Vikki Goodwin
Vikki Goodwin (Democratic Party) is a member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 47. She assumed office on January 8, 2019.
Goodwin (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives to represent District 47. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Vikki Goodwin was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in marketing and government from the University of Texas at Austin in May 1989 and a master's degree in public affairs from the University of Texas in May 1991. Goodwin's career experience includes working as the broker and owner of Goodwin & Goodwin Real Estate Inc. and as a systems analyst for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. She has served as a member of the Austin Board of Realtors, Rotary Club, Austin SW, and the Metropolitan Breakfast Club.[1][2]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Goodwin was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Goodwin was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Goodwin was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin defeated Scott Firsing in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Vikki Goodwin (D) | 59.5 | 55,555 |
 | Scott Firsing (R)  | 40.5 | 37,782 | |
| Total votes: 93,337 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin | 100.0 | 12,108 |
| Total votes: 12,108 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Scott Firsing advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Scott Firsing | 100.0 | 8,416 |
| Total votes: 8,416 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Goodwin in this election.
2022
See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin defeated Rob McCarthy in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin (D) | 61.3 | 51,045 |
 | Rob McCarthy (R) | 38.7 | 32,272 | |
| Total votes: 83,317 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin | 100.0 | 13,281 |
| Total votes: 13,281 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Rob McCarthy advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob McCarthy | 100.0 | 8,463 |
| Total votes: 8,463 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
2020
See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin defeated Justin Berry and Michael Clark in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin (D) | 49.3 | 66,816 |
 | Justin Berry (R) | 48.3 | 65,474 | |
 | Michael Clark (L) | 2.4 | 3,311 | |
| Total votes: 135,601 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Justin Berry defeated Jennifer Fleck in the Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on July 14, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Justin Berry | 54.7 | 6,418 |
 | Jennifer Fleck | 45.3 | 5,319 | |
| Total votes: 11,737 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin | 100.0 | 30,089 |
| Total votes: 30,089 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Jennifer Fleck and Justin Berry advanced to a runoff. They defeated Donald Zimmerman, Aaron Reitz, and Jennifer Forgey in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Fleck | 32.1 | 5,766 |
| ✔ | | Justin Berry | 22.9 | 4,105 |
 | Donald Zimmerman | 22.9 | 4,104 | |
 | Aaron Reitz | 15.2 | 2,733 | |
 | Jennifer Forgey | 6.8 | 1,228 | |
| Total votes: 17,936 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Michael Clark advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 21, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Clark (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Vikki Goodwin defeated incumbent Paul Workman in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin (D) | 52.4 | 55,307 |
 | Paul Workman (R) | 47.6 | 50,244 | |
| Total votes: 105,551 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Vikki Goodwin defeated Elaina Fowler in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin | 58.0 | 4,638 |
| Elaina Fowler | 42.0 | 3,359 | |
| Total votes: 7,997 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Vikki Goodwin and Elaina Fowler advanced to a runoff. They defeated Sheri Soltes, Candace Aylor, and Will Simpson in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin | 33.6 | 5,347 |
| ✔ | | Elaina Fowler | 29.2 | 4,651 |
 | Sheri Soltes | 23.7 | 3,774 | |
 | Candace Aylor | 7.4 | 1,177 | |
| Will Simpson | 6.1 | 970 | |
| Total votes: 15,919 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Paul Workman defeated Jay Wiley and Patty Vredevelt in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Paul Workman | 59.5 | 9,079 |
 | Jay Wiley | 31.2 | 4,767 | |
 | Patty Vredevelt | 9.3 | 1,420 | |
| Total votes: 15,266 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Vikki Goodwin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Vikki Goodwin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Goodwin's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Vikki Goodwin is serving her second term as state representative in Austin. She is one of the fifty-seven Texas Democrats who broke quorum to protect the freedom to vote. Vikki is passionate about investing in public education, expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the environment, making communities safer through sensible gun safety legislation, and offering opportunities for success through a living wage. Vikki and her husband raised their kids in Austin, and now run a small business, Goodwin & Goodwin Real Estate.
- Providing an excellent education for all children is foundational. Our schools prepare our youth for a successful future, being productive in their communities and solving the issues of the day.
- It is imperative we address climate change now. Texas experienced an unprecedented storm in Feb. 2021 and was unprepared for it. Resiliency demands we maintain a diverse power grid, and protecting the environment means we must stop allowing venting and flaring of gas. Building infrastructure can and must be done in a way that minimally impacts humans.
- Texans deserve access to affordable healthcare, and we should expand Medicaid as one step toward increasing coverage. State leaders have shown poor leadership when it comes to COVID precautions, banning mask and vaccine mandates which could have saved lives. We need to build up our local public health agencies and allow them to provide guidance in health emergencies.
I am most passionate about public education, the environment and health care as shown by my key messages above. Government's role is to provide services that can't be provided effectively by individuals. Through education, we raise the standard of living for all. By being good stewards of the earth, we can preserve it for future generations. By providing basic health care, we ensure a higher quality of living.
I look up to Mother Theresa and people who serve others with grace and without asking for anything in return.
An elected official is in office to serve the people in the district. The official should listen to constituents and base policy decisions on what they believe, based on conversations and correspondence, to be in the best interest of the majority of the people. Besides being a good listener, an elected official must take charge and provide direction based on data, expert advice and experience. A good leader will surround herself with people who are knowledgeable and experienced.
I have a great deal of compassion and energy. I believe in the Golden Rule and treating others as I want to be treated. I have a strong work ethic and a great deal of patience.
Ann Richards, a Texas icon, became Governor in 1991. I was 22 at the time, finishing up graduate school. I was raised in a Republican household, but during college determined I was a Democrat, and was a big fan of Gov. Richards.
Upon graduating from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, my first job was working for Andersen Consulting as a Systems Analyst developing the Child Support Enforcement System for the Office of the Attorney General. I worked there for two years.
Small Great Things is a book about a black nurse who is accused of killing an infant and is defended in court by a white attorney. The book delves into racial issues in a realistic manner and is thought provoking.
I believe the state's greatest challenge is taking the steps necessary to address climate change, which will have a multitude of impacts, from flooding to drought and more storms of increasing intensity. Because Texas is one of the largest producers of oil and gas, it is struggling with the need to transition to cleaner energy sources. We rely heavily on oil and gas taxes, and must deal with the need to find different ways to support our infrastructure, education and health care.
It is essential to build relationships with other legislators in order to pass laws. Ultimately, we all want the same thing, to lead a happy, healthy live and to raise our children to lead happy, healthy lives. We just have different ways of arriving at this goal, and we have to speak to one another to understand why we have different methods to reach the same goals. Understanding comes from communication, and communicating with one another leads to stronger relationships.
I favor an Independent Redistricting Commission, and filed a bill to establish such a Commission. The bill was given a hearing, but was not given a vote to get out of Committee. Legislators should not be in charge of drawing the boundaries of Congressional and Legislative districts.
Compromise is necessary for policymaking. There are multiple interests and stakeholders in any policy, and often there are consequences that aren't obvious initially. Concessions can often diminish the unintended consequences, and may simply be a result of not fully understanding all angles of a problem. Progress relies on compromise in most situations.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2020
Vikki Goodwin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Goodwin's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Vikki Goodwin currently represents Texas House District 47 in western and far south Travis County. During her first session, she was successful in passing a number of bills that serve her district and state. She was a co-author of landmark school finance reform (HB 3), as well as the law boosting retired teacher pay (SB 12). In addition, she authored and sponsored five bills directly affecting HD47 that became law. In the upcoming session, Vikki will continue to advocate for the people of her district, the environment, a strong economy, and a sound budget.
During the interim, Rep. Goodwin has held several Town Halls to encourage citizen input. Her Town Halls have focused on transportation and public transit, public education, and the environment. She has also visited the border to delve into the issue of immigration, and has visited non-profits working with the local homeless population.
Representative Goodwin is a small business owner, a real estate broker, a community leader and a mom. After graduating from the University of Texas with a BBA-and the LBJ School of Public Affairs with a master's degree-Vikki remained in Austin and raised her children.
- I am accountable to my constituents. I have been named the "Best Communicator" among the new Representatives because I've spent so much time out in my district meeting with constituents.
- I am interested in solutions which will improve my district as well as the state. Whether it's transportation, education, health care or the environment, I want to work collaboratively to get things done.
- Texas has a strong and vibrant economy, and we need to ensure all people are included in the prosperity of the state.
1) I am most passionate about public education and ensuring our teachers are well compensated, respected and given the flexibility they need to meet the individual needs of all their students. A strong education system will allow us to address all the other issues listed below.
2) Protecting our environment is critical. We need to address climate change now, working towards a carbon neutral world with clean air and water.
3) Health care, including mental health care, must be affordable and accessible for all.
4) Transportation is a number one issue as traffic is something people deal with on a daily basis.
5) Gun safety and safety overall is important to me, too.
I look up to Mother Theresa, a woman who devoted her life to serving the poor.
The characteristics of an elected official should be: honesty and integrity, accessibility to constituents, reliability to show up for meetings and votes, willingness to hear all sides of an argument, and sound judgement to make the right decisions.
I am organized, thoughtful, detail-oriented and hard working. I am also skilled at negotiating.
Perfect by Ed Shereen
The most important difference between the Senate and House is that in the House, we select our leader, the Speaker, rather than having voters select the leader in the Senate, the Lt. Governor. The Speaker sets the agenda for the House as the Lt. Governor sets the agenda for the Senate, so they are powerful roles.
I think it is more beneficial to have Representatives from a variety of backgrounds. For example, when we have bills dealing with health care, it is helpful to have doctors and nurses as Representatives who have extensive knowledge of how new legislation might affect their industry. It is important to have people who have experience teaching, running businesses, working in government, etc. Variety of experience and perspective leads to better legislation.
In order to maintain the strong economy in Texas, we will need to ensure we have a strong public education system that is well funded, a strong health care system that doesn't bankrupt people who become ill, a strong transportation system that includes public transit, and a strong environmental oversight agency that ensures we have clean air, clean water and are addressing climate change.
The Governor should work with the Lt. Governor and the Speaker to set the agenda for the legislature.
Yes, it is necessary to build relationships with other legislators in order to get laws passed. I have been able to work with other Representatives and Senators on my bills, and will continue to do so.
I am on the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee and the Urban Affairs Committee. I am interested in gun safety legislation and ensuring all gun buyers go through a background check prior to purchase. I am also interested in ensuring the state's forensic labs are processing evidence in a timely manner and the Department of Emergency Management is prepared to handle natural disasters effectively. These are things the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee deals with. I like being on the Urban Affairs Committee to ensure local control is not eroded.
When the time is right, I will be happy to fill a leadership role as the Chair of a House Committee or a Caucus.
I consider the women of the Travis County delegation to all be excellent role models: Reps. Donna Howard, Gina Hinojosa, and Celia Israel.
At this time, I am content remaining in the role of Representative at the state level.
In October, 2018, a young doctor was killed in a car accident on Hwy 71 in my district. Just days after the accident, his young wife gave birth to their third child. She and her family were devastated by his death, as were many of their neighbors. One neighbor started an organization called "Safer 71" in order to advocate for safety measures for Hwy 71. As a result of their advocacy, I filed a bill on highway safety corridors and named it after the doctor who lost his life, Dr. Michael Babineaux.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Texas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 29.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Texas State Legislature was not in session. |
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Texas State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 31.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Texas State Legislature was not in session. |
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Texas State Legislature was in its 86th legislative session from January 8 through May 27.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Texas House of Representatives District 47 |
Officeholder Texas House of Representatives District 47 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Vikki for Texas House District 47, “About Vikki,” accessed January 30, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 17, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul Workman (R) |
Texas House of Representatives District 47 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
