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

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Texas' 35th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 8, 2025
Primary: March 3, 2026
Primary runoff: May 26, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Texas

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Likely Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Likely Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Texas' 35th Congressional District
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Texas elections, 2026
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A Republican Party primary takes place on March 3, 2026, in Texas' 35th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 8, 2025
March 3, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. State law requires voters to sign the following pledge before voting in a primary: "I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year."[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Texas' 35th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

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

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = 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

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Joshua Cortez

Image of Joshua Cortez

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Cortez obtained a bachelor's degree from Baylor University, a master's degree in business administration from the University of Virginia, and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University. He worked in marketing before joining Monica De La Cruz's (R) congressional campaign as political director. After De La Cruz's election to Congress, Cortez served as a senior advisor in her office and later as her deputy chief of staff.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Cortez said he had a wide range of experience including as an entrepreneur, political staffer, tech company founder, and college professor. Cortez said this experience had given him valuable connections across the district and taught him that "nothing gets handed to you. You work for it, and you earn it."

Cortez described himself as a "proud lifelong Republican with strong Christian values...[who] has been consistently involved with the conservative causes." He said there were too many elected officials in Washington whose "ideas are stale, and they've forgotten that they work for us, and way too many of them are flat-out corrupt."

Cortez said he had deep roots in the 35th district: "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. In my mind, if I’m able to step up to the plate, given my background and my experience both in the private and the public sector, why wouldn’t I?"

Show sources

Sources: Joshua Cortez campaign website, "Home page," accessed October 23, 2025; YouTube, "Josh Cortez Intro by JoshCortezForCongress," August 26, 2025; KXAN, "Josh Cortez Announces Intention to Run for Texas Congressional District 35," October 1, 2025; Josh Cortez campaign website, "About Josh," accessed October 23, 2025; LinkedIn, "Josh Cortez," accessed October 23, 2025

Carlos De La Cruz

Image of Carlos De La Cruz

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  De La Cruz is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who served for 20 years and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the border with Mexico. After leaving the Air Force, De La Cruz and his wife founded a business in San Antonio.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

De La Cruz described himself as a "proud Air Force veteran, small businessman, husband, father, and conservative Texan with deep San Antonio roots." He said he was running "because I’m not done fighting for my country. I’ve stared down terrorists and the cartel, so I know a threat when I see one."

De La Cruz said he would support President Donald Trump (R) if elected, saying he would "be President Trump’s wingman in Congress and take down the radical leftists who are destroying America."

De La Cruz said his experience founding a business helped him understand "sweating payroll, stretching every dollar, and living within our means," and that he would stand with working families to lower costs.


Show sources

Sources: Carlos De La Cruz campaign website, "Meet Carlos," accessed October 23, 2025; Carlos De La Cruz campaign website, "Mission," accessed October 23, 2025; The Texas Tribune, "Republican Carlos De La Cruz announces run for redrawn 35th Congressional District," October 2, 2025; Carlos De La Cruz campaign website, "Meet Carlos," accessed October 23, 2025

John Lujan

Image of John Lujan

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Biography:  Lujan served for five years as a deputy with the Bexar County Sheriff's Department and more than 25 years as a firefighter with the San Antonio Fire Department. He later founded an IT firm which, as of the 2026 election, had more than 550 employees.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Lujan said he had a record of service to the community, with his campaign website saying he "never wavers from his commitments. He is a champion for the family values that make San Antonio so distinct. Rep. John Lujan represents the very best of San Antonio and will be a dedicated voice for its citizens in Congress."

Lujan said the 35th district's boundaries lined up with his state legislative district, meaning he had experience representing the community: "when the maps came out, I really studied them, and as I looked into them, [TX35] just took in my whole 118 district...I thought, ‘Man, what a blessing for this to happen like this, where I can have an opportunity to serve at a greater level."

Lujan said his policy priorities included securing the border with Mexico, improving the quality of healthcare, and promoting economic development.

Show sources

Sources: John Lujan campaign website, "Meet John," accessed October 23, 2025; John Lujan campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 23, 2025; San Antonio Report, "GOP State Rep. John Lujan lays plans to run in new TX35," August 27, 2025; John Lujan campaign website, "Meet John," accessed October 23, 2025

Voting information

See also: Voting in Texas

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

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.

District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Texas Constitution and Statutes, "Tex. Election Code Ann. § 172.086," accessed September 16, 2025


Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Cornyn (R)
Ted Cruz (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Al Green (D)
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
Vacant
District 19
District 20
District 21
Chip Roy (R)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
Republican Party (27)
Democratic Party (12)
Vacancies (1)


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