This story is part of the San Antonio Report’s 2026 Voter Guide. You can view all of the candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot here.
Texas’ mid-cycle redistricting effort rocked the whole state, but nowhere more so than San Antonio.
This area went from five members of Congress to four, and an astounding 43% of Bexar County residents are in new congressional districts this year.
Many voters didn’t even know it in the March primary, because technology woes caused a delay in the delivery of new voter ID cards.
Now this November, voters are electing at least three new members to a shrunk-down delegation in which most districts were drawn to favor Republicans.
The San Antonio Report team spent some time with all eight of the major-party candidates running to represent this area in Congress — hoping to check references, get a sense of their experience and backgrounds, and introduce San Antonians to a new delegation of leaders.
Not all of them were eager to help. Several declined to sit down with us or provide references about their work histories.
Others did, however, and in each case we pieced together what we know from in-depth interviews, short Q&As on the campaign trail, public comments and interviews with friends, family and other allies.
Use this tool to download your sample ballot and find out where you landed.
Texas’ 20th Congressional District
Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) is seeking reelection in a district that changed dramatically under the new maps, but now appears even bluer than it was before.
It went from a mostly Westside district to one than encompasses most of the urban core, leaving San Antonio with one reliably blue district instead of two.
In his bid for an eighth term, Castro is beating back cancer and has found new purpose in exposing the conditions inside ICE detention centers. He’s also looking ahead to new leadership opportunities if Democrats flip the U.S. House. Read more »
He’s up against Republican Edgardo Baez, a first-time candidate hoping to make inroads with some of the reshaped district’s many new voters. Baez is a former combat medic who says he’s running to stop socialism from spreading to the U.S.
Candidates for Texas’ 20th Congressional District
Texas’ 21st Congressional District
Longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Dripping Springs) chose not to seek reelection to his reliably red district this year, waging an unsuccessful Attorney General bid instead.
Republicans chose former MLB player Mark Teixeira from a crowded field of conservatives running to replace Roy. He’ll face Democrat Kristin Hook in a district that remains deeply red.
Redistricting made it a more San Antonio-centric seat, expanding its reach into Bexar County. But it also lost a portion that stretched up into Austin — surprising a number of Republicans who live in that part of the district, and who were already campaigning to succeed Roy when the new maps were unveiled.
Teixeira says he developed an “ear” playing baseball that’s helped him transition to politics. Local Republicans think he’ll be a star in a delegation of newcomers. Read more »
Hook, once a biological scientist at the National Institutes of Health, moved home to Texas during a government shutdown. Her efforts to engage Republicans were mostly aimed at her own family, until one of her social media posts went viral.
Candidates for Texas’ 21st Congressional District
Texas’ 23rd Congressional District
This seat has been vacant since April, when Republican Tony Gonzales resigned after admitting to an affair with a staffer.
Gonzales finished second in his GOP primary, and would have gone to runoff for a second time with challenger Brandon Herrera. Instead Herrera automatically became the Republican nominee when Gonzales ended his reelection bid.
The massive San Antonio-to-El Paso district remains deeply red, but national Democrats reserved ads here anyway, hoping to capitalizing on the GOP turmoil.
Herrera has never served in the military, yet veterans across the country identify with his social media personality. That’s given him an edge in Republican circles.
Former kindergarten teacher Katy Padilla Stout answered Democrats’ call to run in a tough district. Now under attack from the “manosphere,” she says she’s found an army of moms to fight back.
Candidates for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District
Texas’ 35th Congressional District
This is an entirely new district that Republicans created for themselves when they redrew the congressional maps last year.
They broke up progressive U.S. Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Austin) seat, which looped downtown San Antonio and Austin into a single deep-blue district.
In its place, Republicans created a district that starts in San Antonio but stretches east to include more rural territory in Karnes, Wilson and Guadalupe counties.
Though the district would have supported President Donald Trump by more than 10 percentage points under its new boundaries, both parties consider it one of the top battlegrounds on this year’s U.S. House map.
There’s no incumbent on the ballot because Casar, who lives in Austin, moved over to run in a different district that’s closer to his home.
When Democrats needed a candidate for a tough race, Sheriff Javier Salazar gave them his right-hand man, Johnny Garcia. He said Garcia’s experience as a hostage negotiator translated well to the demands of such a role.
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Edinburg) had to give up part of her district to create the new GOP-friendly maps, and now Republicans are betting big on her little brother Carlos De La Cruz to keep this new seat in the family. If successful, they would be the first ever brother-sister sibling pair in Congress.
