Steven Wright (Texas)

This candidate is participating in a 2026 battleground election. Click here to read more about that election.

Steven Wright

Republican Party

Candidate, U.S. House Texas District 35

Elections and appointments

Next election

March 3, 2026

Education

High school

North High School

Personal

Birthplace

San Buenaventura, Calif.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Deputy sheriff

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Steven Wright (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 35th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Steven Wright was born in Ventura, California. He graduated from North High School. His career experience includes working as a deputy sheriff.

2026 battleground election

See also: Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Republican primary)

Ballotpedia identified the March 3 Republican primary as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Joshua Cortez (R), Carlos De La Cruz (R), John Lujan (R), and two other candidates are running in the Republican primary for Texas' 35th Congressional District on March 3, 2026. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025. As of October 2025, Cortez, De La Cruz, and Lujan led in media attention.

The Texas Tribune's Kayla Guo described the 35th district as "one of five blue seats that were dismantled under new lines passed by the Legislature last week with the goal of electing more GOP members of Congress from Texas." Incumbent Greg Casar (D) is running for re-election in the new 37th Congressional District.

An Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales analysis of Texas' 2025 redistricting said of the 2026 version of the 35th District that "it’s possible that Democrats could get over the hump here, though probably only in a blue wave election. We are therefore changing our rating for this seat from Solid Democratic to Likely Republican." To learn more about redistricting in Texas ahead of the 2026 elections, click here.

Cortez is a former marketing professional and staffer to Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas). Cortez's website describes him as a "proud lifelong Republican with strong Christian values...he has been consistently involved with the conservative causes." Cortez says he is running because "I’m an eighth generation Texan, this is my background, this is my home. These are the people that I know and love, and I have the experience to be able to serve the people of the new 35th District."

De La Cruz is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the founder and owner of a kickboxing gym. De La Cruz is the brother of Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R). De La Cruz describes himself as a "proud Air Force veteran, small businessman, husband, father, and conservative Texan with deep San Antonio roots." De La Cruz says he is running "to be President Trump’s wingman in Congress and take down the radical leftists who are destroying America." Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) said of her brother, "I know how hard Carlos has worked his entire life...He is a fighter, a devoted husband, a loving father, and the most patriotic man I know. I’m confident he will bring the kind of strong, conservative leadership Washington desperately needs."

Lujan was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2021. Local political observers describe Lujan as a strong general election candidate, with the San Antonio Report quoting Gov. Greg Abbott (R) as saying at a 2024 Lujan campaign rally: "I have always lost John Lujan’s district...So has [U.S. Sen. Ted] Cruz and [U.S. Sen. John] Cornyn and every other statewide candidate. The only person who can win that race as a Republican is John Lujan." Lujan says he "represents the very best of San Antonio and will be a dedicated voice for its citizens in Congress."

Also running in the primary are Ryan Krause (R) and Steven Wright (R).

As of October 2025, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Likely Republican.

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

Johnny Garcia, John Lira, and Whitney Masterson-Moyes are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Johnny Garcia
		John Lira
	Submit photo	Whitney Masterson-Moyes

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed 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

Joshua Cortez, Carlos De La Cruz, Ryan Krause, John Lujan, and Steven Wright are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Joshua Cortez
		Carlos De La Cruz
		Ryan Krause
		John Lujan
		Steven Wright

---

	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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Christopher Schuchardt (R)

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.

Election campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Joshua Cortez	Republican Party	$160,434	$52,542	$107,892	As of September 30, 2025
Carlos De La Cruz	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Ryan Krause	Republican Party	$59,151	$12,946	$43,969	As of September 30, 2025
John Lujan	Republican Party	$75,584	$5,388	$70,196	As of September 30, 2025
Steven Wright	Republican Party	$8,375	$879	$25,146	As of September 30, 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." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

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.

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.

By candidate	By election
Joshua Cortez Carlos De La Cruz Ryan Krause John Lujan Steven Wright	OpenSecrets Federal Election Commission

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2024

Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)

Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 35

Incumbent Greg Casar defeated Steven Wright in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 35 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Casar (D)	67.4	170,509
		Steven Wright (R)	32.6	82,610

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 253,119
= 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

• Clark Patterson (L)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 35

Steven Wright defeated Michael Rodriguez in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 35 on May 28, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Wright	50.1	1,082
		Michael Rodriguez	49.9	1,077

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,159
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 35

Incumbent Greg Casar advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Casar	100.0	28,830

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,830
= 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 election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35

Michael Rodriguez and Steven Wright advanced to a runoff. They defeated Dave Cuddy, Brandon Dunn, and Rod Lingsch in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Rodriguez	27.1	4,085
✔		Steven Wright	24.6	3,715
		Dave Cuddy	20.4	3,079
		Brandon Dunn	17.9	2,700
		Rod Lingsch	10.0	1,514

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,093
= 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.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 35

Clark Patterson advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 23, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Clark Patterson (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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 did not identify endorsements for Wright in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

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2024

Steven Wright completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wright'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 retired from Public service in Law Enforcement from California and I lived through the massively unsuccessful public policies that have been festering there for the last 20 years.

I don't believe anyone should have to live through what we see all across this nation in every Democrat run state and city with deteriorating education systems, defunding Law Enforcement, soft on crime policies, unsafe communities and especially what we are directly affected by here with Border Security and open border policies.

I have a proud career in law enforcement and I understand local, State and Federal Government. I know what it takes to keep our communities safe, I know what a safe and effective education looks like between teaching DARE for three years and currently working for my school district.

I know what service to a community is. I know what service to our country from my families strong proud military background and what it represents to being a firm believer in problem solving which might be using outside the box thinking. I served on our Elected Union as a Board member for nearly 15-years serving over 560 Deputy sheriffs.

I understand Protecting our Constitution with its application in Public Service. I understand the Law and I have a strong working knowledge of Our legal system locally and Federally.

I am proficient in Contract law, Employment law both locally and Federally, Workers Compensation laws, Federal labor laws and OSHA regulations.

Serving Texas Proudly.

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?

• Unsafe communities affect everyone and every aspect of public services from Revenue, Housing, Tourism and programs the community deserves and needs. Defunding Police should never occur as this is the first step in achieving an unsafe community. Texas residents are suffering from bad public policies and elected leaders who chose to voluntarily cut Police budgets.
• Border security and Immigration Reform are mandatory for Texas citizens.
• Texas and our Great Nation needs to stop sending Politicians to Congress and needs more Legislators who are willing to work for Texas and the American people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I want Immigration reform along with a secured Border to finally be addressed. I am willing to take on this role.

I believe injured workers rights need to be universally covered across each State with guidelines for minimum protections, provisions, care and wage protections.

I believe we need to make an investment in Education and restructure the Dept of Education to set guidelines across America that achieve realistic goals. We need to stop chasing test scores and get back to fundamental instruction that also includes safe schools for our students.

We need to reinstate American Independence in energy and stop purchasing consumables from foreign countries while propping up their national economies.

I believe we need accountability in elected officials especially Congress when spending occurs. There needs to be budget reduction and deficit reduction protocols put in place for every congressional session.

Congress should have a report from each state each congressional session on the state of our national infrastructure.

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

I do not have a specific point of reference on my political views. I do however have values instilled in me from my heritage, my family devotion to public service, my experience and service to the public.

I have always believed that serving others equally with compassion, respect and dignity are essential qualities and to ensure every person’s constitutional rights remain intact and cared for.

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

Every elected official should be above reproach. Ethics are essential for every constituency to trust the governing body and officials within.

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

My ethics are above reproach. I have always had a commitment to public service and the community I serve.

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

Service to your constituents and your country.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I always have believed that public service should have the belief to leave public service in a better place than when you entered it.

Congress is no different as to my opinions as to influencing to the best of my abilities leaving Texas and our Country in a better place moving forward.

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

9/11 I was 32 years old and getting ready for my patrol shift as a deputy sheriff. I watched our country fall to an act of terrorism. I then watched for the next several years as our nation came together as one. I believe our great nation forgot what power we have when we are all united for the same purpose as I felt and experienced.

We have moved on from that unity and I believe we have fallen to rhetoric, propaganda and other dangerous notions that encourage us to compartmentalize our population into an ideology that we must align ourselves with groups.

We spend too much time infighting as a nation and somehow we must come to terms that we are ALL Americans protected by and exercising the same Individual rights and Freedoms our Constitution describes. The same Constitution our Veterans have served in protecting while swearing an oath to the Constitution and the American people.

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

I was a busboy at a local restaurant. I held that job nearly two years in high school during my Junior and Senior years.

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

The reality that as much or as hard as you might work to achieve success; not everyone will always be satisfied. That does not deter my devotion to achieving the best work product I can in achieving success. I believe it to be rather the opposite in working harder .

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

The ability to create legislation that’s draws its power from the people.

The ability to funding bills to serve the American people.

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

No it is not necessary. It is definitely an advantage to have public service to evaluate and assess the quality of an individual’s ability to serve as an elected representative.

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

I believe foreign influence in our nation is the greatest threat. Currency devaluation, economic crisis, American energy independence, consumption and reliance on foreign made products are hurting our nation.

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

A two year term falls in line with each congressional cycle. There is an argument to be had that a lot of work could be better achieved due to the necessity of constant campaigning.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe term limits are warranted. This summer I witnessed a sitting senator with medical conditions that kept her from her duties for a substantial period of time. I later learned the same senator had a Power of Attorney in place where her daughter was in control. I wondered how a sitting member of Congress could not be able to make her own legal decisions; yet still be allowed to vote on national legislation.

I believe there is too much power, control and influence over elected politicians by donors, special interests and lobbyists.

I believe term limits set at a base of 12-years for congress and a combined 20-years for other elected offices predating the congressional term limits.

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

No. I was represented by Kevin McCarthy for many years and I believed he was a good fit for our congressional district. His departure from Congress left a bad impression for me as to the commitment he actually had to the American people.

As I look around Congress I see not a lot of politicians I would wish to emulate as there is a lot of shortfalls in almost every representative.

I do admire the honesty and straight forward approach of Senator John Kennedy.

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?

I hear resounding the same messages as I speak to people everyday. Inflation affects so much of a household budget that basic necessities are being cut and ignored . Most families cannot find a $1000 to use in an emergency and most do not have or cannot afford insurance to help with health or personal loss protections.

The second issue is Border security including the costs of all the people who enter our country illegally.

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

Absolutely. Every elected official has constituents in the districts that are of an opposing political party and opinion and their needs need to be respected.

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?

I believe in less government and accountability in spending. We need to have a system in addressing budget reductions along with deficit reduction plans for each congressional session.

I believe that the executive branch is not the only branch of government that can affect inflation in a positive economic manner. The power of the purse can be flexed because the American people are the ones that suffer under bad economic policies.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

I think our government should utilize investigations that affect our national security, our economic interests, monopolistic influence, criminal activity and injustice and ethics/public officials accountability.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None

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

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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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Steven Wright campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared primary	$8,375	$879
2024*	U.S. House Texas District 35	Lost general	$36,441	$18,792
Grand total			$44,816	$19,670
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

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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

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)