Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 26 Republican primary runoff)

	← 2024
Texas' 35th Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Democratic primary runoff; Republican primary; Republican primary runoff; 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

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 • School boards • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office

Texas redrew its congressional district boundaries in August 2025. Voters will elect representatives under the new map in 2026. Click here to read more about mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections.

Carlos De La Cruz (R) and John Lujan (R) are running in the Republican primary runoff for Texas' 35th Congressional District on May 26, 2026. Lujan and De La Cruz were the top two finishers in the March 3 Republican primary with 32.5% and 27.1% of the vote, respectively. They advanced to a runoff because neither received more than 50% of the vote.

The primary runoff is taking place in the context of redistricting that changed the district lines from those used in 2024. Incumbent Greg Casar (D) is running for re-election in the new 37th Congressional District.^[1] 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."^[2]

President Donald Trump (R) and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed different candidates in the primary. Trump endorsed De La Cruz and Abbott endorsed Lujan. Spectrum News' Eleanor Fitzgerald said, "the race for District 35 will once again pit the weight of Trump’s endorsement against that of Abbott’s in the May runoff."^[3]

De La Cruz is a U.S. Air Force veteran and the founder and owner of a kickboxing gym. De La Cruz is the brother of Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R).^[4] 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."^[5]

Lujan was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2021. Lujan says he is running "to take this fight to Washington. With Donald J. Trump as our president, we'll continue to secure our border, unleash American energy, defend our Christian values, and stop the liberal agenda that's eroding our freedoms."^[6] Lujan says he "represents the very best of San Antonio and will be a dedicated voice for its citizens in Congress."^[7]

As of March 2026, 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 runoff. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary, Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 35

Carlos De La Cruz and John Lujan are running in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 35 on May 26, 2026.

		Candidate
		Carlos De La Cruz
		John Lujan

	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.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Texas

Election information in Texas: May 26, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

In-person: April 27, 2026
By mail: Postmarked by April 27, 2026
Online: N/A

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: May 15, 2026
By mail: Received by May 15, 2026
Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: May 26, 2026
By mail: Postmarked by May 26, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

May 18, 2026 to May 22, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT/MT)

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.

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

Carlos De La Cruz

"Endorsed" – De La Cruz campaign ad, released March 2, 2026

"Trump-Endorsed Fighter" – De La Cruz campaign ad, released February 17, 2026

"Fighter" – De La Cruz campaign ad, released February 4, 2026

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.

March 3 primary

Republican primary runoff endorsements
Endorser	Joshua Cortez	Carlos De La Cruz	Ryan Krause	John Lujan
Government officials
President Donald Trump (R) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) ^source		✔
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ^source				✔
Organizations
Texas Right to Life ^source 1 ^source 2	✔		✔
Young Conservatives of Texas ^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.^[8]
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.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Race ratings: Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	3/17/2026	3/10/2026	3/3/2026	2/24/2026
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

Carlos De La Cruz

Republican Party

$294,169

$230,964

$63,206

As of February 11, 2026

John Lujan

Republican Party

$370,118

$282,690

$87,428

As of February 11, 2026

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.

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.^[12]^[13]^[14]

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
Carlos De La Cruz John Lujan	OpenSecrets Federal Election Commission

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.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

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

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Texas.

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Texas in 2026. Information below was calculated on Dec. 8, 2025, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Two hundred fifty-two candidates — 98 Democrats and 154 Republicans — ran for Texas’ 38 U.S. House districts. That’s 6.6 candidates per district. There were 4.2 candidates per district in 2024, 5.8 in 2022, 6.4 in 2020, 5.9 in 2018, 3.5 in 2016, and 2.8 in 2014.

These were the first elections to take place since the Texas Legislature passed a new congressional map. The Texas House of Representatives passed it on Aug. 20, 2025, and the Texas Senate passed it on Aug. 23, 2025. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the new congressional map into law on Aug. 29, 2025.

This was the highest total number of candidates who ran for the U.S. House since 2014.

Ten districts were open in 2026. There were three districts open in 2024, six in 2022, six in 2020, eight in 2018, two in 2016, and one in 2014.

Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-8th), Michael McCaul (R-10th), Jodey Arrington (R-19th), Troy Nehls (R-22nd), Marc Veasey (D-33rd), and Lloyd Doggett (D-37th) retired from public office. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-30th) and Wesley Hunt (R-38th) ran for the U.S. Senate. Rep. Chip Roy (R-21st) ran for attorney general of Texas.

Two incumbents — Reps. Christian Menefee (D) and Al Green (D) — ran against each other in the redrawn 18th district. Menefee was the incumbent in the 18th district, and Green was the incumbent in the 9th district.

Fifty-nine primaries — 32 Democratic and 28 Republican — were contested in 2026. In total, there were 39 contested primaries in 2024, 44 in 2022, 50 in 2020, 46 in 2018, 33 in 2016, and 19 in 2014.

Fifteen candidates ran for the open 9th district, 21st district, and 35th district, tying for the most candidates running for a district in 2026.

Nineteen incumbents — eight Democrats and 11 Republicans — faced primary challengers in 2026. There were 19 incumbents in a contested primary in 2024, 19 in 2022, 18 in 2020, 15 in 2018, 19 in 2016, and 12 in 2014.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all 38 districts, meaning no districts were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's 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+19. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 35th the 66th most Democratic district nationally.^[15]

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.

2024 presidential results in Texas' 35th Congressional District
Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
46.7%	51.0%

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 February 2026.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Texas
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	13	13
Republican	2	25	27
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	38	40

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Texas' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Texas, 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

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)