Social media influencer Savannah Hernandez took to X and posted a picture depicting a billboard that read “Pooja Sethi for Texas” with the caption: “Welcome to politics in Texas.”
The racist implication was quite clear and Pooja Sethi, the Democrat candidate for Texas House District 47, had a response for Hernandez. Sethi reposted with the caption: “My heritage isn’t an insult. It’s my story. And like millions of Americans, it’s rooted in hard work, faith in this country, and service to our community. If that bothers you, that says more about you than it does about me.”
Who is Pooja Sethi?
Pooja Sethi serves as the Chief of Staff to Texas State Representative Vikki Goodwin and is Chair of the Travis County Democratic Party. With nearly four years of experience in the Texas Legislature, she brings a rare combination of legal expertise, political leadership, and lived experience to legislative strategy, policy development, and constituent advocacy. Before joining the Capitol, Sethi worked as an immigration attorney with Catholic Charities, representing families navigating the immigration system and fighting for dignity and due process. This work shaped her commitment to civil rights, human dignity, and access to justice.
In the Legislature, Sethi has helped pass legislation aimed at preventing child drownings, protecting survivors of domestic violence, and expanding access to affordable housing. Her top priorities include fully funding public education, enacting common-sense gun reform, and strengthening democracy. She is deeply engaged with her constituents, attending monthly meetings, advocating for local concerns such as water infrastructure, traffic safety, and local control, and ensuring that state policies reflect the needs of her district.
As the former Chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, she led one of the most active Democratic county parties in Texas. Under her leadership, the party expanded voter outreach, built year-round organizing infrastructure, and supported candidates from school boards to Congress. She has guided the party through high-stakes elections and legislative fights, helping organize some of the most effective political campaigns in the state. In June 2025, she stepped down from her position as chair, citing this part of her original plan while doing so.
Sethi is also active in her community, serving on boards and commissions for organizations such as Planned Parenthood Texas, Emerge Texas, the City of Austin’s Asian American Quality of Life Commission, the Austin Artists Project, and the Indian American Coalition of Central Texas. Her work has earned awards including the YWCA Great Austin Woman of Color Leading Change Award, the Travis County Democratic Party’s Activist of the Year, and the Syracuse University College of Law Frank Morris Human Rights Award.
Her advocacy is deeply personal, according to her campaign. Sethi has witnessed the impacts of gun violence, inadequate school funding, and inequities in public services firsthand. She fights to fully fund neighborhood schools, raise teacher pay, expand healthcare access, implement commonsense gun safety laws, address climate and water challenges, and defend democracy and local control.
Through her legislative work, community engagement, and leadership, Sethi strives to create safer, healthier, and more equitable communities across Texas, combining policy expertise, hands-on advocacy, and a commitment to justice and inclusion.