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Latest revision as of 14:19, 18 March 2026

Mary Klenz
Candidate, Texas House of Representatives District 17
Elections and appointments
Last election
March 3, 2026
Next election
November 3, 2026
Education
High school
South Mecklenburg High School
Bachelor's
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986
M.D.
Duke University School of Medicine, 1995
Other
New York University School of Medicine, 1999
Personal
Profession
Physician
Contact

Mary Klenz (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Texas House of Representatives to represent District 17. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. She advanced from the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.

Klenz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mary Klenz graduated from South Mecklenburg High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986, an M.D. from the Duke University School of Medicine in 1995, and a degree from the New York University School of Medicine in 1999. Her career experience includes working as a physician.[1]

Elections

2026

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 17

Incumbent Stan Gerdes (R) and Mary Klenz (D) are running in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 17 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Stan Gerdes
Stan Gerdes (R)
Image of Mary Klenz
Mary Klenz (D)  Candidate Connection

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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Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17

Mary Klenz (D) defeated Frank Gomez III (D) and Robert Salter (D) in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17 on March 3, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mary Klenz
Mary Klenz  Candidate Connection
 
60.2
 
7,716
Image of Frank Gomez III
Frank Gomez III  Candidate Connection
 
26.4
 
3,390
Image of Robert Salter
Robert Salter
 
13.4
 
1,715

Total votes: 12,821
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17

Incumbent Stan Gerdes (R) defeated Tom Glass (R) in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17 on March 3, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Stan Gerdes
Stan Gerdes
 
60.7
 
13,180
Image of Tom Glass
Tom Glass
 
39.3
 
8,535

Total votes: 21,715
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Klenz received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

  • Liberal Austin, Texas, Democrats

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Mary Klenz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Klenz's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am an OB/GYN who practiced in the Rio Grande Valley for 25 years. My husband Kyle is an immigration attorney. Fifteen years ago, we purchased land just outside of Giddings Tx with plans to eventually retire here. Last year we were able to realize that dream and moved here with the plan of enjoying the natural beauty and small town charm that the area has to offer.

My husband and I met while serving as teachers in the Peace Corp in southern Africa. We moved to McAllen, Texas in 1999 with the intention of working to provide medical care and legal aid to an underserved border community. We were excited to get to know the cultures and traditions that Texas offered. SInce that time, I have witnessed the emergence of intolerance and hostility towards many members of my community whose only intention has been to work towards the same American dream that I was raised with. The current loss of personal autonomy and attack on Constitutional rights has been shocking. And the effects this has had on the ability for hardworking Americans to meet their needs for healthcare, housing, electricity and even food has been even worse. Meanwhile, a small group of ultrawealthy have taken over the mechanics of government for their own purposes.

My hope in running for Texas State House is to halt the attack on working Americans and restore government to its normal functions of ensuring that all citizens can meet their basic needs to live and thrive.
  • Making healthcare accessible and affordable. The current system rewards insurance companies for denying care. At the same time Texas State government has devoted all of its efforts to prevent Texans from having affordable, reliable healthcare. The Affordable Care Act subsidies must remain in place and the Medicaid expansion must continue in order to ensure all of our residents have access to the world-class healthcare that Texas offers. In addition, the assault on reproductive right must end and the basic right for patients to decide when, where and with whom to start a family must be returned.
  • Restoring local control to communities. The " Death Star" bill which allows state government to override local ordinances must be repealed. This bill prevents local governments from making decisions regarding the best use of local resources. In rural areas the bill is currently being used to co-opt local land and water resourced to benefit private equity such as billionaires and hedge fund managers. These resources are too valuable to fall prey to political jockeying.
  • Prioritize longterm investments for communities Current government priorities cater to the interests of wealthy individuals and corporation, often located outside our district. We must stop allowing small-minded political interests to override our longterm needs for good public education, sustainable jobs and growth which benefits the entire community. We must direct government resources toward the preservation of our natural resources for use by future generations and prevent outside corporate interests from draining our community resources. I will work to incentivize investments which provide stable jobs, increase the tax base and promote growth which improves the quality of life in our district.
Developing a reasonable immigration policy
We are a country of immigrants which has been true since the founding of this great nation. Yet we continue to harass and marginalize those members of our community who are new to this country. Our country relies on immigrants for economic stability - immigrants grow our food, care for our children, and work in all aspects of the private sector. We must have a standard process to allow people to come to our country and stay here without fear of being separated from their families or losing their jobs. We know that the vast majority of drug and sex trafficking occurs across monitored border crossing points, which is where security should focus. Random ICE sweeps are unconstitutional and must stop.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.


Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 25, 2026


Current members of the Texas House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Dustin Burrows
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
Jay Dean (R)
District 8
District 9
District 10
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District 15
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District 17
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District 48
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Pat Curry (R)
District 57
District 58
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District 71
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District 85
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District 88
Ken King (R)
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
District 101
District 102
District 103
District 104
District 105
District 106
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District 109
District 110
Toni Rose (D)
District 111
District 112
District 113
District 114
District 115
District 116
District 117
District 118
District 119
District 120
District 121
District 122
District 123
District 124
District 125
Ray Lopez (D)
District 126
District 127
District 128
District 129
District 130
District 131
District 132
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District 134
District 135
District 136
John Bucy (D)
District 137
Gene Wu (D)
District 138
District 139
District 140
District 141
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District 143
District 144
District 145
District 146
District 147
District 148
District 149
Hubert Vo (D)
District 150
Republican Party (88)
Democratic Party (62)