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The race for Texas House District 118 could be one of the most competitive in Texas this election.
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The seat was controlled by Democrats for decades, but Republican John Lujan flipped it in a 2021 special election. He held on to it in the 2022 midterms. Now, he must fend off Democrat Kristian Carranza to keep it again.
The district encompasses South, East, and Northeast Bexar County, including Universal City, Selma, Von Ormy, Elmendorf, Somerset, Sandy Oaks, Saint Hedwig, and China Grove.
Rep. John Lujan (R)
Incumbent Rep. John Lujan was born and raised on the South Side of San Antonio.
He became a deputy for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for five years. He then joined the San Antonio Fire Department, where he served for over 25 years before starting an information technology business.
Currently serving in his second term, Lujan is the Vice Chair of the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Texas House Committee and a member of the House Transportation Committee.
Lujan’s platform includes these topics:
- Securing the border
- Curbing fentanyl poisoning
- Improving healthcare
- Boosting economic development
- Supporting schools: increase safety protocols and update safety infrastructure
Kristian Carranza (D)
Democrat Kristian Carranza is a South Side San Antonio native who graduated from Dillard McCollum High School.
The 33-year-old became a political organizer, working as a regional director for the Democratic National Committee and a national field director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She worked on both Hillary Clinton and Julián Castro’s presidential campaigns.
Her platform includes these topics:
- Full funding for public schools, teacher pay increase
- Women’s health rights
- Access to health care, expanding Medicaid statewide
- Fixing the immigration system, protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Dreamers)
Differing Issues
There have been several issues Luhan and Carranza have publicly disagreed on and debated.
The first is public school funding and school vouchers.
Carranza staunchly opposes private school vouchers, saying the program would drain funding for public schools, including teacher pay.
Lujan said he wants public schools fully funded but also voted in favor of school vouchers during the last Legislature. Lujan has said he wouldn’t vote for a school voucher plan in the future if it doesn’t include better accountability for private schools.
The other hot-button issue is women’s right to choose, and specifically the current abortion bill.
Lujan has stated he is against abortion. Carranza supports abortion rights and the woman’s right to choose.
Lujan and Carranza also have differing opinions on Operation Lone Star, where Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to the southern border.
Carranza calls the operation tactics “cruel and a waste of taxpayer money,” suggesting a greater overhaul to the immigration system that protects Dreamers.
Lujan has voted to support Operation Lone Star and its goals on the Texas and Mexico border. He has also supported a bill for $6.6 million to continue building a wall along the border.