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Ballot Explained

U.S. House · November 3, 2026

Who's running in Texas's 11th congressional district

2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.

Candidates
2
Incumbent
August Pfluger
Parties
Republican · Democratic
State primary
Mar 3

Candidates appear in ballot order. We do not rank them, score them, or recommend one — here is how this is put together, and here is what the office actually does.

2 candidates · ballot order · August Pfluger currently holds this seat

Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Oil and gas production, the dominant industry in the Permian Basin part of the district.
  • Border security.
  • Conservative fiscal policy through the Republican Study Committee.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • U.S. Representative for the 11th District since January 2021; re-elected unopposed in 2024.
  • Chair of the Republican Study Committee.
  • Retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot; served on the National Security Council staff.
  • Advanced from the March 3, 2026 Republican primary.

Arguments in favor

  • He chairs the Republican Study Committee, the largest bloc in the House Republican Conference, and credits its work as the driving force behind the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

    — August Pfluger, in Republican Study Committee statements

  • He argues his legislation protects rural health care in West Texas specifically — community health centres and rural hospitals that carry a higher share of Medicare and Medicaid patients than urban ones.

    — August Pfluger's office

Arguments against

  • "The current representative appears to be happy to let President Trump do whatever he wants, at whatever the cost."

    — Claire Reynolds's campaign

  • "August Pfluger has made it clear that his preferred contribution is silence" — he does not use the chairmanship to push back on anything.

    — Lone Star Left, a progressive Texas outlet

What we couldn’t verify

  • His response to those criticisms was not established from the sources found.
  • No Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee page about him by name was found.
  • This district was redrawn in Texas's 2025 mid-decade redistricting; how the new boundaries change his position was not established from the sources found.
Their campaign site ↗Sources:sos.state.tx.uspolitics1.comen.wikipedia.orgrsc-pfluger.house.govrsc-pfluger.house.govlonestarleft.com

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Affordability: she argues inflation has outstripped wages and notes Texas is the eleventh poorest state, with one in five children at or below the poverty line.
  • Single-payer health insurance, pointing to Medicare and the VA as models already serving millions of Texans: "Nobody should go bankrupt because they break a hip or get cancer."
  • Immigration reform that keeps the border secure while shortening legal immigration timelines.
  • Abortion access; she opposes the current Texas restrictions and says reproductive freedom should be safe, legal and rare.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • Democratic nominee for the 11th District.
  • Has not held elected office.
  • Advanced from the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary.

Arguments in favor

We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.

Arguments against

We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.

What we couldn’t verify

  • No published criticism of Reynolds by name could be found: not from August Pfluger or his campaign, not from the National Republican Congressional Committee, and not from West Texas news coverage. Because no case against her exists on the record, none is presented for her either, rather than showing her own campaign's case unanswered.
  • She has held no elected office, so there is no voting record to set against her campaign's positions.
  • Her fundraising totals were not reported in material available.
Their campaign site ↗Sources:clairereynoldsforcongress.orgsos.state.tx.uspolitics1.comclairereynoldsforcongress.orgpermianpress.com

Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.

Texas held its primary on March 3, 2026. Republican incumbent August Pfluger and Democrat Claire Reynolds are the two candidates on the November ballot. The district was redrawn in Texas's 2025 mid-decade redistricting and covers west Texas — Midland, Odessa, San Angelo and Brownwood — plus a thin stretch of the Austin area including Pflugerville. It gave Donald Trump 66.5% in 2024. Roster confirmed against the Texas Secretary of State's certified ballot. Neither candidate is listed with arguments for or against here: no published criticism of either candidate by name from someone opposing them could be found, and setting out a case against one and not the other would tilt the page.

This is one contest on a longer ballot

A Texas ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.

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