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Sarah Eckhardt

Sarah Eckhardt

Democrat

Candidate for Texas Comptroller

About

Texas State Senator (District 14 since 2020). Senate Administration and Nominations Committees. Former Travis County Judge (2015–2020) and was the first woman elected to the role.
Campaign Website Campaign Contributions Party Platform

Conservative Endorsements

  • None

Candidate Videos

Texas Democratic Convention
Opposition to the Bathroom Bill
Opposition to Abortion Pill Bill

Survey Responses

Ballotpedia

Notable Quotes

“I think we’re clearly overinvested in border security, which is again a federal matter that we have stepped into. I think it’s quite obvious that we’re overinvested there.”
“The tactics deployed by ICE in recent months not only do not align with law enforcement best practices, they run contrary to it.”
“The 2020 election in Texas set records for turnout and had next to no fraud.”
“Approximately 24% of the global population practice Islam. By educating Texas students on the basics of this world’s religion and others we ensure that our students can become global citizens and educated policy makers and professionals...”

Positions on Texas Eagle Forum Legislative Priorities

Border Security & Immigration
  • QUESTIONED THE COST OF BORDER WALL SEGMENTS and argued that local resources should focus on criminal activity rather than federal immigration policy. [1, 2]
  • CALLED FOR A HALT OF CERTAIN ICE OPERATIONS pending independent investigation. [1, 2, 3]
  • VOTED AGAINST OR OPPOSED MEASURES TYING IMMIGRATION STATUS TO BAIL/DETENTION as Travis County Judge and State Senator. [1, 2, 3]
  • PRIORITIZES PROTECTIONS AND DUE PROCESS as a member of the State Border Security Committee for people already in the system or seeking entry. [1, 2, 3]
Secure Our Elections
  • VOTED AGAINST THE ELECTION INTEGRITY PROTECTION ACT that addresses fraud, early-voting procedures, poll watchers, and signature verification (Senate Bill 1, 2021). [1, 2, 3]
  • DISMISSES WIDESPREAD VOTER-FRAUD CONCERNS and criticizes legislative focus on voter fraud as “voter suppression” tactics. [1, 2, 3]
  • VOTED AGAINST PROHIBITING RANKED-CHOICE VOTING (Senate Bill 310, 2025) and wants to allow local authorities to “opt in.” Supports no-excuse voting by mail. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • VOTED AGAINST INCREASING CRIMINAL PENALTIES for the offense of illegal voting (House Bill 1243, 2023). [1, 2, 3]
Education Issues
  • COMMITTED TO RIGOROUSLY AUDIT THE NEW SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM that offers Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)/vouchers. Voted against the bill and joined the formal opposition statement calling it a “voucher scam” that siphons money from public schools without accountability (Senate Bill 2, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  • VOTED AGAINST PROHIBITING DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs and policies in public schools (Senate Bill 12, 2025) and in higher education (Senate Bill 17, 2023), criticizing the focus on “banning DEI” as “stunt politics.” [1, 2, 3]
  • PRIORITIZES WELL-FUNDED PUBLIC EDUCATION and opposes state and national efforts to attack or defund it. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Protect Childhood Innocence
  • CO-SPONSORED A TRAFFICKING BILL to protect trafficked children from becoming victims of prostitution (House Bill 2761, 2025) . [1, 2]
  • VOTED AGAINST STRENGTHENING STANDARDS ON PROFANE CONTENT in school libraries, creating advisory councils, enhancing parental access to catalogs and checkout records, and setting processes for challenges of materials (Senate Bill 13, 2025). [1, 2]
  • VOTED AND ARGUED AGAINST THE READER ACT to regulate library materials in public schools, restrict “sexually explicit” materials, and require vendor ratings (House Bill 900, 2023).[1][2][3][4][5]
  • VOTED AGAINST REGULATING SEXUALLY ORIENTED PERFORMANCES in the presence of minors or on public property (Senate Bill 12, 2023). [1, 2, 3]
Gender Issues
  • VOTED AND SPOKE AGAINST THE BATHROOM BILL, which requires designation and use of certain spaces and facilities, including bathrooms and locker rooms, according to biological sex (Senate Bill 240, 2025). [1, 2]
  • VOTED AND SPOKE AGAINST THE SAVE WOMEN'S SPORTS ACT for higher education, which requires intercollegiate athletes to compete based on biological sex (Senate Bill 15, 2023). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • CRITICIZED BANS ON GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR MINORS and posted in solidarity with trans Texans on Trans Day of Visibility and Trans Remembrance Day. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Government-Sanctioned Addiction
  • SUPPORTS REMOVING THE CONSTITUTIONAL BAN ON LEGALIZED GAMBLING, such as casino gaming and sports wagering. Co-authored a constitutional amendment to allow Texans to vote on removing the ban (SJR 82, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • SUPPORTS LEGALIZING MARIJUANA and authored comprehensive adult-use cannabis bills and a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis (Senate Bill 335, 2025; Senate Bill 209, 2023; SJR 22, 2023). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Protect Life
  • VOTED AND SPOKE AGAINST THE HEARTBEAT ACT, the six-week abortion ban with private civil enforcement (Senate Bill 8, 2021). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • AUTHORED OR SPONSORED MULTIPLE BILLS SEEKING TO EXPAND ABORTION EXCEPTIONS, require insurance coverage for abortion, repeal trigger and pre-Roe laws, or establish constitutional protections for reproductive autonomy. Scored 0% by Texas Right to Life. [1, 2, 3]
  • PUBLIC STATEMENTS OPPOSE TEXAS ABORTION RESTRICTIONS as extreme, harmful to women, and a constitutional overreach. [1, 2, 3]
Islamification of Texas
  • AUTHORED ISLAMIC HOLIDAYS LEGISLATION designating Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as optional state holidays (Senate Bill 363, 2023). [1, 2, 3]
  • OFFERED AN AMENDMENT TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS BILL TO INCLUDE THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM, citing the size of Texas’s Muslim population and noting that Moses is a revered prophet in Islam (Senate Bill 10, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • HAS REPEATEDLY OPPOSED ESTABLISHING CHRISTIAN VALUES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, arguing Texans do not want religion “crammed down their throat” and citing separation of church and state. [1, 2, 3]
National Security
  • VOTED AGAINST MAKING IT A CRIME TO ENTER TEXAS ILLEGALLY and authorizing removal (Senate Bill 4, 2023). [1, 2, 3]
  • ARGUED AGAINST BORDER SECURITY COSTS, stating that Texas is “clearly overinvested in border security” and describing Operation Lone Star’s ~$11 billion cost as an “unprecedented” outlay on a “federal matter.” [1, 2, 3]
  • VOTED AGAINST THE ADVERSARIAL NATIONS LAND BAN prohibiting certain adversarial countries from buying property in Texas (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc.) (Senate Bill 17, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • CO-AUTHORED A GRID SECURITY BILL establishing the Texas Grid Security Commission to evaluate threats to the ERCOT grid, recommend resilience standards, and coordinate with national security elements (Senate Bill 75, 2025). [1, 2, 3]
Other Constitutional Issues
  • VOTED AGAINST THE TEN COMMANDMENTS BILL, which requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms (Senate Bill 10, 2025). Offered multiple amendments, including one seeking to add the Five Pillars of Islam. [1, 2, 3]
  • VOTED AGAINST AND RELEASED A STATEMENT OPPOSING CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY (permitless handgun carry), citing her prior experience prosecuting domestic-violence cases and arguing it would make it easier for abusers to carry weapons (House Bill 1927, 2021). [1, 2]
  • SUPPORTED COVID-ERA PUBLIC HEALTH MANDATES as Travis County Judge (2020). [1, 2, 3]
  • OPPOSED RECOGNIZING GOLD AND SILVER as legal tender/transactional currency in Texas (House Bill 1056, 2025). [1, 2]
Bonus Issue - Property Tax Relief
  • CO-AUTHORED THE SENATE PACKAGE that increased the statewide school-district homestead exemption (SJR 2/SB 4, 2025). Issued a statement supporting the package, while warning that flat-dollar homestead hikes shift costs onto renters, small businesses, and non-homestead property unless the state fully funds public education.[1][2][3]