Carmen Montiel

Carmen Montiel (Republican Party) is running in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 18th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the special general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Montiel is also running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 18th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.^[source]

Montiel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

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. Her career experience includes working as a television journalist , news anchorwoman, and real estate broker.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Elections

2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Texas District 18

Earnest Clayton, Stephen Huey, Allen Berry, Carmen Montiel, and Cyrus Sajna are running in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Earnest Clayton (D)
		Stephen Huey (D)
		Allen Berry (R)
		Carmen Montiel (R)
		Cyrus Sajna (R)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Sylvester Turner (D)

Endorsements

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2025

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

Special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18

The following candidates are running in the special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Feldon Bonner II (D)
		Amanda Edwards (D)
		Stephen Huey (D)
		Jolanda Jones (D)
		Isaiah Martin (D)
		Christian Menefee (D)
	Submit photo	Valencia Williams (D)
		Theodis Daniel (R)
	Submit photo	Ollie Knox (R)
		Carmen Montiel (R)
	Submit photo	Carter Page (R)
	Submit photo	Ronald Whitfield (R)
	Submit photo	Tammie Rochester (G)
	Submit photo	Reyna Anderson (Independent)
		Vince Duncan (Independent)
	Submit photo	George Foreman (Independent)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

To view Montiel's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.

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

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 156,268
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Cassius Marcellous Evergreen (D)
Charles Thompson (D)

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

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	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

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Texas' 29th Congressional District election, 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

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	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.
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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

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	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
	Submit photo	Augustine Reyes	2.8	525
		Dominique Garcia	2.6	478
		Pedro Valencia	1.0	193

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	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

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	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

Carmen Montiel has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Carmen Montiel asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Carmen Montiel, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Carmen Montiel to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing CarmenforCongress@gmail.com.

2025

Carmen Montiel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Montiel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a legal immigrant, business woman, survivor of domestic violence and mother of three.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Family
Economic growth
Education

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Preservation of our constitution, economic opportunities and safe education.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My parents raised us well, with faith, manners and the importance of culture; They are my pillars.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Stolen Identity, Atlas Shrugged, Del Buen Salvaje Al Buen Revolucionario.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity and active in resolving the issues of our constituents.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a legal immigrant that knows the obstacles we have to overcome as immigrants. I have been working in Charity since I was a teenager. I understand the importance of helping others. And I am the Mother of three; the most difficult and important work in the world.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Represent our constituents.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I never stopped fighting against Socialism=Communism.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

At 12 years old I worked at a Toy Import company for the summer.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Overcoming Domestic Violence

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Intelligent, knowledge of our nation and foundation, protection of our constitution (the greatest in the world)

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. We represent the people. We need representatives with real life experience.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Maintain our position as the most powerful nation.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No, Representatives spend most of their time campaigning instead of serving the people.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

People are living longer. I believe there should be term limits.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Markwayne Mullin

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

The over twenty year Cancer cluster that is killing our people is touching. It is unbelievable that this has not been resolved yet.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

To a certain level

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

The American People pay too much taxes

What committees interest you?

Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veteran Affairs

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We serve the American people, who pay taxes, they deserve to know how our Money is used and for what purpose.

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. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born in Venezuela, I came to the United States of America, legally 34 years ago as a student.

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.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Serve the people
Stop the lies
I will work for you

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economy: We need to reduce inflation and reduce expending

Immigration: As immigration in this country has to be legal

Education: The money should follow the student

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:

Faith
Family
Opportunity

AMERICA FIRST POLICIES

These include:

Energy Independence
Agriculturally Self-Sustaining
Ending regulations
Choice in education
Keeping business in America
Supporting small business
Creating more jobs^[4]

”

—Carmen Maria Montiel's campaign website (2022)^[5]

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.^[6]

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“

1) Jobs

2) Education
3) Immigration^[7]^[4]

”

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^[4] ”

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.

Carmen Montiel campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Texas District 18	Candidacy Declared general	$5,206	$3,135
2025*	U.S. House Texas District 18	On the Ballot general	$5,206	$3,135
2022	U.S. House Texas District 18	Lost general	$126,359	$122,788
2018	U.S. House Texas District 29	Lost primary runoff	$28,549	N/A**
Grand total			$165,319	$129,058
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. House Texas District 18

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
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 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

[show]

Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)

[bio-1] Carmen Maria Montiel, "About Carmen Maria Montel," accessed February 17, 2018

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2022

[3] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 25, 2025

[quotedisclaimer-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[5] Carmen Maria Montiel, “Home,” accessed January 22, 2022

[6] Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.

[BPsurvey-7] Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Carmen Maria Montiel's responses," February 26, 2018

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Carmen Montiel

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 18

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2025

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 18

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 18

2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 29

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 29

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 29

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 29

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2025

2022

Campaign website

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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