Paul Thomasson

Paul Thomasson (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Texas State Senate to represent District 5. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Jobs and the economy must be made better! The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. The Democratic Party MUST stand with the vast majority of working Texans to represent their interests against the power, privilege and special laws of the oligarchs. If things continue as is the rich will be richer next year while millions of Texans will be even poorer next year. The Minimum Wage of $7.25 an hour hasn't been increased by even a penny since 2009! The living wage in Texas is currently approximately $40,000 per year and living Minimum Wage grosses $15,000 per year. This long-overdue raise has been neglected for so long that even doubling minimum wage will still be unlivable for millions of Texans.Education in Texas is under attack. First, millions and millions of dollars have been taken out of our public schools and given over to vouchers and administrators. This has caused innumerable terrible problems for our public schools. From daily education to teacher salaries to classroom size to sports to everything else this has been a disastrous decision by the Republican Party of Texas. Secondly, our colleges and schools are under ideological attack. Critical thinking, the scientific method, basic history and more are being re-shaped by claiming Diversity, Equality, and Inclusiveness are horrible values. Moreover Boards of Regents and educators are being ruled by very biased right-wing viewpoints. Next will be the High Schools.Healthcare in Texas (and everywhere else) is in grave trouble. Every time a rural hospital is closed it winds up costing lives. Every time our health-care premiums rise our quality of life is adversely impacted. Healthcare for the wealthy keeps getting better while healthcare for everyone else keeps getting harder to get and more and more expensive.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The three things that really touch my heart the strongest have to do with the environment, immigration and gun violence. "Global warming is a hoax" is a terrible, terrible lie. Global warming is a reality and lying about it is ultimately going to cost millions of lives...maybe billions. In immigration, I am sickened when I see innocent children put into cages! I am angry that the Republican Party is demonizing millions of decent, hard-working people over the actions of a very small percentage. Finally, I own guns and will use them on wild hogs (or for emergency defense) but strongly believe they should be much harder for dangerously mentally ill persons to obtain. Individual, irrational extremists ruin lives, schools, and more.