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Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)

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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.
Voting in Texas

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
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' 9th 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 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
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' 9th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican 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

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9

Incumbent Al Green, Earnest Clayton, and Peter Filler are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9 on March 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Al Green
Al Green
Image of Earnest Clayton
Earnest Clayton Candidate Connection
Image of Peter Filler
Peter Filler Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

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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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.

Earnest Clayton

Image of Earnest Clayton

Website

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

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."

Key Messages

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

I will fight for affordable and accessible healthcare, ensuring families in District 9 have the resources they need to live healthy and dignified lives.

I will prioritize creating good jobs, strengthening Medicare, and protecting healthcare access so that every resident has economic security and the medical care they deserve.

I will focus on equity and justice, addressing issues like housing, fair wages, and community safety to ensure that every resident of District 9 can thrive.

Peter Filler

Image of Peter Filler

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

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."

Key Messages

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

Integrity counts. Being a Realtor and an Insurance agency owner requires a high degree of honesty. I follow laws, rules, and regulations, but I go above and beyond the bare minimum standards. Striving for excellence is what I do by providing outstanding customer service, putting my customers best interests ahead of mine. As your honorable representative in Congress, I will bring and deliver that same skill set to you my constituents on a daily basis.

Experience counts. Being a trustworthy public servant over the course of my professional career has taught me many valuable lessons. Most importantly striving for best outcomes for those who I serve. When elected to Congress, I will seek to enhance the voices of the public and business leaders, while working for best possible outcomes for the citizens and businesses in our district.

Leadership counts. Since graduating and earning my Bachelors degree in Resource Management, I have learned that the best leaders in our society are exemplary models and have a magnetism that draws followers to them. This draw is powerful and persuasive, because successful people exemplify strength, resolve, and unity. In the same way strong political leaders require a pull to them to get consensus and work in a non partisan manner. This will be my goal, to work for the betterment of our country, while be a unifier and delivering the best possible outcomes for American citizens and businesses.

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
Al Green Democratic Party $582,145 $228,593 $572,637 As of September 30, 2025
Earnest Clayton Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Peter Filler Democratic 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

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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