Annie’s List candidate Ana Hernandez won a special election run-off for House District 143 in Houston with a resounding 61% of the vote on December 8th. The seat became vacant earlier in the year when Rep. Joe Moreno, Ana’s mentor and former boss, was killed in a tragic car accident.

27-year-old Hernandez is a true American success story. She was born in Mexico and raised in Pasadena. Her father works at a refinery where he has been a shift worker for over 16 years. Her mother worked as a school cafeteria worker while raising her children. Ana was an honors student at the University of Houston and went on to get her law degree at the University of Texas.

Today, Representative Ana Hernandez has vowed to continue her mentor’s fight for fully funded public schools, access to quality health care, clean air and she will be on the House floor to cast critical votes in the upcoming special session on school finance.

We would also like to congratulate another Annie’s List candidate, Representative Jessica Farrar (D-148). Representative Farrar recruited Ana to run for the seat, served as her campaign manager and played a critical role in winning this five contestant race. Way to go Jessica! What a great demonstration of creating a pipeline of women candidates to run for office.

(Austin) -- Annie's List, and all Texas Democrats for that matter, got the sweetest of the sweet Valentine gifts tonight with the victory of Donna Howard in the House District 48 special election run-off.

Donna's win means a net gain in Democratic seats in the House, a critical vote in the upcoming special legislative session on school finance and another ardent advocate for the health and safety of Texas women and children.

“I recruited Donna Howard to run for this seat because she is exactly the kind of leader we need at the State Capitol. Annie's List is proud to have been one of Donna's largest contributors in this hard fought battle and congratulate her on behalf of all pro-choice Democratic women," said Kelly White.

Tonight is a night of celebration for Annie's List and we encourage all of our members to bask in the warm glow of our first 2006 success. HOWEVER, tomorrow we shift our focus to helping Annie's List endorsed candidate Katy Hubener win her February 28th special election in Dallas.

Valinda Bolton (HD-47, Austin)

Valinda Bolton was born and raised in Texas and is a direct descendant of Sam Houston. Almost as long as her Texas lineage, is her record of fighting for safer and stronger communities in our great state. She is a nationally recognized leader on domestic violence and sexual assault issues and a well known child abuse prevention and affordable housing advocate.

House District 47, in Southwestern Travis County, borders Rep. Donna Howard’s district and shares many of its characteristics including a slight Republican registration edge with a huge swath of independent swing voters that are highly educated and affluent. This is also an open seat with the Republican incumbent retiring to seek higher office. Both the Republican and Democratic primaries were crowded and went to run-offs.

Though Valinda entered the primary late, under-funded and against the son of well known Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle – she far outpaced predictions (and her three opponents) by pulling 43% of the vote on March 7th. She ran an excellent campaign on a shoe-string budget, defied expectations, and entered the run-off with a slight lead.

In the April 11th primary run-offs, Valinda got 67% of the vote, showing that she is a viable candidate for a tough general election battle against anti-choice Republican nominee Bill Welch. The time to grasp HD-47 is now, while it is an open seat, and Valinda is a candidate that can accomplish this. It is in the spirit that Annie’s List was formed, to challenge the establishment and change the face of power, that we proudly endorse Valinda Bolton for State Representative and encourage our members to support her with their time and money. Click here to help Valinda turn HD-47 blue!

Ellen Cohen (HD-134, Houston)

For 15 of her 28 years in Houston, Ellen Cohen has been President and CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center, which is dedicated to eliminating domestic and sexual violence. With a $5.5 million dollar budget, 120 person staff and over six-thousand clients (women, children and men), Ellen is no stranger to making a limited amount of money do a lot of good.

A cancer survivor, widow and mother of two, Ellen also understands how important it is that Texas families be able to afford their property taxes, health insurance and have access to a quality public education. And on all accounts the Republican incumbent has a dismal record.

Houston's House District 134 includes Bellaire, West University, River Oaks and parts of Meyerland and Montrose and is currently represented by two-term Republican Martha Wong. The incumbent has voted lock-step with the failed Republican leadership in the House despite the overwhelming moderate attitudes of her constituents.

In what may end up being one of the most expensive House races in the state, Ellen has a seasoned campaign staff in place and is running a smart, aggressive campaign to take this seat back for Democrats. Click here to support Ellen’s campaign!

Paula Hightower Pierson (HD-93, Arlington)

A North Texas native, Paula Hightower Pierson has a proven record of success and accomplishment as a civic leader, elected official, businesswoman, mother and grandmother who made her mark bringing jobs and social services to the hard working families of Arlington.

Paula is also no stranger to winning tough campaigns as she served on the Arlington City Council for a decade. There, her leadership skills were instrumental in saving thousands of jobs at the Arlington GM plant, convincing National Semi-Conductor to significantly expand a major facility in North Texas, and building the ballpark in Arlington.

She is respected by both sides of the political aisle and has received recognition as a Life Member of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and as a Presidential appointee to the National Advisory Council of the United States Small Business Administration. Paula is also well known as the founder of the Alliance for Children, which has served as a safe haven of kindness, counseling and care for over 20,000 child abuse victims.

House District 93 includes portions of Arlington, Grand Prairie and Mansfield and is currently represented by Republican Toby Goodman. A recent column in The Star-Telegram about Paula’s candidacy said it best. “If ever there was an opportunity for Democrats to reverse a shutout in Arlington… that moment has arrived. Pierson is a tough, relentless campaigner who will show up with adequate resources.” We agree and hope Annie’s List members will help her put those resources together. Click here to help Paula win in HD-93!

Harriet Miller (HD-102, Dallas)

From her work in the 70’s as a federal attorney helping draft Title IX, to being a PTA president, working mother, founder of North Dallas Texas Democratic Women and more – Harriet Miller’s commitment to the health and safety of women and children is unsurpassed. With boundless energy and an undying commitment to public schools, public health and integrity in government, Harriet is exactly the kind of leader we need in Austin.

“Smart, responsive and practical,” is what the Dallas Morning News said in their 2004 endorsement of Miller’s campaign for State House District 102. And on a shoe-string budget Harriet pulled over 47% of the vote and shocked political pundits statewide. Today she is back, ready for round-two and doing exactly what it will take to defeat incumbent Republican Tony Goolsby.

With a professional campaign staff on the ground and a solid strategy to win in place, Harriet now needs the resources to communicate her message for change with the voters in this north Dallas district. We can promise that Harriet is working as hard as she can to win this seat and with your help, we intend to do the same. Click here to make a contribution to Harriet’s campaign!

Kristi Thibaut (HD-133, Houston)

Annie’s List is proud to announce its endorsement of Kristi Thibaut for State House District 133 in Harris County. Kristi is the 6th Democratic woman candidate we have thrown our support behind this year and she has an excellent shot of picking up an open seat for Democrats in this southwest Houston district – vacated by Republican Joe Nixon for a failed bid on the State Senate in March.

District 133 bares strong resemblance to the neighboring seat, HD149, which saw a Democratic Vietnamese immigrant (Hubert Vo) beat the House Appropriations Chairman (Talmadge Heflin) in 2004 by 31 votes. With every election cycle, caused by palpable demographic shifts, this district has trended more and more Democratic. With the seat now open, Kristi Thibaut is the right candidate at the right time to win it back for Democrats.

Kristi has dedicated her professional life to public and civic service including extensive work with American Heart Association, and as Executive Director of the Youth Hunting Association (a project partly funded by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife) and on numerous issue and candidate campaigns as well as a legislative aide in the Texas Capitol. She understands the critical issues facing her district and has the skills to navigate the legislative process and get the job done.

Kristi has put together a solid campaign team and has a sound strategy for reaching out to voters on both sides of the aisle to offer them her independent- minded vision for a better Texas. We enthusiastically support Kristi Thibaut and ask you, our statewide network of like-minded donors, do the same as well. Click here to make a generous contribution to Kristi’s campaign today!