2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the 36 U.S. representatives from the state of Texas, one from each of the state's 36 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on March 1.

District 1
Incumbent Republican Louie Gohmert, who had represented the district since 2004, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 77% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+24.

Nominee

 * Louie Gohmert, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Anthony Culler
 * Simon Winston, rancher

Nominee

 * Shirley McKellar, army veteran, non-profit businesswoman and nominee for this seat in 2012 & 2014

District 2
Incumbent Republican Ted Poe, who had represented the district since 2004, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 68% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+16.

Nominee

 * Ted Poe, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Pat Bryan, retired IT technician

District 3
The incumbent was Republican Sam Johnson, who had represented the district since 1991. He was re-elected with 82% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+17.

Nominee

 * Sam Johnson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Dave Cornette
 * John Slavens, certified public accountant
 * Keith Thurgood, retired U.S. Army Major General

Declined

 * Scott Turner, state representative

Nominee

 * Adam Bell, small business owner

Eliminated in primary

 * Michael Filak

District 4
Incumbent Republican John Ratcliffe, who had represented the district since 2014, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * John Ratcliffe, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Lou Gigliotti auto racing part company owner and candidate for this seat in 2012 & 2014
 * Ray Hall

Democratic primary
No Democrats filed to run

Nominee

 * Cody Wommack

District 5
The incumbent was Republican Jeb Hensarling, who has represented the district since 2012. He was re-elected with 85% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+17.

Nominee

 * Jeb Hensarling, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary
No Democrats filed to run

Nominee

 * Ken Ashby

District 6
The incumbent was Republican Joe Barton, who had represented the district since 1985. He was re-elected in 2014 with 61% of the vote and the district has a PVI of R+11. His re-election margin increased to 68.7 percent in the 2016 primary.

Nominee

 * Joe Barton, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Collin Baker
 * Steven Fowler, business owner

Nominee

 * Ruby Faye Woolridge, minister, counsellor, and educator

Eliminated in primary

 * Don Jaquess, business owner and candidate for this seat in 2012
 * Jeffrey Roseman

Withdrawn

 * David Cozad, software engineer and nominee for this seat in 2010 and 2014

District 7
Incumbent Republican John Culberson, who had represented the district since 2001, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * John Culberson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Maria Espinoza, anti-immigration activist
 * James Lloyd, energy lawyer and former White House national security aide

Nominee

 * James Cargas, energy attorney and nominee for the seat in 2012 and 2014

District 8
Incumbent Republican Kevin Brady, who had represented the district since 1997, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Kevin Brady, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Andre Dean
 * Craig McMichael, network engineer, Marine Corps veteran and candidate for this seat in 2014
 * Steve Toth, former state representative

Democratic primary
No Democrats filed to run

District 9
Incumbent Democrat Al Green, who had represented the district since 2004, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Al Green, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Jeff Martin

District 10
Incumbent Republican Michael McCaul, who had represented the district since 2005, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Michael McCaul, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Tawana Walter-Cadien, consultant, registered nurse, MMA Surgery supervisor, quality assurance director and nominee for this seat in 2012 & 2014

Eliminated in primary

 * Scot Gallaher, energy consultant

District 11
The incumbent, Republican Mike Conaway, had represented the district since 2005. He was re-elected with 90% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+31.

Nominee

 * Mike Conaway, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary
No Democrats filed to run

Nominee

 * Nicholas Landholt

District 12
Incumbent Republican Kay Granger, who had represented the district since 1997, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+19.

Nominee

 * Kay Granger, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Bill Bradshaw

District 13
Incumbent Republican Mac Thornberry, who had represented the district since 1995, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 84% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+32.

Nominee

 * Mac Thornberry, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary
No Democrats filed to run

District 14
Incumbent Republican Randy Weber, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Randy Weber, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Keith Casey, candidate for the 36th district in 2012

Nominee

 * Michael K. Cole, educator and nominee for this seat in 2014

District 15
Incumbent Democrat Rubén Hinojosa, who had represented the district since 1997, decided to retire. He was re-elected in 2014 with 54% of the vote and the district has a PVI of D+5.

Democratic primary
No candidate received 50% of the vote so the top two candidates, Vicente Gonzalez and Juan "Sonny" Palacios Jr., faced a run-off election, which Gonzalez won by the large margin.

Nominee

 * Vicente Gonzalez, attorney

Eliminated in primary

 * Dolly Elizondo, former Hildago County Democratic Party Chair
 * Juan "Sonny" Palacios Jr., Edinburg school board member
 * Joel Quintanilla, former Hidalgo County Commissioner
 * Ruben Ramirez, attorney and candidate for this seat in 2012
 * Randy Sweeten, accountant

Withdrawn

 * Johnny Partain, candidate for this seat in 2012

Declined

 * Rubén Hinojosa, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary
No candidate received 50% of the vote so the top two candidates, Tim Westley and Ruben Villarreal, faced a run-off election which Tim Westley won by 29 votes.

Nominee

 * Tim Westley, pastor

Eliminated in primary

 * Xavier Salinas, Edinburg school board member
 * Ruben Villarreal, former mayor of Rio Grande City

District 16
Incumbent Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Beto O'Rourke, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Ben Mendoza, candidate for this seat in 2012

General election
No Republican ran for this seat, leaving only Libertarian and Green party opposition.

District 17
Incumbent Republican Bill Flores, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Bill Flores, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Ralph Patterson, former Chair of the McLennan County Republican Party
 * Kaleb Sims, businessman

Nominee

 * William Matta

District 18
Incumbent, Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, who had represented the district since 1995, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Sheila Jackson Lee, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Lori Bartley, small business owner and certified mediator

Eliminated in primary

 * Sharon Fisher, retired small business owner
 * Reggie Gonzales,
 * Ava Pate, cosmetologist

Results
No candidate achieved 50% of the vote, so Lori Bartley and Reggie Gonzales faced each other in the run-off, which Lori Bartley won by a margin of 58–42.

District 19
Incumbent Republican Randy Neugebauer, who had represented the district since 2003, opted to retire. He was re-elected in 2014 with 77 percent of the vote and the district has a PVI of R+26.

Republican primary
Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson announced in January 2015 that he was considering running against Neugebauer in the 2016 Republican primary. He cited unhappiness with what he said was Neugebauer's failure to bolster the cotton industry. In March, Robertson said that he would not run for Congress and instead run once more for mayor.

After Neugebauer decided to retire, Robertson entered the congressional race and withdrew from consideration for another term as mayor.

Nominee

 * Jodey Arrington, former official in the George W. Bush administration, former vice chancellor at Texas Tech University and candidate for state senate in 2014

Eliminated in primary

 * Jason Corley, business owner
 * Greg Garrett, President and CEO of Platinum Bank
 * John Key, veterinarian and retired US Army Colonel
 * Donald May, doctor
 * Glen Robertson, Mayor of Lubbock
 * Michael Bob Starr, retired Air Force Colonel
 * DeRenda Warren, director of nursing at BrightStar

Withdrawn

 * Don Parrish, farmer (endorsed Starr)

Declined

 * Randy Neugebauer, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results
None of the nine candidates obtained a majority in the Republican primary on March 1. Robertson led the field but had to face a run-off challenge against Arrington.

Run-off results
Arrington had trailed Robertson by fewer than one thousand votes in the first round, but he won the run-off.

General election
No Democrat faced Arrington in the general election, leaving only Libertarian and Green opposition.

District 20
Incumbent Democrat Joaquín Castro, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 76% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of D+6.

Nominee

 * Joaquín Castro, incumbent U.S. Representative

General election
No Republican ran for this district's seat.

District 21
Incumbent Republican Lamar Smith, who had represented the district since 1987, ran for re-election. The district had a PVI of R+11.

Nominee

 * Lamar Smith, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Matt McCall, small business owner and candidate for this seat in 2014
 * John Murphy, software engineer
 * Todd Phelps, businessman

Nominee

 * Thomas Wakely, hospice chaplain

Eliminated in primary

 * Tejas Vakil, commercial real-estate company owner

District 22
Incumbent Republican Pete Olson, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Pete Olson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Mark Gibson, attorney and candidate for this seat in 2014

Eliminated in primary

 * A. R. Hassan

District 23
Incumbent Republican, Will Hurd, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was elected in 2014, when he narrowly unseated the then Democratic incumbent Pete Gallego. The district has a PVI of R+3.

Nominee

 * Will Hurd, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * William Peterson

Nominee

 * Pete Gallego, former U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Lee Keenen, doctor

Campaign
Hurd publicly declined to endorse Donald Trump, explaining that Trump must earn his support. On May 6, 2016, Hurd said, “Until the presumptive nominee shows he can respect women and minorities and presents a clear plan to protect our homeland, I am going to reserve my endorsement. I hope in the next seven months he can show this because I am not supporting Hillary Clinton.”

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 27, 2016

District 24
Incumbent Republican Kenny Marchant, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+13.

Nominee

 * Kenny Marchant, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Jan McDowell, accountant

District 25
Incumbent, Republican Roger Williams, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+12.

Nominee

 * Roger Williams, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Kathi Thomas, small business owner, former Precinct Chair for Hays County Democrats and nominee for state senate in 2006

District 26
Incumbent Republican Michael C. Burgess, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Michael C. Burgess, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Micah Beebe, realtor
 * Joel A. Krause, small business owner

Nominee

 * Eric Mauck

District 27
Incumbent Republican Blake Farenthold, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected in 2014 with 64% of the vote and the district has a PVI of R+13.

Republican primary
John Harrington, president and founder of firearms retailer Shield Tactical, announced a primary challenge of Farenthold in May 2015. The Texas Tribune reported that Harrington had the capacity to self-fund a race. In August 2015 he announced that he was withdrawing because of lingering effects of a motorcycle crash.

Nominee

 * Blake Farenthold, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Gregg Deeb, retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel

Withdrawn

 * John Harrington, president and founder of firearms retailer Shield Tactical

Nominee

 * Raul Barrera, court security officer at Corpus Christi's Federal Courthouse

Eliminated in primary

 * Ray Madrigal, business owner
 * Wayne Raasch, candidate for state representative in 2010

Declined

 * Nelda Martinez Mayor of Corpus Christi
 * Solomon Ortiz Jr., former state representative

District 28
Incumbent Democrat Henry Cuellar, who had represented the district since 2005, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Henry Cuellar, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * William Hayward, ostrich rancher and Republican nominee for this seat in 2012

Nominee

 * Zeffen Hardin, Marine Corps veteran

District 29
Incumbent Democrat Gene Green, who had represented the district since 1993, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Gene Green, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Adrian Garcia, former sheriff of Harris County
 * Dominique Garcia, small business owner and real estate agent

Nominee

 * Julio Garza, insurance agent

Eliminated in primary

 * Robert Schafranek

District 30
Incumbent Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson, who had represented the district since 1993, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Eddie Bernice Johnson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Barbara Mallory Caraway, former state representative and candidate for this seat in 2012 and 2014
 * Brandon J. Vance, admissions counselor

Nominee

 * Charles Lingerfelt, teacher and principal

District 31
Incumbent Republican John Carter, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * John Carter, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Mike Sweeney, software company founder and president

Nominee

 * Mike Clark, technology sector employee

Nominee

 * Scott Ballard, nominee for this seat in 2014 and the 11th District in 2012

District 32
Incumbent Republican Pete Sessions, who had represented the district since 2003, and previously represented the 5th district from 1997 to 2003, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Pete Sessions, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Paul Brown, Marine Corps veteran
 * Russ Ramsland, co-owner of Allied Security Operations Group
 * Cherie Myint Roughneen

Democratic primary
No Democrats filed to run.

District 33
Incumbent Democrat Marc Veasey, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Marc Veasey, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Carlos Quintanilla, business owner, activist and candidate for this seat in 2012

Nominee

 * Mark Mitchell, physician, attorney, and business owner

Eliminated in primary

 * Bruce Chadwick

District 34
Incumbent Democrat Filemon Vela Jr., had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Filemon Vela Jr., incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Rey Gonzalez Jr., attorney

Eliminated in primary

 * William "Willie" Vaden

District 35
Incumbent Democrat Lloyd Doggett, who had represented the district since 2013, having served in congress since 1995. He was elected with 63% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of D+11.

Nominee

 * Lloyd Doggett, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Susan Narvaiz, former mayor of San Marcos and nominee for this seat in 2012 & 2014

District 36
Incumbent Republican Brian Babin, who has represented the district since 2015, when Steve Stockman vacated the seat after a failed campaign for the United States Senate, ran for re-election. He was elected with 76 percent of the vote in 2014. The district has a PVI of R+25.

Nominee

 * Brian Babin, incumbent U.S. Representative

Withdrawn

 * Dwayne Stovall, bridge construction contractor, school board member from Cleveland, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014 and the Texas House of Representatives in 2012 (suspended campaign in December 2015)

Democratic primary
No Democrats ran for the seat