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

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Texas' 35th Congressional District
	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; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th • 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st • 22nd • 23rd • 24th • 25th • 26th • 27th • 28th • 29th • 30th • 31st • 32nd • 33rd • 34th • 35th • 36th • 37th • 38th; Texas elections, 2026; U.S. Congress elections, 2026; U.S. Senate elections, 2026; U.S. House elections, 2026; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

A three-judge panel struck down Texas' 2025 congressional map and ordered the state to use the 2021 map in the 2026 elections. Texas appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which temporarily stayed the ruling on Nov. 21, 2025. Click here to read more about mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections.

Texas 2026 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office

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.^[1]^[2]^[3]

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."^[4] 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."^[5] 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."^[6] 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."^[7]

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).^[8] 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."^[9] 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."^[8]

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."^[10] Lujan says he "represents the very best of San Antonio and will be a dedicated voice for its citizens in Congress."^[11]

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.

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

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Joshua Cortez
		Carlos De La Cruz
		Jay Furman
		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)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Texas

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

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

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

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

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Texas House of Representatives (2016–2017; Assumed office: 2021)

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 campaigned on his record of serving the community, and his campaign website said 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

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

Campaign ads

Josh Cortez

"Josh Cortez Intro" – Cortez campaign ad, released August 26, 2025

Carlos De La Cruz

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Carlos De La Cruz while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

John Lujan

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for John Lujan while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

John Lujan

Republican primary endorsements
Endorser	Carlos De La Cruz
Government officials
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) ^source	✔

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.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[12]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[13]^[14]^[15]

Race ratings: Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	12/2/2025	11/25/2025	11/18/2025	11/11/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Campaign finance

Candidate spending

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***
Jay Furman	Republican Party	$116,376	$102,072	$19,227	As of September 30, 2025
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.^[16]^[17]^[18]

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

District analysis

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

District election history

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

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