Here are the 2024 candidates running in the primaries for Texas’ junior U.S. Senate seat and the U.S. House of Representatives in the congressional districts that including Bexar County. Candidate information comes from Texas Secretary of State data, the candidates and other sources.
U.S. Senate
Thierry Tchenko
The son of Cameroonian immigrants, Tchenko is a Houston native. After getting his master's degree from Georgetown University, he worked in the District of Columbia government and on President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign. More recently he worked as an executive at Rebuilding Together Houston, a nonprofit.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
A. “Robert” Hassan
Hassan is a businessman who lives in Katy. He emigrated from Egypt in 1984 and ran for Harris County judge in 2022.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Mark Gonzalez
Gonzalez served as Nueces County district attorney in Corpus Christi from 2016 to 2023. He earned his law degree from St. Mary's University before being elected as DA. He describes himself as a "tatooed Tejano lawyer."
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Steven J. Keough
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academic, Keough served in the Navy as a submariner and earned a law degree from Boston College Law School. He is a faculty member at St. Mary's University School of Law, specializing in intellectual property, entrepreneurial and contract law.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Roland Gutierrez
Gutierrez is an employment lawyer who previously served on the San Antonio City Council and in the Texas House. He was elected to the Texas Senate in 2020, representing a district that includes part of Bexar County and 13 other counties near or on the border.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Carl Oscar Sherman
Sherman was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2018, representing a district covering South Dallas County. He is a former mayor of DeSoto, a senior pastor in the Church of Christ and serves on the House Corrections committee.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Heli Rodriguez Prilliman
Prilliman is a Fort Worth entrepreneur who founded a startup to support nail salon technicians. She serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence at FourthWave, a startup accelerator for women-led tech companies.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Meri Gomez
Gomez is a tax consultant and accountant in Mission.
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Colin Allred
Allred, age 41, is a Dallas Congressman who flipped a GOP-held seat in 2018. He played for the Tennessee Titans and worked as a civil rights attorney.
U.S. Senate
Democratic Party
Challenger
U.S. Senate
Ted Cruz
Cruz, age 53, is Texas' junior senator. He was first elected in 2012 and ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.
U.S. Senate
Republican Party
Incumbent
Holland “Redd” Gibson
Gibson is retired and a resident of Houston.
U.S. Senate
Republican
Challenger
R.E. (Rufus) Lopez
Lopez, of San Antonio, has been an attorney for nearly 60 years, practicing law in state and federal courts. He ran for Texas Land Commissioner in 2022.
U.S. Senate
Republican
Challenger
U.S. House District 20
Joaquin Castro
Castro, age 50, is running unopposed for a seventh term in Congress. The San Antonian is a member of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Foreign Affairs Committee.
U.S. House Texas District 20
Democratic Party
Incumbent
U.S. House District 20
No candidates
U.S. House District 21
Kristin Hook
Hook, age 40, is a biological scientist who grew up in South Texas and the Hill Country. She worked as a biologist at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, moving back to Texas in 2022.
U.S. House Texas District 21
Democratic Party
Challenger
U.S. House District 21
Chip Roy
Roy, age 52, is seeking a fourth term in Congress, and previously served as chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The Hays County resident serves as policy chair for the House Freedom Caucus.
U.S. House Texas District 21
Republican Party
Incumbent
U.S. House District 23
Lee Bausinger
A U.S. Navy veteran, Bausinger lives in Devine and is an engineer. On his website, he said the 2022 shooting at Uvalde's Robb Elementary School drove him to seek public office.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Democrat
Santos Limon
Limon, age 50, is a civil engineer who grew up in Del Rio. He has worked for the Union Pacific Railroad in systems administration and in the field of transportation infrastructure, design, logistics and construction.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Democratic Party
Challenger
U.S. House District 23
Gonzales, age 43, is a San Antonio resident and U.S. Navy veteran. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Republican Party
Incumbent
Lopez is running as an independent conservative candidate. An Army veteran, he joined the Border Patrol, becoming an ordained minister and founding member of the Border Patrol Chaplaincy Program before his retirement in 2018.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Republican
Challenger
Avila is a former special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who survived an ambush by a Mexican drug cartel that resulted in the death of another agent. He ran unsuccessfully for Texas Land Commissioner in 2022, finishing fifth in an eight-person race.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Republican
Challenger
Clark, who lives on a ranch south of Hondo, has served as chair of the Medina County Republican Party since 2022. She previously had a career in medical device sales.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Republican
Challenger
Herrera, known on his YouTube channel as The AK Guy, is a firearms manufacturer who is running on a platform of protecting gun rights and limiting federal power. He moved to Texas from his native North Carolina in 2020.
U.S. House Texas District 23
Republican
Challenger
U.S. House District 28
Henry Cuellar
Cuellar, age 69, is a Laredo resident who is seeking his 11th term representing a South Texas district that includes the southeastern part of Bexar County. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee.
U.S. House Texas District 28
Democratic Party
Incumbent
U.S. House District 28
Jose Sanz
Sanz is a former staff member for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar. Born in Mexico, he also previously worked as an ESPN-Mexico broadcaster.
U.S. House Texas District 28
Republican
Lazaro Garza Jr.
Garza is a rancher and businessman who graduated from Texas A&I University in Kingsville.
U.S. House Texas District 28
Republican
Jay Furman
Furman, age 50, is a retired U.S. Navy Commander who attended Texas A&M University and Naval Postgraduate School. His campaign website stresses the need for border security, school choice and parental rights, reducing federal spending and protecting the Second Amendment.
U.S. House Texas District 28
Republican Party
Challenger
Jimmy León
León ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House seat in the 9th Congressional District, which includes Houston, in 2022. He is a U.S. Army veteran.
U.S. House Texas District 28
Republican
U.S. House District 35
Greg Casar
Casar, age 35, is seeking a second term in Congress where he serves as the whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He previously served on Austin’s City Council.
U.S. House Texas District 35
Democratic Party
Incumbent
U.S. House District 35
Rod Lingsch
A native of Pennsylvania, Lingsch is a former U.S. Air Force pilot and pilot instructor. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in District 37 in 2022 and 2020.
U.S. House Texas District 35
Republican
Michael Rodriguez
Rodriguez, who lives in Converse, is seeking the Republican nomination in the 35th Congressional District for the second time. In 2022, he lost to Dan McQueen in a runoff.
U.S. House Texas District 35
Republican
Brandon Craig Dunn
A resident of Buda, Dunn is a loss prevention auditor for an auto parts company.
U.S. House Texas District 35
Republican
The San Antonio Report’s 2024 Primary Voter Guide
