Michael Curran
Michael Curran (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 9th Congressional District. Curran lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 3, 2026, Republican primary for Texas' 9th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Alex Mealer (R) and Briscoe Cain (R) advanced to a May 26 runoff after neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the Republican primary for Texas' 9th Congressional District on March 3, 2026.
Eleven candidates ran in the Republican primary for Texas' 9th Congressional District on March 3, 2026. Two candidates led in media attention, fundraising, and endorsements: Cain and Mealer.
Incumbent Al Green (D) ran in the Democratic primary for Texas' 18th Congressional District in 2026. The last time the district was open was 2004, when Green was first elected. Green received at least 70% of the vote in every general election since then.
Texas conducted redistricting in 2025, and the 9th Congressional District's boundaries changed as a result. According to Gabby Birenbaum of The Texas Tribune, the district was "one of five Democratic districts that [were] significantly redrawn with the goal of electing Republicans."[1] Birenbaum also wrote that "what was once a district that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris by a 44-point margin is now, under the new boundary, a district that went for Republican Donald Trump by 20 percentage points."[1]
Mealer was a U.S. Army veteran who formerly worked in the finance industry and served on the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County board from 2024 to 2025.[2][3] She was the Republican nominee for Harris County Judge in 2022, losing to incumbent Lina Hidalgo (D) 51% to 49%. Mealer campaigned on her military experience and status as a political outsider, saying, "I lead when others run away."[4] Mealer said she would focus on passing election security legislation and providing federal funding for Texas law enforcement.[4] Mealer said she would help "deliver President Trump's America First vision."[4] President Donald Trump, Texas businessman Jim McIngvale, Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey (R), and the Texas Municipal Police Association endorsed Mealer.[5]
Cain was an attorney who was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2016.[6] He served in the Texas State Guard.[6] Cain campaigned on his legislative experience, saying he "[led] the charge for limited government, secure borders, election integrity, and protecting life and liberty."[6] Cain also campaigned on his legal experience, describing cases he has worked on as promoting religious liberty and pro-life causes.[6] Cain said he would support gun ownership and back President Donald Trump's (R) immigration policies to improve public safety.[7] On social issues, Cain said he would "protect faith, freedom, and Texas families."[6] U.S. Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Randy Weber (R-Texas) endorsed Cain.[8]
Also running in the primary were Jaimy Annette Zoboulikos-Blanco (R), Alexandria Butler (R), Michael Curran (R), Peter Emmert (R), Dan Mims (R), Crystal Sarmiento (R), Steve Stockman (R), Dwayne Stovall (R), and Terry Lee Thain (R).
As of December 2025, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Safe/Solid Republican.
To review how redistricting took place in Texas in 2025, click here. For a list of all states that drew new district lines between 2024 and 2026, click here.
Elections
2026
See also: Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 26, 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.
General election for U.S. House Texas District 9
Leticia Gutierrez (D) and Roy Morales (Independent) are running in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 9 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Leticia Gutierrez (D)  | |
 | Roy Morales (Independent) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary runoff
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 9
Briscoe Cain (R) and Alex Mealer (R) are running in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 9 on May 26, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Briscoe Cain | |
 | Alex Mealer | |
| ||||
| = 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
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Leticia Gutierrez | 53.7 | 18,630 |
 | Earnest Clayton | 16.3 | 5,640 | |
 | Terry Virts | 14.5 | 5,044 | |
 | Todd Ivey | 7.0 | 2,440 | |
| Marty Rocha | 6.8 | 2,367 | ||
 | Peter Filler | 1.6 | 552 | |
| Total votes: 34,673 | |||
| = 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
- Al Green (D)
Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 9
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 9 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alex Mealer | 36.6 | 8,431 |
| ✔ | | Briscoe Cain | 30.8 | 7,102 |
 | Steve Stockman | 16.9 | 3,884 | |
 | Dan Mims | 8.3 | 1,915 | |
 | Dwayne Stovall | 2.6 | 589 | |
 | Crystal Sarmiento | 2.0 | 458 | |
 | Jaimy Annette Zoboulikos-Blanco | 1.1 | 251 | |
| Terry Lee Thain | 0.9 | 208 | ||
 | Michael Curran | 0.9 | 198 | |
| Total votes: 23,036 | |||
| = 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
- Alexandria Butler (R)
- Peter Emmert (R)
- Deddrick Wilmer (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Election campaign finance
Candidate spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaimy Annette Zoboulikos-Blanco | Republican Party | $112,049 | $109,941 | $3,126 | As of February 11, 2026 |
| Briscoe Cain | Republican Party | $274,020 | $7,516 | $266,504 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Michael Curran | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Alex Mealer | Republican Party | $1,224,832 | $752,648 | $472,184 | As of February 11, 2026 |
| Dan Mims | Republican Party | $353,414 | $283,053 | $70,362 | As of February 11, 2026 |
| Crystal Sarmiento | Republican Party | $78,009 | $48,281 | $29,728 | As of February 11, 2026 |
| Steve Stockman | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Dwayne Stovall | Republican Party | $22,843 | $22,156 | $2,287 | As of February 11, 2026 |
| Terry Lee Thain | Republican Party | $5,250 | $3,397 | $1,859 | As of December 31, 2025 |
|
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." |
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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.[9][10][11]
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.
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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
Michael Curran did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from the Federal Election Commission. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Texas Tribune, "GOP state Rep. Briscoe Cain files for redrawn 9th Congressional District," August 21, 2025
- ↑ Alex Mealer 2026 campaign website, "About Alex," accessed December 1, 2025
- ↑ Ride METRO, "METRO Welcomes New Board Members," April 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Alex Mealer 2026 campaign website, "Home," accessed December 1, 2025
- ↑ Alex Mealer 2026 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed December 1, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Briscoe Cain 2026 campaign website, "Proven Conservative Fighter. Ready to Lead in Washington." accessed December 1, 2025
- ↑ Briscoe Cain 2026 campaign website, "Briscoe Cain on the Issues," accessed December 1, 2025
- ↑ Briscoe Cain 2026 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed December 1, 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
