Texas' 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Republican primary)

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Texas' 5th 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: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe 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' 5th Congressional District
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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' 5th 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' 5th 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 5

Incumbent Lance Gooden and Travis Edwards are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 5 on March 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Lance Gooden
Lance Gooden
Image of Travis Edwards
Travis Edwards Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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.

Travis Edwards

Image of Travis Edwards

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Travis Edwards is a father, veteran, and lifelong East Texan running for Congress to restore the people's voice, defend working families, and end the era of career politicians. He served as a U.S. Army combat medic during the global war on terrorism, learning firsthand about duty and sacrifice. After his military service, he earned a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Science with Honors from the University of Texas at Tyler. He’s worked in American manufacturing, taught college economics, and contributed to public policy research. More recently, he’s been developing a chestnut orchard on his small family farm, raising goats and chickens, coaching youth sports, and just completed building a home he designed and constructed himself. Travis lives in Athens with his wife, Lindsey, and three children. He is a devout follower of Christ and is a member of Life Fellowship. His diverse background, hands-on approach, and steadfast dedication to truth make him a trusted and authentic new voice for us everyday Texans in Congress."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

TERM LIMITS: Putting an end to the revolving door of career politicians who’ve turned public office into a lifelong paycheck is priority number one. He believes Congress was never meant to be a retirement plan but a place of service, not self-preservation. Time spent in Washington has disconnected most lawmakers from the real lives of the people they claim to represent. Travis supports strict term limits to break that cycle and force accountability. It’s time for fresh voices, real-world experience, and leaders who are willing to serve, fix what’s broken, and step aside. He’s not running to build a political career, he’s running to make sure East Texans finally get the honest, no-nonsense representation they deserve. serving no more

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: Economic freedom is the foundation of a strong East Texas. Our government should empower, not hinder, those who create jobs, manufacture goods, and work the land. Years of overregulation have made it harder for everyday Texans to live the American dream. It's time to cut red tape and remove barriers so East Texans can get back to working hard and taking care of their own.

ABOLISH THE I.R.S: The Internal Revenue Service has become a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy that intrudes far too deeply into the lives of everyday Americans. What began as a means to fund the federal government has grown into a powerful agency capable of seizing assets, auditing citizens without warning, and enforcing an impossibly complex tax code that even professionals struggle to interpret. The IRS costs billions to operate each year, yet it often fails to efficiently collect taxes or prevent fraud. More importantly, it violates a core principle of a free society: that citizens should not live under constant financial surveillance by their own government.

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
Lance Gooden Republican Party $623,437 $294,496 $1,046,298 As of September 30, 2025
Travis Edwards Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

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

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Texas in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Texas, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Texas U.S. House Democratic or Republican 2% of votes cast for governor in the district in the last election, or 500, whichever is less $3,125 12/8/2025 Source
Texas U.S. House Unaffiliated 5% of all votes cast for governor in the district in the last election, or 500, whichever is less N/A 2/13/2026 Source

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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