In March incumbent state Sen. Nathan Johnson, somewhat surprisingly, faced a Democratic challenger for his seat, and a formidable one at that. State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado ran a solid campaign, but failed to convince voters she could serve in the Senate role better than Johnson had since being elected in 2018. Since that time, Johnson has been a relatively lonely blue dot in the ever-reddening legislative chambers of Austin, yet he's been impressively productive while sticking to his guns (so to speak) on important matters including public school funding, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights and gun safety.