Carmen Montiel
Carmen Montiel (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 38th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Montiel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Montiel changed districts due to redistricting. To read more about redistricting Texas, click here.
Biography
Carmen Maria Montiel was born in Venezuela and lives in Houston, Texas. Montiel earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from East Tennessee State University in 1991. Her career experience includes working as a television journalist , news anchorwoman, and real estate broker.[1][2][3][4]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 3 Republican primary for Texas' 38th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Jon Bonck (R), Barrett McNabb (R), Shelly deZevallos (R), and seven other candidates are running in the Republican primary for Texas' 38th Congressional District on March 3, 2026. The filing deadline was December 8, 2025. As of January 2026, Bonck, McNabb, and deZevallos led in fundraising and local media attention.[5]
Incumbent Wesley Hunt (R) is running for U.S. Senate rather than seeking re-election, leaving the seat open. Hunt won re-election in 2024 63%–37%.
Bonck is a manager at a mortgage brokerage firm. Bonck describes himself as "a Christian, husband, father, and mortgage leader from Greater Houston — not a political celebrity, but a servant leader ready to fight for Texas families."[6] Bonck's campaign website says his real estate experience "has shown him firsthand how outdated policies and red tape can frustrate families...Jon will work to reform these outdated policies and eliminate red tape to help Americans thrive and achieve the American dream."[6]
McNabb is a 16-year veteran of the U.S. Army and the founder of a healthcare management group. McNabb's campaign website says he is "not a career politician—he’s a battle-tested leader, a successful businessman, and a servant of the people. He’s running for Congress to advocate for families, Veterans, small businesses, and all Texans who feel overlooked by Washington."[7] McNabb says he will "always put Texas first, streamline politics, and enact swift action on conservative policies."[8]
DeZevallos is the president of the West Houston Airport. DeZevallos' campaign website describes her as "a business leader, pilot, and lifelong Houstonian who has dedicated her life to service, innovation, and advancing our shared America First values."[9] DeZevallos says she is running "because President Trump needs trusted conservative leaders in Congress who will end Democrat obstruction and keep the results coming for the American people."[10]
Also running in the primary are Avery Ayers (R), Craig Goralski (R), Carmen Montiel (R), Michael Pratt (R), Larry Rubin (R), Jennifer Sundt (R), and Jeff Yuna (R).
As of January 2026, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Solid/Safe Republican. An Inside Elections analysis of the redistricting in Texas ahead of the 2026 elections found that President Donald Trump (R) won the 2024 presidential election in both the old and the new versions of the 38th district by 21 percentage points.[11]
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on May 26, 2026.
Elections
2026
See also: Texas' 38th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House Texas District 38
Alex McMenemy and William Taggart are running in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 38 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
Alex McMenemy (G) ![]() | ||
William Taggart (Independent) ![]() | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 38
Theresa Courts, Marvalette Hunter, and Melissa McDonough are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 38 on March 3, 2026.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Curtis Cook II (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 38
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 38 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
Avery Ayers ![]() | ||
| Jon Bonck | ||
| Craig Goralski | ||
| Barrett McNabb | ||
Carmen Montiel ![]() | ||
Michael Pratt ![]() | ||
Larry Rubin ![]() | ||
| Jennifer Sundt | ||
Jeff Yuna ![]() | ||
| Shelly deZevallos | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Wesley Hunt (R)
- Damien Mockus (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avery Ayers | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $210 | As of October 31, 2025 |
| Jon Bonck | Republican Party | $492,041 | $111,162 | $380,879 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Craig Goralski | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Barrett McNabb | Republican Party | $228,122 | $120,475 | $107,647 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Carmen Montiel | Republican Party | $61,174 | $41,508 | $20,109 | As of November 23, 2025 |
| Michael Pratt | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Larry Rubin | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jennifer Sundt | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jeff Yuna | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Shelly deZevallos | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[12][13][14]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Note: As of January 15, 2026, Jennifer Sundt (R) had not registered as a candidate with the Federal Election Commission.
Endorsements
To view Montiel's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2025
See also: Texas' 18th Congressional District special election, 2025
General runoff election
Special general runoff election for U.S. House Texas District 18
Amanda Edwards and Christian Menefee are running in the special general runoff election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on January 31, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Amanda Edwards (D) | ||
Christian Menefee (D) ![]() | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18
The following candidates ran in the special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christian Menefee (D) ![]() | 28.9 | 21,979 | |
| ✔ | Amanda Edwards (D) | 25.6 | 19,440 | |
| Jolanda Jones (D) | 19.1 | 14,524 | ||
Carmen Montiel (R) ![]() | 6.7 | 5,107 | ||
| Isaiah Martin (D) | 5.7 | 4,336 | ||
| Ollie Knox (R) | 4.1 | 3,130 | ||
Stephen Huey (D) ![]() | 1.9 | 1,414 | ||
| Ronald Whitfield (R) | 1.5 | 1,174 | ||
| Carter Page (R) | 1.2 | 943 | ||
| Theodis Daniel (R) | 1.2 | 937 | ||
| Valencia Williams (D) | 1.2 | 915 | ||
| George Foreman (Independent) | 1.1 | 827 | ||
| Feldon Bonner II (D) | 0.7 | 553 | ||
| Vince Duncan (Independent) | 0.5 | 407 | ||
| Reyna Anderson (Independent) | 0.3 | 263 | ||
Tammie Rochester (G) ![]() | 0.2 | 135 | ||
| Total votes: 76,084 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Lizette Prestwich (D)
- Jarvis Johnson (D)
- Derrell Turner (Independent)
- Khris Beal (Independent)
- James Joseph (D)
- Zoe Cadore (D)
- Kivan Polimis (D)
- Chance Davis (Independent)
- Corisha Rogers (D)
- Selena Samuel (D)
- Robert Slater (D)
- Ebony Eatmon (D)
- Peter Filler (D)
- T.J. Baker (D)
- Tejas Tuppera (Independent)
- Laverne Crump (D)
- Barry Dewayne Marchant (D)
Endorsements
To view Montiel's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Texas District 18
Incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee defeated Carmen Montiel, Vince Duncan, and Phil Kurtz in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sheila Jackson Lee (D) | 70.7 | 110,511 | |
Carmen Montiel (R) ![]() | 26.2 | 40,941 | ||
| Vince Duncan (Independent) | 1.8 | 2,766 | ||
| Phil Kurtz (L) | 1.3 | 2,050 | ||
| Total votes: 156,268 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18
Incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sheila Jackson Lee | 100.0 | 35,194 | |
| Total votes: 35,194 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18
Carmen Montiel advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Carmen Montiel ![]() | 100.0 | 11,087 | |
| Total votes: 11,087 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Scott Huckabee (R)
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 18
Phil Kurtz advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 12, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Phil Kurtz (L) | 90.7 | 39 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 9.3 | 4 | ||
| Total votes: 43 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Texas District 29
Sylvia Garcia defeated Phillip Arnold Aronoff and Cullen Burns in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 29 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sylvia Garcia (D) | 75.1 | 88,188 | |
| Phillip Arnold Aronoff (R) | 23.9 | 28,098 | ||
| Cullen Burns (L) | 1.0 | 1,199 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 9 | ||
| Total votes: 117,494 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 29
Phillip Arnold Aronoff defeated Carmen Montiel in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 29 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Phillip Arnold Aronoff | 51.9 | 1,151 | |
| Carmen Montiel | 48.1 | 1,068 | ||
| Total votes: 2,219 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 29
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 29 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sylvia Garcia | 63.3 | 11,727 | |
| Muhammad Javed | 20.7 | 3,831 | ||
| Roel Garcia | 6.6 | 1,221 | ||
| Hector Morales | 3.0 | 563 | ||
| Augustine Reyes | 2.8 | 525 | ||
| Dominique Garcia | 2.6 | 478 | ||
| Pedro Valencia | 1.0 | 193 | ||
| Total votes: 18,538 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 29
Phillip Arnold Aronoff and Carmen Montiel advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jaimy Annette Zoboulikos-Blanco and Robert Schafranek in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 29 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Phillip Arnold Aronoff | 38.6 | 2,402 | |
| ✔ | Carmen Montiel | 23.6 | 1,467 | |
| Jaimy Annette Zoboulikos-Blanco | 21.0 | 1,309 | ||
| Robert Schafranek | 16.8 | 1,042 | ||
| Total votes: 6,220 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Carmen Montiel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Montiel's responses.
| Collapse all
- Faith, Family and Freedom
- We are loosing America to a socialist Agenda
- Take back the American Dream
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2025
Carmen Montiel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Montiel's responses.
| Collapse all
- Family
- Economic growth
- Education
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Carmen Montiel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Montiel's responses.
| Collapse all
I experience from here how my country of birth was detsroyed and my family had to leave looking for a better life in other countries. A Mother of three (Alexandra, Carmen and Juan Diego) I am a journalist, entrepreneur and business woman.
I have served my community since I came to Houston. And now will continue to do it by this time as a Congresswoman, bringing opportunities and jobs to my district.- Serve the people
- Stop the lies
- I will work for you
Immigration: As immigration in this country has to be legal
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Montiel's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
SECURE OUR BORDERS END HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROSECUTE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FIGHT CRT EDUCATION RESTORE AMERICAN VALUES These values include:
AMERICA FIRST POLICIES These include:
|
” |
| —Carmen Maria Montiel's campaign website (2022)[16] | ||
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Carmen Maria Montiel participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on February 26, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Carmen Maria Montiel's responses follow below.[17]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Jobs |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | The growing path to loose ara rights needs to stop. Energy IndependenceCite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[15]
|
” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House Texas District 38 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Carmen Maria Montiel, "About Carmen Maria Montel," accessed February 17, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2022
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 25, 2025
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on December 27, 2025
- ↑ Houston Public Media, "U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt enters GOP Senate primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Texas AG Ken Paxton," October 6, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jon Bonck campaign website, "Home page," accessed October 24, 2025
- ↑ Barrett McNabb campaign website, "About," accessed October 24, 2025
- ↑ Barrett McNabb campaign website, "Home page," accessed October 24, 2025
- ↑ Shelly deZevallos campaign website, "About," accessed October 24, 2025
- ↑ Shelly deZevallos campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 24, 2025
- ↑ Inside Elections, "A Detailed Analysis of Texas’ New Congressional Map," August 27, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Carmen Maria Montiel, “Home,” accessed January 22, 2022
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Carmen Maria Montiel's responses," February 26, 2018

