In the 2026 tumultuous election cycle in Texas, one of the marquee races for Congress is right in Tarrant County but hasn\u2019t gotten a lot of attention ahead of the March 3 primary.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s under-the-radar despite featuring one of the most high-profile figures in the state: Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth.<\/p>\n
Lee, 99, isn\u2019t on the ballot, but her granddaughter is. Dione Sims, 57, who has been by Lee\u2019s side for years at \u201cFreedom Walks\u201d \u2014 and everything else related to promoting Juneteenth as a federal holiday \u2014 is a community activist who decided rather suddenly last year to run for Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She entered the Democratic primary for the 25th District on Dec. 8, the last day of filing, to run for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park.<\/p>\n
And Lee is very much a factor, appearing at Sims\u2019 kickoff Jan. 10 in Forest Hills, giving her endorsement and asking people to support her granddaughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking you to give the best you can,\u201d Lee told the crowd. \u201cLet\u2019s see, can we get her to be elected. It would be monumental. I\u2019m asking everybody, everybody, to do something to get Dione elected. All you\u2019ve got to do is get on the phone and call somebody in that district and ask them to be sure to vote for her. \u2019Cause I\u2019m going to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is clear that having her granddaughter in the contest is part of Lee\u2019s legacy, although she hasn\u2019t been on the campaign trail recently as she is recovering from a recent hospitalization, Sims said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Sims first told Lee she was running, the Juneteenth icon replied, \u201cWhere are your cards at?\u201d meaning her campaign material. Then Lee advised her: \u201cYou got to get to the churches, That\u2019s where the people are at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sims, a political novice, has taken her grandmother\u2019s campaign strategy to heart, appearing at churches to speak on Sundays throughout the primary season. She planned to wind up with appearances at two churches, before attending the Tarrant County Democratic Party\u2019s primary rally for all candidates March 1 at the Sons of the American Legion Tuskegee Airmen Lounge in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole process has been a learning experience,\u201d said Sims, who did no television advertising but did block-walk, attend candidate forums, distribute literature and post on social media, often featuring her grandmother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am running social posts from her speaking at the kickoff,\u201d said Sims. \u201cTo say, \u2018Am I running on my grandmother a bit?\u2019\u201d She answers with a laugh, \u201cYeah, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sims has her own record, of course, as the founder and CEO of the Fort Worth nonprofit Unity Unlimited Inc., which is heavily involved in promoting Juneteenth activities.<\/p>\n
So, why is Sims running, especially in a district designed to favor a Republican?<\/p>\n
\u201cMy reason for even jumping into the race goes back to gerrymandering,\u201d she said in an interview. When the state held hearings in August on the mid-decade redistricting pushed by President Donald Trump to create five GOP-leaning districts, Sims said she saw red.<\/p>\n
She went down to Austin to testify at the Statehouse, arriving at 8 a.m. and staying until 10 p.m. without getting the chance to speak. But she said the day had a profound impact on her, hearing even Republicans say that there was no guarantee they would get all five seats.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Sims had an epiphany. \u201cWhen I got back home, I thought we just need people to run. Then, I heard, \u2018Why not you?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who said that? \u201cMaybe the Lord,\u201d said Sims. But the thought galvanized her, and she decided to take the plunge.<\/p>\n
Sims said she was so new to the process that she didn\u2019t even pay attention to whether anyone else was filing on the Democratic side in the primary.<\/p>\n
And there was someone: retired Navy Cmdr. William Marks, who moved to Arlington a few years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like an act of fate that brought me to politics,\u201d Marks said in an interview. Last year, Marks, 51, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, mobilized opposition to the institution, which was banning books in answer to a dictate from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
Marks helped force the issue, noting that books like Maya Angelou\u2019s \u201cI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u201d were banned while Hitler\u2019s \u201cMein Kampf\u201d was not.<\/p>\n
Marks acknowledges the star power backing his primary rival. \u201cOpal Lee is an icon for the entire country. Her family deserves credit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The two agree on most issues, such as accessible health care, taxing billionaires, ethics in government, and Marks said his priority is flipping the seat to defeat Williams.<\/p>\n
Sims said that her advantage in the race is with the voters over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve known me,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ve seen me supporting my grandmother. I am a community person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams, first elected to Congress in 2012, represents what in the 2026 election is now a redrawn district that actually has more Democrats and minorities than it did before \u2014 after Republicans carved up Congressional District 33, held by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
It is still, however, a Republican-favored district that would have elected Trump by 18%. The population center of the district is in Tarrant County, but it stretches west across 13 counties that are largely white and rural.<\/p>\n
\u201cCD 25 is drawn for a Republican to win and for the purposes of diluting minority voters,\u201d said Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic Political Action Committee based in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gives Sims props for jumping into the race: \u201cAnybody who has met her is impressed by her. She clearly has leadership skills, is poised and thoughtful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maria Recio is a freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n