Texas Rep. Victoria Neave Criado will challenge fellow Dallas Democrat Sen. Nathan Johnson in the 2024 Democratic primary, she told reporters Monday.
During her official announcement at the Dallas County Democratic Party headquarters Monday afternoon Neave Criado said she was mounting the primary challenge because of Johnson's track record in the legislature, including his support of what she called a "racial profiling bill."
"There is too much at stake in our state and in our nation in order to allow people who are not going to stand up and fight for our communities," she said.
Senate Bill 4, which passed in the legislature's third special session this year, increases the criminal penalty for human smuggling and operating stash houses.
Neave Criado first confirmed her challenge in an interview with the Dallas Morning News Monday. Johnson, who represents the Dallas-area Senate District 16, did not immediately return KERA's request for comment Monday, but told the News he looked forward to the campaign.
“I am running on my record of effectively representing my constituents--from access to health care, to electricity for your homes, to public education and opposing all forms of the right-wing agenda,” he told the paper.
Johnson first won the seat in 2018, flipping it from Republican to Democrat after defeating then-Sen. Don Huffines. He was last reelected, handily defeating Republican Brandon Copeland by more than 20 percentage points in 2022.
Neave Criado represents the Dallas-area Texas House District 102, which includes parts of Mesquite and Garland. She defeated Libertarian Shane Newsom by about 45 percentage points in her own 2022 landslide reelection.
During her announcement Monday, Neave Criado was joined by fellow Dallas-area state House members John Bryant and Ana-Maria Ramos, both of whom threw their support behind the challenger.
Bryant framed his support as a call to push back against the Republican lieutenant governor, who also serves as the leader of the Texas Senate.
“We Democrats can no longer continue to nominate people who will not stand up to Dan Patrick when it comes to women's rights, when it comes to LGBTQ people, when it comes to the interest of average Texans,” he said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified a bill Texas Sen. Nathan Johnson voted for in the Texas Legislature.
KERA's Paul DeBenedetto contributed to this report.
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