Scott Mandel

Scott Mandel (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 34th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Scott Mandel was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He earned a master's degree from Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 1998. His career experience includes working as a chief executive officer and a government security contractor. He has been affiliated with the National Business Aviation Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and the National Rifle Association (NRA).^[1]^[2]

Elections

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.

General election for U.S. House Texas District 34

Eddie Espinoza (G) is running in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 34 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Eddie Espinoza (G)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 34

Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D) and Etienne Rosas (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 34 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Vicente Gonzalez Jr.
		Etienne Rosas

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 34

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 34 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Keith Allen
		Luis Buentello
		Eric Flores
		Mayra Flores
		Mauro Garza
	Submit photo	Fred Hinojosa
		Gregory Kunkle Jr.
		Scott Mandel
		Bam Morales
		Jay Nagy

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

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2024

Texas' 27th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)

Texas' 27th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 27

Incumbent Michael Cloud defeated Tanya Lloyd in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 27 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michael Cloud (R)	66.0	183,980
	Tanya Lloyd (D)	34.0	94,596

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 278,576
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Eric Scott Loyd (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Tanya Lloyd defeated Anthony Tristan in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tanya Lloyd	53.3	10,305
	Anthony Tristan	46.7	9,013

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,318
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Incumbent Michael Cloud defeated Scott Mandel, Luis Espindola, and Chris Mapp in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michael Cloud	74.6	53,304
	Scott Mandel	15.1	10,791
	Luis Espindola	5.4	3,838
	Chris Mapp	5.0	3,553

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,486
= 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

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Mandel in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Scott Mandel has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Scott Mandel, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Scott Mandel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mandel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

God. Family. Country. Conservative. Married. 3 grown children. 3 grandchildren. Catholic. Grew up in Corpus Christi. Government Contractor. Successfully run several businesses. Very energetic. Love adventure and the outdoors. Rancher. Builder. Pilot. Diver. Hunt. Fish.

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 am conservative, bring 33 years of successful business and federal experience to the job. I am the only candidate that is very knowledgeable about the border crisis and federal issues.
Since the 1940’s we have built fences on the US/Mexico border. 84 years later we have about 700 miles of fence, have improved technology and manpower, spent billions yet we still are not able to control illegal immigration, legal migrations, and drug trafficking. I will introduce legislation to close the border, overhaul immigration, the visa program and place a temporary limit on legal immigration based on our capabilities and needs.
We continue to spend money we do not have. The US is in debt to the tune of 34 trillion dollars. I will introduce legislation that would require every federal agency receiving federal dollars to complete a detailed questionnaire justifying their role, responsibilities and their costs to Congress and the American people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Border Security

Immigration

Federal Spending

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

Jesus, he was very humble, always kept his faith in the face of challenge, and never stopped believing in the greater good.

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

2 book's I would recommend is The Duty to Vote by Julia Maskivker, and Overdoing democracy by Robert B. Talisse.

A movie I would recommend is Lincoln.

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

Strong Leadership, great communication, creative thinking, committed to helping the great good.

Keep promises, do good, preserve life,

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

Great Listener, Extrovert, Problem Solver, Proven Leader, successful Businessman, Government Contractor, Great Negotiator.

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

Listen and represent all the voters in your district.
Propose, vote and enact laws and policies for the greater good of their district, state and country.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I made the world a better place, helped people, encouraged and inspired others, giving of my time, talent, energy, and treasures.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

July 20, 1969, watching the lunar Landing. I was 7 1/2 years old.

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

Western Auto, 4634 Ayers St, Corpus Christi, Tx 78415. 3 years

What is your favorite book? Why?

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Sherlock Holmes

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Holy water by We the Kingdom

Tell us your favorite joke.

Which is the only government office that actually listens to you......The National Security Agency.

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

Mandel’s campaign website stated the following:

“

THE TEXAS BORDER
Our border situation is dire. I propose we close the border and do a hard reset. We must enforce our laws and set rules. We need to hire hundreds of part-time immigration judges. We need to restructure the Border Patrol to be more efficient. I would call for an immediate Latin American Summit to address migration issues. Our immigration laws were not designed to handle today’s crisis. Part of my plan, ABICUS (America’s Border Immigration and Unified Systems), will establish forward operating bases on the border to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The fence helps, but it is not enough! Having a secure border and a more functional unified system for legal immigration would control and reduce illegal immigration. Sending a message to Mexico, Central and South America that our borders are closed is a key step. Allowing our U.S. embassies to process asylum claims will help alleviate the crisis.

ESCALATING NATIONAL DEBT
Our escalating debt demands immediate attention. As a country, we only have two choices: spend less or make more. We are giving money away that we do not have. Now, more than ever, you need a proven, successful, and assertive business leader. As with many in the past, I am transitioning from the business sector to public service to make a difference.

OUR CURRENT REPRESENTATION
Congressman Cloud has served us for 5 years, been paid $840,000, and does not serve us well. He has not been aggressive with the issues. If elected, I will work to help our communities, this district and our country. I have the business background and experience to make positive changes, but more importantly, I am a strong consensus builder and will make every effort to improve the livelihood of our citizens. Please…March 5th go out and vote – MANDEL. Let’s send a message that you want TX-27 to lead the way on border issues and reducing the debt.^[3]

”

—Scott Mandel’s campaign website (2024)^[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.

Scott Mandel campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared primary	$1,000,000	N/A**
2024*	U.S. House Texas District 27	Lost primary	$15,000	$52,876
Grand total			$1,015,000	$52,876
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

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Candidate

U.S. House Texas District 34

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 9, 2024
↑ Facebook, "Scott Mandel on December 26, 2023," accessed January 11, 2024
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Scott Mandel for Congress, “Issues,” accessed January 18, 2024

[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)

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 9, 2024

[2] Facebook, "Scott Mandel on December 26, 2023," accessed January 11, 2024

[quotedisclaimer-3] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[4] Scott Mandel for Congress, “Issues,” accessed January 18, 2024

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Scott Mandel

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 34

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 34

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 34

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 27

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

Campaign website

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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