The only Democrat representing Collin County in the Texas House is defending her seat this fall against a Republican who spent four years as a district judge, The Texan reported Thursday.
State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, a Plano Democrat, won House District 70 in 2022 after lawmakers redrew it in 2021. The Texan reported that the redraw moved the district from strongly Republican to even on its Texas Partisan Index, a measure built from how the area voted in the previous two election cycles. Plesa won that first race by 821 votes and was re-elected in 2024.
After two cycles under the new lines, the index now leans slightly Democratic, at 51%.
Her challenger, George Flint, has practiced law in Collin County for more than 40 years, counting his time on the bench, and is a former chairman of the Collin County Republican Party.
Plesa's record and pitch
In her first session, Plesa used procedural objections to stall Republican election bills and opposed school voucher legislation, The Texan reported. She was among 13 House Democrats whom Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove from office after they broke quorum in 2025 during the fight over new congressional maps.
Her campaign lists public education, public safety, health care and affordability as her top issues. She has criticized the state's recapture system, often called Robin Hood, which sends property tax money from wealthier school districts, including those in her district, to poorer ones, and has called for changes that would let those districts keep more of it.
