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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. |
| Race ratings |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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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:
- Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026
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 completed 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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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 |
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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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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
- Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026
- United States House elections in Texas, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Texas, 2026 (March 3 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2026
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026
External links
Footnotes
= candidate completed the