Pictured: Sylvia Tanguma, President of McAllen AFT Photo Credits: Texas AFL-CIO
Hundreds of labor delegates from across the state gathered in Georgetown this past weekend for the 2026 Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) Convention, a pivotal moment as the labor movement formally kicked off its political work ahead of the March primary. The biennial gathering brought together representatives from affiliated unions statewide at a moment shaped by rising economic pressure on working families and a polarized political landscape.
The COPE Convention brings together affiliated unions to debate priorities, adopt resolutions, and, most critically, vote on endorsements for statewide, congressional, and legislative races. These endorsements represent the collective power of more than 250,000 union members and define labor’s posture for the cycle ahead and set expectations for candidates seeking working people’s support.
The weekend opened with caucus meetings that allowed delegates to coordinate internally before the convention formally came to order. From the outset, the tone was disciplined and deliberate. Reports from Texas AFL-CIO leadership outlined organizing goals, political strategy, and ongoing work across the state, while elected allies addressed delegates on the stakes of the coming election cycle and labor’s role in shaping it.
Throughout the convention, speakers returned to a consistent message: working people are under pressure, driven by rising costs and sustained political attacks on labor rights.
One thing is clear, however: unions remain one of the few institutions with the infrastructure to respond at scale. Rather than focusing solely on elections, leaders emphasized the importance of sustained member engagement, worksite organizing, and connecting economic credibility to political action.
That emphasis carried into a series of workshops designed to equip delegates with practical tools for the months ahead. Sessions focused on union readiness and rapid response strategies, best practices for member engagement, and how to translate economic concerns into effective organizing and canvassing efforts. Other workshops addressed coalition-building, First Amendment protections for union activity, and strategies to counter narratives driven by corporate and billionaire interests. Together, the sessions reflected a broader effort to align political work with on-the-ground organizing and member education.
By the convention close, delegates voted to adopt the Texas AFL-CIO’s 2026 primary endorsements. In several contested races, the body chose to take “no action,” a decision that preserves flexibility for local unions to assess candidates and make endorsements that reflect their members’ priorities. Together, those votes reflected a deliberate approach to political engagement: one based on member input and an expectation that endorsed candidates earn labor support.
You can find a full list of Texas AFL-CIO’s endorsements here. Texas AFT has begun rolling out our own endorsements, which you can find below:
Texas Statewide
Governor: Gina Hinojosa
Lt. Gov: Vikki Goodwin
Land Commissioner: Jose Loya
Agriculture Commissioner: Clayton Tucker
Railroad Commissioner: Jon Rosenthal
Texas House of Representatives
HD 27 Ron Reynolds
HD 38 Erin Gamez
HD 40 Terry Canales
HD 45 Erin Zwiener
HD 46 Sheryl Cole
HD 47 Pooja Sethi
HD 48 Donna Howard
HD 49 Montserrat Garibay
HD 50 Jeremy Hendricks
HD 51 Lulu Flores
HD 70 Mihaela Plesa
HD 75 Mary Gonzalez
HD 76 Suleman Lalani
HD 77 Vince Perez
HD 78 Joe Moody
HD 79 Claudia Ordaz
HD 90 Ramon Romero Jr.
HD 92 Salman Bhojani
HD 95 Nicole Collier
HD 100 Venton Jones
HD 101 Chris Turner
HD 102 Ana-Maria Ramos
HD 103 Rafael Anchia
HD 104 Jessica Gonzalez
HD 105 Terry Meza
HD 107 Linda Garcia
HD 108 Allison Mitchell
HD 109 Aicha Davis
HD 110 Toni Rose
HD 111 Yvonne Davis
HD 113 Rhetta Andrews Bowers
HD 114 John Bryant
HD 115 Cassandra Hernandez
HD 116 Trey Martinez Fischer
HD 118 Kristian Carranza
HD 124 Josey Garcia
HD 134 Ann Johnson
HD 135 Odus E. Evbagharu
HD 136 John Bucy III
HD 137 Gene Wu
HD 139 Charlene Ward Johnson
HD 140 Armando Walle
HD 141 Senfronia Thompson
HD 143 Ana Hernandez
HD 144 Mary Ann Perez
HD 145 Christina Morales
HD 146 Lauren Simmons
HD 148 Penny Morales Shaw
HD 149 Hubert Vo
U.S House of Representatives
CD 30 Rev. Frederick Haynes
CD 37 Greg Casar
As the labor movement heads into the 2026 cycle, the message from Georgetown was straightforward: political work does not begin and end with Election Day. It starts with preparation, continues through organizing, and is sustained by members who understand what’s at stake and how to fight back.