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
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.
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.