The Ballot Brief
2026 U.S. House

Texas's 5th Congressional District — 2026 Candidates

U.S. House · TX-5
Primary: Tuesday, March 3, 2026 General: Tuesday, November 3, 2026

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2026 candidates we're tracking in TX-5

Chelsey Hockett

Chelsey Hockett

Democratic

Top priorities

  • Medicare for All
  • Public school funding
  • A higher minimum wage and expanded Social Security

Per the campaign site.

About Chelsey Hockett

Chelsey Hockett is a union-family mom in East Texas who previously worked as a general manager at a retail store, per her campaign site and a Lone Star Left interview. She has said the store closed two weeks after COVID-19 hit, leaving her family facing a nearly $100,000 hospital bill from an emergency c-section and NICU stay. She is running for U.S. House in Texas's 5th Congressional District. Chelsey Hockett appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for U.S. House, TX-5, per the Texas Secretary of State's certified candidate list.

Lance Gooden

Lance Gooden

RepublicanIncumbent

Top priorities

  • Delivering results rather than rhetoric in Congress
  • Opposing what he calls growing calls for socialism

Per the campaign site.

About Lance Gooden

Lance Gooden is the sitting U.S. Representative for this district, per the House Clerk's current member roster, first elected in 2018 after three terms in the Texas House, per his official House biography. He serves on the Judiciary and Armed Services committees.

About this race

Texas's 5th Congressional District elects one member of the U.S. House of Representatives to a two-year term. Every House seat in the country is on the ballot in 2026. The Texas primary is Tuesday, March 3, 2026 (runoff Tuesday, May 26, 2026 if needed), and the general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

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