Texas: who should earn your vote for Congress in 2026
Opinion · The paper’s scorecard
Texas: every race for Congress on the 3 November 2026 ballot, and how the candidates measure up against our standards.
Sitting and former members are scored on the same key votes, read from the official House and Senate roll calls; each vote links to the record. Candidates who have never served in Congress have no votes to score, and outside the battlegrounds we have not researched them, so they are marked as not scored. Where only one candidate could be measured, the mark rates that record on its own; it is not a verdict on the opponent. How the marks work · All states
U.S. Senate R+6
✓ Our pick: Ken Paxton
A battleground: read our full case, with every source.
John Cornyn (R): incumbent lost renomination in runoff.
District 1 R+24
✓ Meets our standards: Nathaniel Moran
Meets our standards

Nathaniel Moran
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 21 key votes · total +3
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ✓Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (12)
Yolanda Prince
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 2 R+11
No mark
Dan Crenshaw (R): incumbent lost renomination.
Shaun Finnie
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Steve Toth
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 3 R+11
✓ Meets our standards: Keith Self
Evan Hunt
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Meets our standards

Keith Self
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 21 key votes · total +5
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ✓Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (15)
District 4 R+12
✓ Meets our standards: Pat Fallon
Meets our standards

Pat Fallon
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 26 key votes · total +2
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (16)
Jason Pearce
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 5 R+10
✓ Meets our standards: Lance Gooden
Meets our standards

Lance Gooden
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +2
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (17)
Chelsey Hockett
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 6 R+11
Leans our way: Jake Ellzey
Leans our way

Jake Ellzey
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 26 key votes · total +1
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ✓Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (14)
Danny Minton
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 7 D+13
No mark

Lizzie Fletcher
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total -5
- ✗Smaller government
- ✗Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ✗Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✗Hard on violent crime
With us (7)
Alexander Hale
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 8 R+13
No mark
Morgan Luttrell (R): incumbent retiring.
Laura Jones
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Jessica Hart Steinmann
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 9 R+9
No mark
Leticia Gutierrez
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Alex Mealer
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 10 R+10
No mark
Michael McCaul (R): incumbent retiring.
Chris Gober
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
Caitlin Rourk
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 11 R+17
No mark

August Pfluger
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +0
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (15)
Claire Reynolds
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 12 R+11
Leans our way: Craig Goldman
Leans our way

Craig Goldman
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 11 key votes · total +1
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ?Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ✗Checks on power
- ?Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (6)
Angela Rodriguez Prilliman
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 13 R+23
Leans our way: Ronny Jackson
Leans our way

Ronny Jackson
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 26 key votes · total +1
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ~No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (15)
Mark Nair
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 14 R+12
✓ Meets our standards: Randy Weber
Thurman Bartie
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Meets our standards

Randy Weber
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +2
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (17)
District 15 R+7
✓ Meets our standards: Monica De La Cruz
Meets our standards

Monica De La Cruz
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 19 key votes · total +2
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (11)
Bobby Pulido
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 16 D+11
No mark
Adam Bauman
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored

Veronica Escobar
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total -2
- ✗Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ✗Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✗Hard on violent crime
With us (10)
District 17 R+10
Leans our way: Pete Sessions
Leans our way

Pete Sessions
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +1
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (16)
Casey Shepard
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 18 D+29
Leans our way: Christian Menefee
Al Green (D): incumbent lost renomination.
Leans our way

Christian Menefee
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 4 key votes · total +1
- ✗Smaller government
- ?Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ?Light touch on tech
- ?Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ?Checks on power
- ?Right to bear arms
- ?Hard on violent crime
With us (3)
Against us (1)
- Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Ronald Whitfield
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 19 R+25
No mark
Jodey Arrington (R): incumbent retiring.
Kyle Rable
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Tom Sell
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 20 D+16
No mark

Joaquin Castro
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 26 key votes · total +0
- ✗Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ✗Light touch on tech
- ✓Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✗Hard on violent crime
With us (12)
Edgardo Rafael Baez
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 21 R+10
No mark
Chip Roy (R): incumbent retiring to run for texas attorney general.
Kristin Hook
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Mark Teixeira
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 22 R+11
No mark
Marquette Greene-Scott
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Trever Nehls
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 23 R+7
No mark
Brandon Herrera
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
Katy Padilla Stout
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 24 R+8
✓ Meets our standards: Beth Van Duyne
Kevin Burge
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Meets our standards

Beth Van Duyne
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +3
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ✓Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (18)
District 25 R+11
No mark
Marc Veasey (D): incumbent retiring.
Dione Sims
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored

Roger Williams
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 25 key votes · total +0
- ✓Smaller government
- ✗Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ~No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (15)
District 26 R+11
Leans our way: Brandon Gill
Leans our way

Brandon Gill
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 11 key votes · total +1
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ?Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ✗Checks on power
- ?Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (6)
Steven Shook
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 27 R+10
✓ Meets our standards: Michael Cloud
Meets our standards

Michael Cloud
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +4
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ~Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (20)
Tanya Lloyd
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 28 R+3
Leans our way: Henry Cuellar
Leans our way

Henry Cuellar
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +1
- ✗Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (13)
Tano Tijerina
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 29 D+17
No mark
Martha Fierro
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored

Sylvia Garcia
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total -1
- ✗Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ✗Light touch on tech
- ~Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✗Hard on violent crime
With us (12)
District 30 D+25
No mark
Frederick Haynes III
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Everett Jackson
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 31 R+11
No mark

John Carter
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 27 key votes · total +0
- ✓Smaller government
- ~Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (14)
Justin Early
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 32 R+8
No mark
Dan Barrios
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Jace Yarbrough
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 33 D+18
No mark
Jasmine Crockett (D): incumbent retiring to run for u.
Julie Johnson (D): incumbent lost renomination.

Colin Allred
Democrat
Scored on 16 key votes · total -4
- ✗Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ?Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ?Home first, open trade
- ✗Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✗Hard on violent crime
With us (3)
Patrick Gillespie
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 34 R+3
No mark
Eric Flores
Republican
No votes in Congress: scored on platform and record, promises at half weight · total +1.5
- ✓Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ?Light touch on tech
- ?Free speech
- ?No surveillance state
- ~Home first, open trade
- ?Checks on power
- ~Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (3)
- Campaign priorities page: "I'll oppose reckless federal spending that fuels inflation, fight to cut the red tape driving up costs for families and small businesses." Source
- Campaign priorities page: "I'll fight for tax relief and reduced regulatory burdens for small business owners" and for policies that keep opportunity growing locally, "not just in big cities like Houston and Dallas." Source
- His campaign biography says that as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in McAllen he 'led landmark prosecutions of cartel-connected and human trafficking operations, dismantled the district's largest transnational human-smuggling ring, and secured the conviction of one of Texas's "Top Ten" most-wanted fugitives'; he earlier served as a city attorney and municipal judge. Source

Vicente Gonzalez
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 26 key votes · total +1
- ✗Smaller government
- ✓Small business over giants
- ✓Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ✗No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (12)
District 35 R+4
No mark
Carlos De La Cruz
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
Johnny Garcia
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 36 R+12
No mark

Brian Babin
Republican · incumbent
Scored on 24 key votes · total +0
- ✓Smaller government
- ✗Small business over giants
- ✗Live and let live
- ✓Light touch on tech
- ✗Free speech
- ~No surveillance state
- ✗Home first, open trade
- ~Checks on power
- ✓Right to bear arms
- ✓Hard on violent crime
With us (14)
Rhonda Hart
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 37 D+30
No mark
Lloyd Doggett (D): incumbent retiring.

Greg Casar
Democrat · incumbent
Scored on 19 key votes · total -2
- ✗Smaller government
- ?Small business over giants
- ?Live and let live
- ✗Light touch on tech
- ✓Free speech
- ✓No surveillance state
- ✓Home first, open trade
- ✗Checks on power
- ✗Right to bear arms
- ✗Hard on violent crime
With us (10)
- Voted against the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source
- Voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source
- Voted for the amendment requiring a warrant to search Americans' communications under FISA Section 702 (it failed 212-212). Source
Lauren Peña
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
District 38 R+10
No mark
Wesley Hunt (R): incumbent retiring to run for u.
Jon Bonck
Republican
No congressional voting record; not scored
Melissa McDonough
Democrat
No congressional voting record; not scored
Photo credits. Official congressional portraits are works of the U.S. government and in the public domain. Others:
- Christian Menefee: Brendan O'Hara, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (file)
