The Texan Podcast - Texas Lieutenant Governor Candidate Vikki Goodwin on Healthcare, Education, House vs. Senate

Episode Date: September 21, 2026

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, the Democrat who is challenging Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is November, joined The Texan's Reporter Meridith Dyer to discuss some of the leading issues in Texas like healthcare, education, and THC, as well as the differences between the Texas House and Senate and how she would handle crossing the Capitol rotunda.Listen to more interviews from The Texan wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, follow us and leave a review.

Hello, everybody. This is the Texans reporter Meredith Dyer, and I am here with the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, state representative at Vicki Goodwin. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Meredith. So you've been around the state. You've been campaigning. You did a bus tour. Was there a stop that the reception or the reaction surprised you? I guess when I did my health care tour, when I stopped in Waco, we talked with a number of health care providers. and what they said to me was your health care plan sounds great. But right now our health care system is so broken that anything would be better. Okay. And that was a surprising answer.

Yeah. Yeah. Polling for this race has been a little varied. There was a Texas pulse poll that had you two points ahead. There was a Texas public opinion research that was six points behind. But really, the main thing is the Texas politics project saw that about 72% of people were either unfamiliar or just didn't have a favorable or unfavorable opinion. So over the next couple months, what is the plan to bolster that name recognition? So we will be doing as many earned media,

paid media, just working to get my name out. I've been traveling an awful lot, doing town halls, trying to talk about the issues that Texans really care about. School has started this year, and we're hearing from all the school districts that are really financially struggling. And what that means for them. We often talk about the voucher program that most people in Texas aren't in favor of. And then doing that tour of Texas with my RV talking about the Texas CARES plan, my health care plan, we will continue things like that. And really, we're seeing people come out in droves over the data center issue. Last night, I went up to North Texas, again, for a town hall on data centers. They had just stopped one through the plan.

Planning and Zoning Commission, recommending not to go forward with one in Prosper, Texas. But they're going to keep an eye out all across the state. Folks are concerned about that. Over the weekend, I went to Bastrop. They are concerned about the data center, but even more so about the gas power plant that will power that data center. It's located right next door to a huge acreage nature center where they have a summer camp for kids every year. And so they have asked their representative and senator and the governor

to help them slow things down so that they can get more information about it. But we'll just continue to get out in front of folks and hear from them and try to get my name out more. You hit in the road, your odometer on that RV is probably just ticking away. So you mentioned a couple of things. We'll get back to some of them, but let's go education first. So you've said that public education is the reason you ran in the first place. It was, it's very big, you. You've campaigned on the public funding, more public funding. But do you have any non-funding changes that you would like to see in public schools? Because funding is always going to be a discussion in the legislature. Definitely going to talk about it. So what are some non-funding

changes you'd like to see? Well, I think there's been bipartisan agreement over the years that we spend too much time on star testing, on preparing our kids for a test. And that really, if you look at it over the years, has this improved the outcomes of our kids? Are they more prepared for? for the world after high school. And I think the answer would be no. Last session, we had a bill that was an attempt to cut down on the amount of time spent on star testing. But unfortunately, I think the reality is we're increasing the amount of time that our teachers are spending on that. We see a lot of teachers leaving the profession, which is really unfortunate. And when we talk to teachers. They say, yes, pay is part of it, but it's also feeling supported in the classroom.

Many class sizes have grown, and we need to have smaller class sizes so that teachers can give individualized attention and so that they feel supported in the class. There's a lot of districts under state takeover right now, large ones, Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, and your district is currently awaiting that decision from the Texas Education Agency. what do you propose for these schools and the districts that are academically struggling? So, you know, the whole idea is that the Texas Education Agency should be here to support our school districts and find out if they are struggling, what is happening? How can we better support the district? Oftentimes, like in Houston, it's a matter of one or two or three schools that are getting a failing grade.

So let's really pinpoint to those schools and find out what we can do better in those schools. And again, a lot of times it is maybe having newer teachers in the school that aren't prepared. Over half of our teachers now aren't certified. So they don't have the preparation to be as effective as they can be. Maybe we need to make sure that they get the extra training that's necessary so they can handle a classroom. And just understanding what's needed as opposed to coming in and replacing a school board. I don't know how that really solves a problem. I know that the mayor of Austin has been talking about people, the parents petitioning for the closure of the schools rather than the takeover.

Or do you support that? You know, I don't know that I support closing down schools. I, again, think that we should go into those schools and find out what's happening and see what we can do to turn them around. I don't know that I always agree with the rating system that we have in place. And I'm really not in favor of this new idea that my opponent has about if, they have a certain book on the bookshelves that he will lower their grade one level. I just, you know, 2,200 books on his list of potentially banned books from our public schools and then penalizing our schools if they have one of those books.

I think that's the wrong way to go about it. That was one of the things we were going to talk about because he had a press conference recently talking about it. And you had spoken out and said that people are tired of some of these types of issues. what do you say to people that would say they're not tired and that is a concern for them? So there's already a process if parents feel like there is a book that their child has in their public school library, they can make a complaint. And then a committee typically, every school district gets to come up with their own process. But typically they'll have a committee,

read the book, and make a decision. Do we keep the book or not? But the idea that there are 2200 books that are on this list is overwhelming. And so for schools, it really sends a chilling effect that schools don't want to bring in any new books and there's this concern that they might be penalized over it. One of the books on that list is actually on the eighth grade required reading list night about the Holocaust. So I really question the books that are on that list to begin with. And I really think it should be more local control, letting the local community make decisions if they have a problem with a book making the complaint and letting it go through that

complaint process. Right. Let's go to data centers, also a hot topic. Like you said, everyone's talking about it. Republican Democrat. There's obviously very different ideas of how it's being handled. Realistically, next session, what do you think can get accomplished? You know, I think there's bipartisan agreement that it's time to end the subsidies to the data center companies. Last year, 2025, we gave out a billion dollars in subsidies, sales tax exemptions basically for the large equipment. And going forward, the estimate is that we'll give out $3.5 billion over the next couple of years. I don't think that's necessary anymore. These data centers are going to come here regardless of whether they get an incentive or not. So that's one thing.

We absolutely need to know how much energy the data center is using, how much water it's using, where they're getting it from, and make sure that they're not pushing costs for new transmission. So if they're having to build a transmission line to bring water, transmission line to bring electricity, make sure that they're paying for that cost, not pushing that onto us in our households as rate payers. So those are the two things you think, okay, this could actually happen is ending the subsidies and making sure that they're paying for their fair share. Okay. Another topic that your opponent, Dan Patrick, has been very vocal about is THC legalization, which you have been vocal, that you are for. that. And recently the vice chair of the Health and Human Services Committee in the Senate, Charles Perry, said that he is going to be filing another total ban in the 90th session. And so now, you know,

Delta 8, Delta 10, THCP, they're classified as Schedule 1. What do is the path that for what you call, what does it look like for what you call a sensible regulatory framework? What does that look like? So it's having an age requirement, 21 years and up to buy, just like alcohol, having packaging requirements so that people know what it is they're putting in their bodies and so they can make decisions themselves. I think we're all adults. We can be responsible and also not marketing it so that it's aimed at kids, not selling it across the street from a high school, for example, and not making the packaging look attractive to children. Okay. And Patrick has also been an opponent of legalized gambling in Texas. And that was also something that you on your campaign say that

you would like adults to make the decision whether that vote on that. Can you tell us what kind of gambling laws you would like to see and maybe some of your opinions on the prediction markets like Kalshi and Polly Market that have come up in recent hearings in the House and the Senate recently. So for casinos and casino gambling, I think it's something that we should put up to a vote of Texas. We had that come to us in the House in recent sessions and we're close, but it would require a constitutional amendment and that's a higher bar. And so I think it's something that Texans feel strongly about one way or the other. I personally don't feel that strongly about gambling. So that's why I think this is an issue to put up to voters, have a constitutional amendment

election so that voters can weigh in. And even on the poly markets, you know, I'm not as well educated on that. So the concerns are are people going to, um, go overboard. And with anything, with alcohol, with THC, with anything, there's always a concern that certain people are going to become addicted to it. And we obviously want to do anything we can to mitigate that. But at the same time, we're adults, and people often find ways around these laws. And so, and, but I'm, I would have to really understand any bill that comes before us about the polymarkets and gambling in bars and things like that to understand the pros and cons. Okay. So let's talk about the Senate. So the lieutenant governor is one of the most powerful

offices in the state. And they're deciding things like appointing Senate committee heads. They're chairs. They're deciding which committees these bills are going to, when the bills are going to be voted on. And a majority of that power is coming from the Senate rules, which are decided by simple majority, at the beginning of each. not by the Constitution or statute. So as Lieutenant Governor, are there any changes that you would like to see to those made to those Senate rules? You know, I think at this moment in time, I don't know that I would have any changes. It's been suggested that there might be changes to make the position less powerful. Personally, I think regardless, the lieutenant governor still has a lot of power just

heading the Senate and setting the priorities, prioritizing the bills. I, I would love to make sure that the priorities I've laid out are the ones that are heard in committee first. Make sure that the committee leadership are those who have the experience and expertise in those subject areas. You know, I'm very focused on supporting our public schools and coming, passing a health care plan that really benefits all Texans, addressing affordability issues. So those are the bills that I hope to bring to the Senate floor first. I hope that they, you know, won't strip the power to allow me to prioritize things. But regardless, it is a powerful position. What would you do if you win there's a Republican majority, they do strip that power?

How would you handle that? You know, I always find ways to be strategic. I, as a Democrat in the Texas legislature for eight years, I have found ways to make sure that I'm able to get, some really important priorities done. And so the last Texas politician to go to directly from the House to Lieutenant Governor was in 1969, House Speaker Ben Barnes. How do you think, so it's been a while, right? So how do you think the House and the Senate compare and what kind, like, what kind of challenges would you face in that transition? You know, we have a joke in the legislature that oftentimes House members move up to the Senate and we say that they have been House trained.

I think the House is a great training ground. We do some things differently, like the voting. Just for example, we press a button and everybody can see how we're voting. Whereas in the Senate, it's been practiced that they do a verbal roll call. They don't go through all the names. And I ask my senator, you know, why aren't they calling out all the names? Well, the lieutenant governor knows in advance how everybody's going to vote. I don't think that's the right way to go about it.

We should have lively debate on the Senate floor and really have conversations about these important bills that are going to impact Texans' lives. And so I look forward to maybe changing that to where we do the full roll call. We do make sure that debate is allowed and encouraged in the Senate. So, you know, the Senate to get a little bit more lively like the House. Yeah. Yeah. And then lastly, what is one subject, you're doing interviews all the time, what is one subject that you feel that people aren't talking about enough and that you wish reporters would ask you about. Gosh, one topic that we're not talking.

I feel like we talk about so many different topics. You're covering it all. But I will say I don't hear, we did have a committee hearing on health care and affordability. I think one step is expanding Medicaid, and I don't hear a lot of talk about that other than from myself. I think people have kind of given up on that, and we'd look at the federal government. They're cutting back some of the Medicaid funding right now. In fact, I read a Texas Tribune article about $27 million a day being cut from our Texas hospitals. And so they're really struggling right now, but it's not just the hospitals, it's also doctors and doctor practices. So while there was a hearing on it recently, I worry sometimes we have these hearings. That was nice, and then nothing really comes about from it. But, I reached out to Mark Cuban, for example, who has, when he presented, he gave five ideas. And I said, are you working with a legislator to get those turned into actual legislation? He said, yes.

So that gives me hope. I do think that, you know, that's really one of the most critical things. As a realtor, in fact, I often found people weren't able to get the credit they needed to buy a home because they had had a medical emergency. And so our health care system impacts so many different things. and we should talk about it a lot more. Yeah, with everything that's going on, with all the firestorm of these different topics coming, you just feel health care has kind of fallen a little bit,

a little bit lower than it should. Yeah. Okay, well, thank you so much. Thank you, yeah.