CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The three candidates to take District 34 State House Rep. Abel Herrero's place will face off in a debate at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The event is being hosted by Raise Your Hand Texas, a public education and advocacy group based in Austin, and moderated by 3NEWS' Mike Gillaspia.
The candidates are:
- Denise Villalobos (R) - Her LinkedIn page states that Villalobos is a project manager at Flint Hills Resources. She earned her degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University-Kingsville and her master's degree in business administration from Texas Tech University.
- Roland Barrera (D) - His campaign web page states that he has been a small-business owner since 1996 -- he owns Roland Barrera Insurance -- and he has served on the Corpus Christi City Council since 2018. His campaign Facebook page states that he studied at Del Mar College.
- Solomon Ortiz Jr. (D) - His LinkedIn page states that he currently serves as the governmental affairs director of Ortiz Holdings LLC and the executive director of MAP of Texas. He has previously served as a state representative and earned his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.