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Lauren Peña
Lauren Peña (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 35th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.[source]
Peña completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Lauren Peña was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She earned a high school diploma from Northwest High School and a bachelor's degree from Southern New Hampshire University in 2024. She also attended the University of Texas in 2023 and Austin Community College in 2023. Her career experience includes working as a political operative.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas' 35th 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.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 35
John Lira and Whitney Masterson-Moyes are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | John Lira | |
| Whitney Masterson-Moyes | ||
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 = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Greg Casar (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 3, 2026.
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| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lauren Peña completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Peña's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As Founder & Executive Director of Peña Legal Advocacy, Lauren leads efforts to deliver accessible, no-cost legal support across Texas.
In East Austin, Texas—where her family’s ties stretch back before Texas achieved its' statehood—Lauren witnesses up close gentrification’s impact on everyday residents. As an Austin resident and mother, she understands how public policy shapes real lives. In Congress, she will leverage her conservative values and personal journey to build bipartisan solutions that repair urban policy failures before they expand to rural communities, strengthen families, and uphold the principles that make our nation great. Vote Lauren B. Peña for Texas’s 35th Congressional District.- Welfare reform—long ignored by Republicans—is Lauren’s priority. The Democrat-run system traps families in generational poverty at taxpayers’ expense.
Denied Social Security, Lauren—a mother of four with PTSD—and her daughter with a disability live in public housing on Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF. Forced to “volunteer” for 36 hours a week, homeschool her children, and build a business, she received only $494/month.
When she created her own opportunity to gain financial independence, she was told her children would lose all their benefits at once. No safety net. No support. No transition.
Lauren will educate Democrats on welfare reform policy that lifts all individuals and families and saves hardworking American tax dollars. - Public Safety: Democrats defunded the police instead of educating the community. Programs that once uplifted our youth no longer exist. Traditional street gangs are reorganizing—and without a shift in perspective, it’s only going to get worse. In the inner city, Lauren has begun changing public opinion about the police. Criminals and impressionable youth often don’t understand police procedure and view officers as the enemy. Lauren supports law enforcement and believes in building trust through education and community engagement. She will bring law enforcement critics to the table, educate them on modern gang psychology and trends, and address the systemic issues that must be solved to foster trust and improve public safety for Americans.
- National Security: Our national security is broken—from the border to the digital world. We spend billions overseas while ignoring real threats here at home. Lauren has lived through organized crime, surveillance abuse, and government failure. She knows the systems meant to protect us are failing—and in some cases, violating our rights. Lauren will prioritize securing the border, ending surveillance overreach, and holding federal agencies accountable. She supports responsible immigration policies that protect our nation while welcoming those who follow the law. National security means protecting the people, not just the politicians. It's time for leadership that understands the threats from the inside and has the courage to confront them.
But here’s the truth: we don’t have to accept that narrative. I believe in personal responsibility and the power of hard work. We need to reeducate our culture—not by making excuses, but by showing that there is a legal, honest path to prosperity. I don’t excuse crime, but I do understand where it comes from. Broken schools, unsafe housing, and a lack of opportunity are what set people up to fail long before they ever break the law.
Through years of civic involvement, I’ve seen staffers act as gatekeepers, blocking critical information from ever reaching the elected official. That shouldn’t happen. Leaders should show up, listen, and lead from the front.
Leadership also means leading by example. If you make a mistake, take responsibility for it. I don’t believe members of Congress should be immune from accountability. If you break the law—or even do something questionable for the right reasons, like during undercover work—then be honest. Explain what you did, where, when, and why. The public deserves transparency, not coverups.
Elected office is a position of trust, not privilege. If I’m elected, I won’t just demand change—I’ll model it. That’s how we rebuild trust in government: with honesty, accountability, and action.
Another important quality is resilience. Leaders should show they can overcome hard times and find solutions. Too many politicians are cookie-cutter—taught how to talk and act to win power. But real leadership is built through real struggle. I’m not saying those born into politics don’t belong at the table—but we also need voices shaped by grit and lived experience.
I was forced to be embedded with criminal networks, which gave me a deep understanding of how they think, why they operate the way they do, and how broken systems allow them to thrive. I’ve also been failed by nearly every public policy that was supposed to protect me—housing, welfare, law enforcement response, and the justice system. That gives me unique insight into the real-world impact of government decisions.
Even after all of that, I developed a deep respect for law enforcement and the military, though I’ve never served myself. I bring an unbiased, real-world perspective that’s not shaped by political privilege or theory—but by survival, strength, and a desire to make sure others don’t fall through the same cracks I did.
I’ve spent years involved in the process and I’ve seen how staffers often act as gatekeepers, blocking critical information from reaching the elected official. That shouldn’t happen. We need leadership that shows up, listens, and leads from the front.
To me, leadership also means leading by example. If you make a mistake, own it. I don’t believe sitting members of Congress should be immune from accountability. If you break the law or cross a line—whether in error or even for a justified reason like undercover work—come forward. Be honest about who you are, what you did, where and why you did it. The people deserve transparency, not excuses.
I’m a first-generation college graduate, and I will be the first in my family to have a career with real purpose. That’s the legacy I care about—breaking the cycle. I want to make education a standard in my family, not an exception. I want my kids to grow up knowing they can achieve anything. And I want my neighbors to believe that too.
I live in the projects, where most of us grow up thinking we’ll never be anything. We’re told, directly or indirectly, that the system is too big and the odds are against us. But if I can rise up and serve in Congress, I can prove us all wrong—and set a new path forward for the next generation.
It wasn’t until I got home that I found out what had happened. My mom explained that planes had hit the Twin Towers, but as a kid, I didn’t fully understand the weight of it. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized it was an act of terrorism—an attack meant to harm America by instilling fear in all of us.
When I’m elected, one of the most important things I’ll do is take my experience and pour it back into the community. I’ll train and mentor the next generation so they’re prepared to lead when their time comes. It’s not about staying in office forever—it’s about fixing what’s broken, creating real change, and building up the leaders of tomorrow. That’s how we build a government that serves the people, not itself.
I see Gen Z stepping up, and that’s inspiring—but we skipped the Millennials. That gap matters. Experience matters. Politics isn’t just about passion; it’s about knowing how to navigate systems, stand firm under pressure, and recognize danger before it strikes.
One of the reasons politicians become corrupt is because they don’t recognize corruption when it’s creeping in. Organized criminals are smart—and they know how to exploit inexperience. That’s how they get into the pockets of elected officials: not always through malice, but through manipulation.
In my opinion, a four-year term would be far more productive. It would give representatives time to understand the issues, build trust with their communities, and actually implement meaningful change—without immediately jumping back into campaign mode.
But with longer terms must come term limits. I believe in a maximum of three four-year terms. After that, you move on. If you want to keep serving, run for Senate—and if you lose, that’s it. Public service isn’t supposed to be a lifelong career. It’s about getting in, doing the work, making an impact, and making space for new leadership.
Part of the problem is that our elections are no longer based on the quality of the candidate—they’re based on money. Too often, the people with the deepest pockets stay in office forever, while qualified, passionate voices are shut out. That’s how bad actors stay in power and why nothing changes.
But when it comes to our core values, the answer is no. I will not compromise on the Constitution. I will not compromise on free speech, parental rights, religious freedom, or the right to self-defense. These are not bargaining chips—they are protected rights.
What I find unacceptable is seeing someone who claims to support free speech turning around and telling others their opinions don’t matter. That’s not free speech—that’s hypocrisy. We can debate ideas, but we should never silence others just because we disagree.
If all revenue bills start in the House, that means we hold the keys to how money flows through every federal policy and program. I would use that power to dig deep into the origins of policies that have harmed my community. I want to know: who wrote the bill that led to this broken housing system? Who pushed for welfare policies that trap families instead of helping them? What was the original goal—and where is that person now?
This power would allow me to audit the trail of federal dollars, not just where they go, but why they went there in the first place. I would prioritize looking into the systems that have failed working-class families like mine—especially in housing, public assistance, and public safety.
I guess it makes sense now why I was so excited to learn that sitting members of Congress also have access to facilities like immigration centers, penitentiaries, and government-run institutions. You’re going to catch me in session—and every other free moment walking into every single facility in Texas, asking questions, taking notes, and holding systems accountable. I can already see it, and I can’t wait.
The U.S. House should be the strongest investigative tool this country has. We should have the power to subpoena anyone, at any time, and go directly to the source. If there's a shooting—don’t bring in a department head with talking points. Bring in the officer. Bring in the witness. Bring in the people who were there.
You want to investigate a drug empire? Then don’t just analyze the data—bring in the people who lived it, even the drug lord if needed. Want to know the real effects of the COVID vaccine? Don’t just listen to agencies—bring in small-town doctors and real patients. Experts matter, but so do everyday people. Lived experience is expertise.
Congress needs to stop treating investigations like political theater. We need raw truth, not filtered narratives. The purpose of oversight is to understand the full impact of policy—and we can’t do that if we’re only hearing from hand-picked voices.
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 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
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 8, 2025
