Casey Shepard

Casey Shepard

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House Texas District 17

Elections and appointments

Next election

March 3, 2026

Education

High school

Midway High School

Bachelor's

Loyola Marymount University, 2003

Law

University of California, Davis School of Law, 2007

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Casey Shepard (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 17th Congressional District. Shepard is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.^[source]

Shepard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Casey Shepard graduated from Midway High School. Shepard earned a bachelor's degree from Loyola Marymount University in 2003 and a law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2007. Shepard's career experience includes working as an attorney.

Elections

2026

See also: Texas' 17th Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 17

Jamilah Flores (D), J. Gordon Mitchell (D), and Casey Shepard (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 17 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jamilah Flores
		J. Gordon Mitchell
		Casey Shepard

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 17

Incumbent Pete Sessions (R) is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 17 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Pete Sessions

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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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Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Casey Shepard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shepard's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m a seventh generation Texan and a third generation Central Texan. This is Home. I graduated from Midway High School, where I discovered a passion for public policy debate that carried me to Loyola Marymount University on a debate scholarship. I later earned my law degree from the UC Davis, Martin Luther King Jr. Hall School of Law.

Today, I serve as a criminal defense attorney for indigent clients in McLennan County, standing with vulnerable communities that government too often overlooks. My career has been defined by confronting powerful systems, protecting constitutional rights, and giving a voice to those who can’t afford one.

I believe the country is facing a pivotal moment, with core democratic principles — rule of law, freedom, civil rights — crumbling before our eyes at the hands of the leaders in Washington. I am trained, practiced, and battle tested in the skills required to navigate high pressure fights, challenge government overreach, and defend fundamental freedoms — and I won’t hesitate to hit back when Texans’ freedom and values are under attack.

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?

• I will fight an executive branch that has grown far beyond its proper limits and I’m committed to restoring the balance of power on which our democracy depends. I’m willing to work across the aisle when it serves the public good, but I won’t compromise on core principles or ignore abuses of power. My focus will be accountability. That means working with others to scrutinize executive agencies, investigate misconduct, and act when institutions fail the people they’re meant to serve. It also means using every lawful tool available — from adjusting agency funding to supporting constitutional remedies, including impeachment — when leaders refuse to respect the limits of their authority.
• During the fight on Capitol Hill, my legislative priorities are food stability, healthcare access, and affordable housing. As we protect our democratic institutions, we must support the most vulnerable. I’ll work to strengthen SNAP, WIC, school meals, farm subsidies, loan assistance, and USAID food programs. I’ll focus on improving ACA premium subsidies, Medicaid, CHIP, and SAMHSA. And I’ll support restoring Section 8, rental assistance, public housing, government‑backed mortgage aid, and HUD programs for low‑income housing.
• I will work with Democratic coalitions that support Democratic priorities like compassionate immigration reform, racial justice and DEI, bodily autonomy, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, expanded voter access, foreign policy rooted in peace, cooperation and full participation in multinational organizations, mutually beneficial trade policy, a renewable‑energy economy, climate change action, and broader education, job training opportunities for ALL Americans and addressing the extreme wealth gap in this country. These goals are ambitious, but achievable when we stand together.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Mental health is extremely important to me. One in five Americans lives with a mental health condition, and untreated illness is linked to crime, substance abuse, homelessness, social isolation, and even reduced economic growth. Studies show unaddressed mental health issues cost about 1.7% of our GDP each year — the impact of a recession. Addressing this crisis is both a moral and economic imperative. I support the vital work of SAMHSA and other public health initiatives focused on mental health and would seek to expand and improve such programs as a legislator.

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

Shepard's campaign website stated the following:

“	1. Saving Democracy Protect the separation of powers by making sure Congress can fully check the actions of the executive branch. Defend the rule of law by supporting a strong and independent judicial branch that can review executive decisions. Improve leadership across federal agencies through careful vetting of executive appointments and holding department heads accountable when they fail to do their jobs. 2. Feeding the Hungry Protect and expand food programs so every person has access to the basic right to food. Strengthen support for families by fully funding SNAP and school breakfast and lunch programs. Rebuild global food stability by restoring the USAID Food Program and ending tariffs that raise food prices. 3. Caring for the Sick Improve access to care by strengthening medical funding so every American can get help when they are sick or injured. Restore support for Medicaid and Medicare to ensure seniors, families, and people with disabilities receive the care they need. Grow and support the health‑care workforce by recognizing nurse practitioners and other providers as professionals eligible for federal student aid, and by updating immigration policy so more trained medical workers can legally serve our communities. 4. Housing the Homeless Encourage new housing development by offering tax incentives that make it easier to build affordable homes. Support low‑income families by fully funding rental assistance programs so more people can keep stable housing. Lower construction costs and grow the workforce by ending tariffs that raise material prices and updating immigration policy so trained foreign construction workers can legally help build more homes.	”
—Casey Shepard’s campaign website (2026)

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Casey Shepard campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Texas District 17	On the Ballot primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election 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.

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Texas District 17

Website

Facebook

Footnotes

[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

Christian Menefee (D)

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 (13)