Sarah Eckhardt, a UT alumna and Texas senator for District 14 who represents Travis County in the State Senate, is running for Texas’ 10th Congressional District, which represents parts of west Austin to Lake Livingston north of Houston. 

Eckhardt said she was drawn to the seat earlier this year when state lawmakers redrew the congressional boundaries around the district in a way that favored Republican votes. The mid-decade redistricting effort added more Democratic areas of Austin into the district, but it is still majority Republican, according to KUT. The district now includes a politically diverse array of communities, from rural areas to major cities and college towns. Eckhardt said her campaign reflects her goal to bring Texans across the district together to discuss their shared priorities, such as emergency response, hunger, housing and healthcare.

“My gut feeling on this is that most people are pretty tired of concentrating on what divides us,” Eckhardt said. “Our common concerns are (of) far greater importance.”

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, currently represents District 10, but announced he is not running for reelection in 2026. Eckhardt is currently running against majority Republican candidates, according to BallotPedia. 

With a UT law degree and a master’s from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Eckhardt said UT hugely shaped her leadership style and taught her to imagine how to build a better government system.

“Lawyers are trained to think of the worst, but then I got to go to the LBJ School in public policy, which trains you to think of the best and plan for that,” Eckhardt said.

According to her website, Eckhardt is inspired by her children to help make long-lasting changes that will benefit future generations.

“Once I had kids, it did open up a place that I never knew existed,” Eckhardt said. “I don’t want to do all this work if it’s not going to be helpful to my kids after I’m gone.”

Eckhardt’s focus on the future drives many of her policy priorities that she hopes resonate with young voters, like affordable housing and protecting social security, she said. 

“It’s crucial that we have young people voting because a bunch of stuff that’s being decided on today is going to really screw the next generation,” Eckhardt said. “We are doing things in tax policy that are robbing the next generation of infrastructure that’s going to be necessary for continued prosperity.”

Despite the district’s political diversity, Eckhardt said she believes its residents are more alike than they think. She said her path to victory includes Texans of all backgrounds and political parties coming together to choose candidates who advocate for tangible change.

“I think perhaps the biggest misconception (about this district) is that there is massive division that cannot be overcome,” Eckhardt said. “That is such a defeatist attitude. Texans are Texans no matter where you go, whether you’re an Aggie or a Longhorn, you’re still a Texan … Those divisions are meaningless when it gets down to talking about whether you can afford a home with warmth and food and family.”