A Voice for The Valley: Rep. Erin Gamez’s Fight to Uplift South Texas

By Isabel Vuittonet and Andrea Maldonado, NHCSL Interns

Download the 2025 Fall Edition here.

In the heart of the Rio Grande Valley, where the border meets resilience, Rep. Erin Gamez stands as a powerful new voice for South Texans. The youngest and first woman to represent District 38, Rep. Gamez brings her Brownsville roots to the Texas Capitol with a fierce commitment to her community’s future, whether that’s fighting for fair representation, championing small businesses, or building opportunities through local workforce development.

Once defined by its agricultural roots, the Valley has transformed into a hub for aerospace and technology development, fueling growth that too often comes at the expense of its residents. Challenges in workforce development, environmental justice, healthcare, and education persist. Rep. Gamez’s legislative agenda seeks to ensure that progress uplifts the community rather than coming at its expense. Her work and advocacy on the House floor reflect the Rio Grande Valley’s complexity as a region that is simultaneously growing and overlooked.

Born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, Rep. Gamez’s journey to the House floor is driven by her passion for advocacy and serving her community. From the courtroom to drafting impactful legislation in the Texas Capitol, she’s made it her mission to ensure her community is seen, heard, and shaping the State’s next chapter. For Rep. Gamez, representing the 94% Hispanic population of the Rio Grande Valley means confronting the distance, both literal and political, between Austin and the border region. The decisions that shape the Valley’s economy, infrastructure, and education are often made far from the people they affect the most. Rep. Gamez has positioned herself as a connector between those worlds, working to close the gap between policymaking in the capital and lived experience in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Texas legislator has proposed numerous policies to incentivize job creation, entrepreneurship, and drive economic development in South Texas. In the 89th legislative session, Rep. Gamez introduced H.B.1154 to develop a skilled labor task force dedicated to her district, called “Brownsville Rising.” The force would consist of prominent representatives from an array of sectors to develop strategies that address unique workforce challenges impacting the region, such as skill and education gaps, to incentivize economic opportunity for the next generation. As an active member of the House Committees on Transportation, Natural Resources, and General Investigating, which she presides as vice-chair, Rep. Gamez brings the lived experiences of her family, constituency, and her own to the meeting room.

Beyond her legislative efforts, Rep. Gamez stands as a powerful leader for Hispanic voices and her community. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus (MALC), a role that honored her as Freshman of the Year in 2023, and enhances her advocacy for the large Hispanic population in Texas. Through MALC, Rep. Gamez and her co-members attempt to build power for the Latino Community in the House of Representatives through legislative action and advocacy. At the apex of her advocacy for the community, Rep. Gamez joined the fight against H.B.4 on congressional redistricting. On August 20th, 2025, she delivered a powerful speech in opposition of HB4, highlighting how the redrawn district for South Texas, CD34, removes over 294,000 Hispanic voices from the region and sprawls them to north of Nueces County, almost 200 miles away. She questioned how this 38% reduction in Hispanic voices from the northern border of Mexico to the center of Texas is fair and unique to the voices from South Texas.

“They [H.B.4 supporters] are so afraid of how fearfully you are about to rise up that we [the legislature] are building walls, carving lines, and destroying communities to make sure that you don’t stand up…I will never stop being proud of being from the Valley and I will never stop fighting for your voice,” Rep. Gamez said.

Upon the passing of H.B.4 in special session and her return to Brownsville, Texas, Rep. Gamez prioritizes grassroots efforts to instill her commitment to fight for the voice of her community. Knocking doors and meeting people in their living room, it’s the public servant’s mission to show her constituency that she holds her values and interests at heart. Emphasizing conversations on affordable cost of living, healthcare, and saving Hispanic representation, her efforts in the home front will serve as fuel for her return to the Texas Capitol for the 2026 legislative session.