About this office
Texas is divided into 38 areas called districts, each with about 800,000 people. Every two years your district elects one U.S. Representative — one of 435 in Washington, and the only one who answers to you. They vote on laws that touch your health care, your taxes and your rights.
Candidates
Leticia GutierrezShe immigrated to this Houston district as a child with her parents, who worked as farm laborers, and became a children's-health advocate after her oldest child developed asthma.
About Leticia
Leticia Gutierrez is a 45-year resident of the district who came to the country as an immigrant, attended Milby High School, and earned a finance degree from the University of St. Thomas. A single mother of two who has worked in community advocacy and government relations, she won the six-candidate Democratic primary outright with 54% of the vote and is running on affordability, immigrant rights, and environmental justice in the industrial, working-class communities of east Harris County.
Alex MealerShe's a West Point graduate who spent her Army career on a bomb squad, disarming explosives in Afghanistan.
About Alex
Alexandra del Moral Mealer is a combat veteran and former U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer who went on to earn a JD and MBA from Harvard and build a career in Houston energy finance. She ran unsuccessfully for Harris County Judge in 2022, then won the Trump-endorsed Republican nomination for the new TX-9 seat in 2026, beating state Rep. Briscoe Cain in a runoff.