Mihaela Plesa

Rep. Mihaela Plesa is a lifelong Texan running for reelection to the Texas House this November to continue representing her Collin County district and protect an important Democratic seat in one of the most competitive districts in the state. Representing parts of Plano, Allen, Dallas, and Richardson, Mihaela first flipped this district in 2022, becoming the first Romanian-American ever elected to the Texas Legislature. Since then, she has been fighting to increase health care access for all Texans, fully fund Texas public schools, and lower the cost of living for working families.  

Mihaela has run strong campaigns as a DLCC Spotlight Candidate in close races in past elections, winning by fewer than a thousand votes in 2022 and narrowly in 2024. The DLCC is proud to support her again for reelection this year as we look to build power and gain ground in the Texas House.

Over the past decade, Democrats have been steadily building power in the Texas House, where Republicans have held a majority since 2002, and this year, Texas is home to some of our best opportunities to pick up seats and gain ground in a state’s legislature. 

In 2025, state Democrats in Texas used their minority power to take a stand against a blatant GOP mid-decade redistricting power-grab attempt by leaving the state and denying quorum. Every seat flipped blue strengthens Democrats’ ability to resist extreme legislation in Texas and push for policies to enact positive change. 

The DLCC has supported Democrats in Texas cycle over cycle, featuring 37 Texas candidates in our DLCC Target Races program since 2020. Early in 2026, Taylor Rehmet, a DLCC Target Race candidate for Texas Senate, achieved the first major flip of the year when he claimed victory in a district that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2024 election.

This year, all 150 seats in the Texas House are on the ballot, and Democratic candidates have filed to run in every district, giving us a historic opportunity to build power in the chamber. Democrats would need to pick up 14 seats to take an outright majority, but every inch of ground gained puts us closer than ever to turning the tide in the Texas Legislature.