degree in communication and journalism from the Universidad de Cuautitlán Izcalli in 1998. Diaz's career experience includes working as a reporter and producer with KUT Public Media and the communications and PR Director with Mexic-Arte Museum.[1][2]
Elections
2022
See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2022
General election
General election for Governor of Texas
The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Texas on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Greg Abbott (R) | 54.8 | 4,437,099 |
 | Beto O'Rourke (D) | 43.9 | 3,553,656 | |
 | Mark Tippetts (L)  | 1.0 | 81,932 | |
 | Delilah Barrios (G) | 0.4 | 28,584 | |
 | Jacqueline Abernathy (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1,243 | |
 | Mark Goloby (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 394 | |
| Total votes: 8,102,908 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Reginald Jennings II (Independent)
- Jorge Franco (Independent)
- Jeremy Rios (Independent)
- Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla (Independent)
- Justin Cunneen (Independent)
- Sean Sharp (Independent)
- Demetra Wysinger (Independent)
- Chioma Okoro (Independent)
- Star Locke (Independent)
- Raul Cortina (Independent)
- Patrick Wynne (Reform Party)
- Jal Dennis (Independent)
- Deirdre Dickson-Gilbert (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Texas
Beto O'Rourke defeated Joy Diaz, Michael Cooper, Rich Wakeland, and Inocencio Barrientez in the Democratic primary for Governor of Texas on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Beto O'Rourke | 91.4 | 983,182 |
 | Joy Diaz | 3.1 | 33,622 | |
 | Michael Cooper | 3.0 | 32,673 | |
 | Rich Wakeland | 1.2 | 13,237 | |
| Inocencio Barrientez | 1.2 | 12,887 | ||
| Total votes: 1,075,601 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Texas
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Texas on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Greg Abbott | 66.5 | 1,299,059 |
 | Allen B. West | 12.3 | 239,557 | |
 | Donald Huffines | 12.0 | 234,138 | |
 | Chad Prather | 3.8 | 74,173 | |
| Rick Perry | 3.1 | 61,424 | ||
 | Kandy Kaye Horn | 1.2 | 23,605 | |
| Paul Belew | 0.6 | 11,387 | ||
 | Daniel Harrison | 0.6 | 10,829 | |
| Total votes: 1,954,172 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Green convention
Green convention for Governor of Texas
Delilah Barrios advanced from the Green convention for Governor of Texas on April 9, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Delilah Barrios (G) |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Governor of Texas
Mark Tippetts defeated Fidel Castillo in the Libertarian convention for Governor of Texas on April 10, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| Fidel Castillo (L) | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Tippetts (L) |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrew Jewell (L)
- Daniel Behrman (L)
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joy Diaz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Diaz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- In a Joy Diaz administration, we will invest in healthcare because Texan lives are worth it. We will expand Medicaid as soon as we can sign the paperwork to do it. And we will look for creative ways to bring healthcare coverage to Texans who would not qualify for Medicaid.
- In a Joy Diaz administration we will have peace and order at the border. Our border has been used as a political prompt for political theater. There are real problems at the border begging to be addressed. We will address those and we will partner with local governments and with the federal government to solve what needs to be solved and prevent what can be prevented.
- In a Joy Diaz administration we will invest in education in ways our state hasn’t invested before. We have had good economic growth. But there is an imbalance. Our children are not being prepared for the future. We can’t have a 2 pronged stool. We need to strengthen our investment in the future.
I’m a listener.
I’m an avid learner and lover of data.
I’m a visionary
I’m a hard worker who seeks the well-being of others
- The state budget is also a massive responsibility
- Because of Texas’ geographical position, the governor would benefit from having a position similar to that of an ambassador who can partner with both governments of Mexico and the United States with issues that deal with the border and immigration.
- The state budget is also a massive responsibility
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 website
Diaz's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Individual Rights As a U.S. citizen who values individuality and freedom I will advocate for those rights in Texas as well. Here are my stances on a number of issues that are important to Texans far and wide. Guns A lot of Texans are curious about my stance on guns because I am a Democrat. My brother-in-law who is an avid gun collector asked me if I would take away his guns if I became Governor of Texas. I answered: “What for? I don’t want them. Keep your guns” The possession of guns in Texas is a right secured under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Guns are culturally important to the state and they are tools that many need to protect themselves and their land. If you have ever encountered a feral hog in Texas while enjoying some of our beautiful scenery you know the importance of guns as a tool. I respect all of our constitutional rights as Americans, but they are weighted with responsibilities. There have been too many deaths in Texas from the misuse of guns and other firearms and that needs to stop. When law enforcement officers are against the most recent expansion to gun rights that our state lawmakers have embraced, then, we have a problem. Cops don’t support those new laws and neither do I. Voting Rights As a woman, I don’t take my voting rights for granted. As a woman of color even more so. We must always strive towards strengthening the right to vote and not reverse the gains people have fought and died for. Women and people of color have been imprisoned, beaten, and murdered fighting for this right. It is our fundamental right as citizens of a democracy to determine the elected leaders of our state and our country. Elected officials have betrayed our trust when they have tried to make it harder for us to vote when they gerrymander districts to limit our electoral power, and try to scare us into thinking elections are not fair and honest. That is a betrayal of the faith we put in them when we elected them to office. In 2019 the former Texas Secretary of State David Whitley, appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, engaged in voter purges of naturalized citizens. He attacked a vulnerable community and directly attacked the voting rights of my family. My husband is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Many like him were purged from voting rolls even though they had every right to vote. Can you imagine having your right to vote arbitrarily taken away? We were furious. We had every right to be. Perhaps you felt the same way. Improper and ideologically based voter purges and voter restrictions that only serve to intimidate and even suppress the vote will be rolled back under my leadership. I am not afraid of letting more people vote, why are other politicians? In my administration, we will ensure that everyone who is entitled to vote can vote. And we will make sure we have safe and secure elections in Texas because that is the foundation that the rest of our democracy is built on. LGBTQIA+ The LGBTQIA+ community in Texas deserves equality under the law, and our state is still falling short. Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal, as federal rulings have made clear. To have the Texas Attorney General challenging that principle in court is shameful. We should be advancing the rights of LGBTQIA+ Texans, not fighting against them. Housing discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation should be illegal everywhere in Texas, and gender identity should be a protected class under state hate crime laws. These changes are long overdue, and I intend to fight for them. Texans should never have to face discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. As a mother of children who may be perceived as members of a minority group, I know the importance and value of being treated with dignity and respect. I know what that means for the future of my children. As public servants, we will serve every Texan, not just the ones we perceive as part of our tribe. I will also fight for the rights of trans and non-binary student athletes. All kids deserve to play, be included and to be treated with dignity. They do not deserve to have their existence turned into a political issue. There is an unfolding process in sports’ governing bodies like the NCAA and the IOC to determine rules for the most elite athletes in the world. But that process should have nothing to do with whether a 9-year-old trans child gets to play soccer with their friends. In a Joy Diaz administration, children will be respected. Full stop. A governor who bullies children doesn’t deserve your vote or mine. Texas needs a fair, respectful system to allow participation and mediate disputes, as recommended by GLSEN. Other states have managed to serve the needs of their student athletes, and we can too. Disability How is it possible that Greg Abbott, Texas’ first governor with visible disabilities, has turned his back on the community of Texans with disabilities? It seems ideology is how Abbott rules, instead of having compassion for fellow Texans. When I am elected governor, my administration will make Texas a more inclusive equitable state for people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed more than three decades ago but Texas still can’t show significant progress in the way it treats people with disabilities. Under Abbott’s administration students in Special Education were underserved and suffered as a result. This is wrong, from the way we build in Texas, to the way the state offers services online and in person. Healthcare If I am elected Governor, I will push to expand Medicaid on day one. Texans are either dying or going bankrupt because Abbott has chosen political ambition over the health and well-being of Texans. Healthcare is near and dear to my heart. Access to quality healthcare saved the life of my husband after an accident. We thought he was fine with only a few bumps and bruises, but several days later he was dizzy and nauseated. Because we had insurance, we decided to get him checked out for what we thought was high blood pressure, but it turned out to be bleeding in his brain and he was rushed into emergency brain surgery. Because we have insurance, we didn’t have to choose between getting him the care he needed and potentially losing everything we have worked so hard to earn in our lives to extreme medical debt. No Texan should have to make that choice. Increasing access to healthcare in Texas will drive down costs and extend the lives of countless Texans. Medicaid expansion will bring economic success and opportunities for our dying rural hospitals that are struggling to stay open. With the help of President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan, Texas will be able to transform its healthcare deserts into flourishing and productive fields. Our federal tax dollars will finally come home and back to the Texans who earned them. They won’t go to Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, or New York, states that have already expanded Medicaid, they will come back to Texas. Unlike our current administration, I will always choose the well-being of Texans over party and ideological allegiance. Reproductive Healthcare Access to safe and legal abortions saves lives. As the only woman on the Democratic ticket running for governor, my goal is for every woman in Texas to have access to an array of options, from free and easy access to contraception to, if necessary, abortions. I know access to safe and legal abortions can be lifesaving because I had to have one to save my own life when complications from a pregnancy nearly ended it. My procedure was called a D&C but for all intents and purposes, it is an abortion I often wonder if I had lived in Texas at the time, under our state’s current political environment, if I would have been forced by the state to die? These fundamental, and sometimes life and death decisions, should be made by the woman and her doctor, not by politicians. As Texans, we celebrate the idea of self-determination and nothing is more important than control over our bodies, whether that means taking a birth control pill, getting an abortion, or even taking a vaccine. These fundamental, and sometimes life and death decisions, should be made by the individual and their doctor, not politicians. Under my administration women and men will be respected and their health care options and outcomes will be a top priority. Criminal Justice I strongly believe in re-evaluating many aspects of our criminal justice system. If we believe, as I do, that Texans are our most valuable asset, we need to reassess, rethink, and retool our criminal justice system. There is no need for a person to be incarcerated for a nonviolent offense like marijuana possession. It is wasteful and inhumane to use jails and prisons as substitutes for mental health treatment centers. Racial profiling is undemocratic, unpatriotic, and discriminatory and should be abandoned and restricted in law enforcement and judicial proceedings. The bail system needs meaningful and systemic reform. Money should not be the determining factor of who is held accountable and who is not. People who haven’t been convicted of a crime need to be allowed to be productive and allowed to continue with their lives. There’s no need for them to linger in jail unless they have been convicted. We need to do away with private prisons and immigration facilities. They are for-profit groups that prey on and are financially rewarded by, the incarceration of people and the expansion of crime. Accountability goes both ways, it’s not just for the people. The criminal justice system must be accountable as well. We need to strengthen our Ethics Commission to prevent prosecutorial misconduct. We need a prison system that wants less crime and fewer prisoners, not more crime, more suffering, and more money. That is just fundamentally backward and we should end those practices that profit from the suffering of Texans. We need to allow for more ways to expunge a person’s criminal record if they are able to return to being responsible, productive, law-abiding citizens after incarceration. Sentences for crimes previously committed and served should not follow a person for life if that citizen can demonstrate they have changed. Once a person has paid the price, there is no reason for that criminal record to follow them in perpetuity. I don’t pretend to know it all. One of my priorities for criminal justice reform during my administration will be to create a commission that will examine the current system to identify reforms that can create a safer and fairer state of Texas. Education Yes, education is a large and complex issue. I am not naive. Texas children are our best asset. That’s why I will invest in education like never before. As a former public school teacher, I know this will provide the best return of our investment to our state. The issue of education has loomed over Texas since legal challenges began questioning the state’s funding scheme in the 1960s. There is an efficient solution we can achieve through a simple Constitutional revision. Texas can allow for property taxes to be collected statewide instead of collecting locally. We could create a statewide fund that fairly and adequately addresses gaps in funding based on property value disparities. We would use taxes we already collect differently by promoting proportionate funding for each student in the state of Texas. Public education ought to provide an opportunity for all children to compete based on their talent. As a state with one of the most powerful economies in the country and the world, we can afford to have the best public schools in the country. Let’s get it done! Energy and Environment I am amazed at the many ways Texas produces energy - from oil to solar to wind - we are a leader in energy. But, our environment is paying a heavy price for some of our choices. A top concern for Texans, particularly younger Texans, is the environment. All Texans understand that we have one home on this Earth and that there is no plan B. We need to base our energy production, infrastructure, and outcomes on what is best for the short term and the long term. We cannot abandon the oil and gas industry but we can transition to greener sources of energy that are both financially and environmentally smart. Texas is beginning to transition to a diverse energy portfolio and this is the way forward. Transitioning is not a choice, it’s the next natural step. The world is no longer relying exclusively on oil, and we must adapt. In the same way, we invested in highways in the ’50s and ’60s we need to invest in the promotion of electric vehicles and green energy. In addition, we need to find ways to protect our water, land, and air resources. We need to build a more sustainable way of producing energy that takes into account the extreme weather that Texas experiences. We need to be able to adjust to the new weather conditions we face in the Lone Star State. We need to face these challenges head-on in the present, not after they occur. Climate change is inevitable, extreme weather is inevitable, so let's prepare by curtailing the excesses of unchecked climate change. Infrastructure I believe it is incredibly crucial to maintain and expand the state’s infrastructure. Texans shouldn’t fear winter. Texans shouldn’t be afraid that they will freeze in their own homes. We are the leading energy state in the country and we should have been prepared. Disasters like the February freeze of 2021 tested the resilience of Texans, but we deserve a government that is prepared. We can do better, but our current political leaders are just choosing not to. One thing we know how to do as Texas is to build. So let’s get to it! Let’s expand our highways and broadband access. Let’s connect Texas cities with high-speed rail. Let’s improve our state for the next generation. For decades, Texas has been dragging its heels when it comes to investing in infrastructure. One simple solution is to accept federal money from the recently passed infrastructure bill. Governor Greg Abbott has asked state agencies to delay and frustrate federal investments in Texas’ infrastructure. Yet another example of ideology over reason and pragmatism. That is wrong on behalf of the citizens of this state. That is our money. In a Joy Diaz administration, we would invest in Texas. We will work with the federal government to take care of Texans and invest in both rural and urban communities, it is after all our money. The Border and Immigration The U.S./Mexico border is an important and meaningful place in my life and I have been crossing the border since I was a child. My father was a missionary in Mexico and we would often cross into Mexico from Texas to visit family and friends who lived on the other side, but Texas was always our point of entry. The Texas border is a place I love. That’s why when I hear our governor say that the border is in crisis, it only reinforces in my mind that he hasn’t done his job. He doesn’t want to solve it because he is using the chaos at the border to gain political power. Greg Abbott has been governor since 2014. That’s eight years in office. The failure is his. Management of the border is a federal responsibility. We all know that. The Constitution gave that power to the federal government. But, because of our strategic location, Texas has the privilege to be a partner with the federal governments of both Mexico and the United States. As the first bicultural Governor, I would place a great deal of emphasis on building a respectful relationship with both the governments of Mexico and the U.S. My goal is to be a respectful, reasonable, and pragmatic partner. I am convinced that chaos at the border does not constitute a crisis. Chaos is simply an invitation for order and we will work in an orderly fashion. When I talk to the people in charge of local governments at the border, they have told me that there are real needs that are not being met by our current administration and my goal is to partner with local governments to get them the resources that they truly need. I will not lead from a position of top-down but rather bottom-up. Rural and Urban Rural communities in Texas have been disregarded for far too long under the Greg Abbott administration. I’ve been a “city girl” most of my life. I grew up in Mexico City and now live in Austin, and I love city life. But my grandparents were farmers so I also love and appreciate the values and strength of our rural brothers and sisters. I fully understand the importance of unifying the interests of our rural and urban communities to improve each other’s lives. If cities are pulling in one direction and rural communities in another, we will end up tearing the state apart and that is unacceptable. The goal of a Joy Diaz administration will be to unify and not divide the state. We need to improve access to healthcare - including access to mental health experts - in rural communities. We need to stop relying solely on the economic benefits of prisons in rural areas. We need to educate and expand internet access to allow every Texan to compete for the jobs of tomorrow. We need to bring broadband as fast as possible to rural communities to achieve this. My goal is for Texans to have meaningful employment and opportunities regardless of where they live in the state. State Preparedness From floods, droughts, the next pandemic and the next grid failure, we all know there are challenges ahead. As a former reporter, there is a phrase I heard over and over every time I covered a disaster. People would tell me that their lives would go on because “Texans are resilient.” And we are. But, resiliency has its limits. We’re better served being prepared. Every disaster that we don’t plan for costs lives and potentially billions of dollars. It’s time for Texas to be prepared. We need leadership brave enough to plan ahead. That’s why I say, Texas Needs Joy. It is true that up until now, politicians didn’t want to plan ahead. They believed planning wouldn’t win them an election because it’s hard to show progress in 2-year intervals. But planning saves money and lives. And those are two of the fundamental goals of mine, to save money, and to save lives.[3] |
” |
| —Joy Diaz's campaign website (2022)[4] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 7, 2022
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Joy Diaz," accessed February 12, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Joy Diaz for Texas Governor, “Platform,” accessed January 24, 2022
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