Voters in District 77 for the Texas House of Representatives – which runs from Sunland Park Drive to part of the Lower Valley – have a choice between Democratic incumbent Vincent “Vince” Perez or plumber and political newcomer Humberto Perez, a Republican.
Vince Perez, 44, is a former El Paso County commissioner who is completing his first two-year term in the Texas House.
Humberto Perez, 34, is a New York-native who moved to El Paso about five years ago. He is an Army veteran.
Both candidates were uncontested during the March primaries.
State representatives consider proposed laws and resolutions, refer proposed constitutional amendments to voters, file bills that may become state law and appropriate funds for the operation of state government. They are paid $7,200 a year and serve two-year terms.
Vince Perez
Vince Perez named accessibility for foreign medical professionals to practice in Texas, law school advancements and support for the University of Texas at El Paso as accomplishments achieved during his first term.
He joint-authored House Bill 2038, which would eliminate a requirement for doctors with foreign schooling to undergo another residency in the United States and address the region’s shortage of doctors, he said. It became effective in September 2025.
“I often get my medical care in Ciudad Juárez just because sometimes, if it’s cheaper here than what I’m looking at in the U.S., I’ll make that decision,” he said. “Every time I’ve gone there (Juárez), it’s been excellent care, so it puts me in a position to help explain those dynamics and break down barriers that don’t make sense.”
If reelected, he said, he wants to broaden the legislation to include nurses and veterinarians.
Vince Perez supported a proposal to establish a law school at the University of Texas at El Paso’s through House Bill 3475, jointly authored by the El Paso state delegation. Though the bill didn’t get a hearing from the Senate, he said the passage on the House side was “significant enough,” as the law school will continue to be a priority if reelected.
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Another bill he introduced for UTEP, House Bill 2853, dedicated student union fees to be used to finance, build and maintain the student union building. The bill was approved in May 2025 and removed caps on student union fees It allowed the fees, which were approved in a student vote, to be used to rebuild the student Union Building.
In August 2025, Vince Perez broke quorum over House Bill 4, which related to the composition of the district. He said the redistricting threatened to ensure that “your voice and your vote counts just as much as somebody else from another part of Texas.”
Despite being fined about $8,000, he said he “felt proud” to break quorum with other House Democrats as it brought light to the conversation of redistricting.
On school vouchers: Being “adamantly opposed to school vouchers,” Vince Perez said they’re another example of “policies that are being advanced, and their tax subsidies to the wealthiest families in Texas.”
“There’s just not enough money in public education to fund three different school system types (public, private, charter),” he said. “We just don’t have the population even in our public schools.”
On Meta data center: Financial negotiations with the city and county governments left Meta with a “sweetheart deal,” Vince Perez said, citing the tax abatement, which grants an “80% break on city property taxes for decades” for the company.
“I think if structured right, it could’ve helped this problem, which El Paso has had, that we don’t have these big corporate entities in our community,” he said, adding that by giving away “virtually everything” got rid of a larger potential tax benefit to the community.
If reelected, he said he’d like to eliminate tax breaks for big companies, and create a tax policy to limit “this type of thing from happening again.”
On unfunded mandates: Vince Perez said unfunded mandates by the state – including property tax exemptions pushed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and approved by voters – put a burden on city and county governments to raise taxes to make up the loss in revenue.
As an example, he cites House Bill 9, which created a state constitutional amendment to ease tax burdens for small businesses by providing them a $125,000 exemption on what is known as personal property. Texas voters approved the amendment in November 2025.
“(House Bill 9) resulted in a $14 million loss for the city of El Paso, and a $7 million loss for the county,” said Vince Perez, who voted in favor of the bill. He didn’t respond to requests for comment on his vote.
“We all have to pay for those businesses to now have tax relief. That is an example of an unfunded mandate – they are wrong, and have an impact on your tax bill, and it is not your city and your county commissioners who are solely responsible for your property tax bill.”
Humberto Perez
Humberto Perez told El Paso Matters that he was previously a Democrat and in 2012 campaigned for Adriano Espaillat, who currently represents New York’s 13th Congressional District. He said he switched to the Republican Party because it more closely aligned with his beliefs – including being a “God-fearing Christian” and that “there are only two genders.”
To best understand veteran’s needs, Humberto Perez said, one needs to have served in the military.
If elected, he said he’d prioritize veterans, including access to mental health services and housing. He said he’d also like to provide classes – similar to crisis intervention training – on how to deescalate situations involving veterans.
These classes, he said, would come with incentives such as gift cards. He didn’t indicate how those classes or incentives would be funded.
Humberto Perez often touts his experience as a veteran and plumber, saying his opponent is neither.
He said plumbing has allowed him to connect with El Pasoans “face to face” and have conversations with community members.
He also stated that he has experience “handling people’s money” because of his work as a tax representative in New York City.
He said three priority pillars are to “co-author (or) author bills that are going to benefit El Pasoans, lower property taxes and being the back of the teachers.”
Disparity in a superintendent’s salary versus the average teacher’s salary is “unacceptable,” he said, adding that he wants to cut superintendents’ pay. Superintendent salaries are set by school district board of trustees, however, and the state doesn’t cap them – though several proposals in the Legislature have sought to do so.
Humberto Perez said he’d work to funnel more money towards teachers’ salaries while lowering property taxes, but didn’t offer specifics on how he’d accomplish that.
Tax rates are set by local school districts and governments, and fund salaries and operations, and voters have recently approved significant school property tax exemptions that have cut district revenues.
On school vouchers: Though he believes that parents should have more school choices for their kids, he said the state should still protect tax payers, teachers and public schools.
On Meta data center: Humberto Perez criticized the city’s contract with Meta, and expressed concerns over the data center’s use of resources like water and electricity.
He called the city’s negotiations with Meta “back door deals” because the “public wasn’t aware of this happening in their backyard.” As with most business deals with the city, contract negotiations took place in executive session closed to the public, though the 2023 vote was made in public.
On unfunded mandates: Humberto Perez said he’s strongly opposed to unfunded mandates – for the most part.
“In my consciousness, I cannot say, ‘I’m going to make a decision, but you guys are going to pay for it,’” Humberto Perez said. “That, to me, is not good leadership.”
If he’s not elected state representative, he said he wants to run for another local seat in El Paso but didn’t identify which he might pursue.
Campaign finance
When it comes to campaign finance, the incumbent far outraised his opponent.
From January to late September, Vince Perez reported about $38,380 in contributions, a majority of them from political action committees, according to his campaign finance reports.
Among them was $7,000 from the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, $4,000 from Texas Sands PAC that promotes casino legalization, and $2,500 each from the Texas Hospital Association PAC, or HOSPAC, and the Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee.
He also received $2,500 from J.K. Robinson of Pizza Properties Inc.
Vince Perez also received several $1,000 PAC donations, including from Marathon Petroleum Corporation Employees Political Action Committee, Texas State Teachers Association PAC and the NRG Energy Inc. PAC.
He has about $9,850 in outstanding loans and $5,380 cash-in hand.
Humberto Perez reported only $100 in contributions from January to late September. He reported spending just over $700 from personal funds, his campaign finance reports show. He has about $390 cash on hand.
Early voting begins Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, with Election Day on Nov. 3.
The post Texas House District 77 pits incumbent Vince Perez against political newcomer Humberto Perez appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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