Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
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← 2024
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| Texas' 9th 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: 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 |
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 Democratic Party primary takes place on March 3, 2026, in Texas' 9th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
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' 9th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Republican primary)
- Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9 on March 3, 2026.
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 = 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
- Al Green (D)
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: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "I am Earnest Clayton, a public health professional, educator, and advocate running as a Democrat for Texas’s 9th Congressional District. I bring 18 years of experience in healthcare, education, and community leadership. My career has been rooted in service, whether managing multimillion dollar health grants, teaching the next generation of health leaders, or building community programs focused on mental health and prevention. I am not a career politician. I am your neighbor, your advocate, and someone who has lived and worked alongside the people of District 9 for nearly two decades."
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "Good day! My name is Peter Filler. I am a Realtor and a small business owner. My interest in politics began around a dinner table, where my family would have spirited debates on the topics of the day. Now is my chance to engage with the public and business leaders to prove I have what it takes and become a political leader."
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "Terry is a decorated retired Air Force Pilot, spending 30 years in the Air Force, flying in 45 combat missions. He then served as a NASA Astronaut, commanding the International Space Station, where he spent 7 months in space. He has since served on the board of multiple energy and technology companies, and has given speeches all around the world on Space Exploration, National Security and risk management. Today, he is running for the 9th Congressional District of Texas. He is running to fight for working Texans, defeat the Republican gerrymander, and to bring real leadership to Washington. In his personal life, Terry has two children. He is a Christian, having previously served as a Bible study leader and as a deacon in his church. He is, predictably, a huge space nerd, as well as an avid fan of the Astros, Rockets and Texans."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Texas
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnest Clayton | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Peter Filler | Democratic Party | $4,144 | $3,970 | $230 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Leticia Gutierrez | Democratic Party | $6,000 | $3,515 | $2,485 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Todd Ivey | Democratic Party | $111,091 | $7,260 | $103,831 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Marty Rocha | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Terry Virts | Democratic Party | $561,532 | $524,845 | $36,687 | As of December 31, 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
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting ahead of the 2026 election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map used in the 2024 election next to the map in place for the 2026 election. Click on a map below to enlarge it.
2024
2026
Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+24. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 24 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 9th the 39th most Democratic district nationally.[2]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
Kamala Harris  | Donald Trump  |
|---|---|
| 46.6% | 51.6% |
Presidential voting history
- See also: Presidential election in Texas, 2024
Texas presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
- See also: Party control of Texas state government
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Texas' congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Texas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Republican | 2 | 25 | 27 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 38 | 40 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Texas' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Greg Abbott |
| Lieutenant Governor | Dan Patrick |
| Secretary of State | Jane Nelson |
| Attorney General | Ken Paxton |
State legislature
Texas State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 18 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 31 | |
Texas House of Representatives
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 62 | |
| Republican Party | 88 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 150 | |
Trifecta control
Texas Party Control: 1992-2025
Three years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
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 | 12/8/2025 | Source |
See also
- Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Republican primary)
- Texas' 9th 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
