Heli Rodriguez Prilliman

Rodriguez Prilliman was raised in Stephenville, Texas, graduated from Stephenville High School in 2005, and earned a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University in 2009.[4][2][3] She describes herself as a Fort Worth mom and cites her grandmother, Fort Worth civil rights activist Pauline Gasca Valenciano, as an influence.[4][2][3]

According to her campaign website, Rodriguez Prilliman is the founder of Lacquerbar and Lacquerbar U, a nail salon and online education startup that she says was venture-backed and was one of the first 24 startups chosen for the inaugural Backstage Capital Accelerator.[2] She says she was part of the founding team at Fivestars, a software company serving small businesses that, per her website, was acquired by SumUp in late 2021.[2] Her website says she is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the accelerator FourthWave, a founder mentor for the Black Ambition Futurists Program, and co-creator of the podcast The C Curve for nail technicians.[2]

Ballotpedia lists her profession as small business owner. She had not previously held elected office and won the Democratic nomination in the March 3, 2026 primary.[3] She received 46.9% of the vote to Craig Goldman's 53.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]