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Ballot Explained

U.S. House · November 3, 2026

Who's running in Texas's 13th 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
Ronny Jackson
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 · Ronny Jackson 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.

  • Nothing documented in the sources reviewed.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • U.S. Representative for the 13th District since January 2021; re-elected unopposed in 2024.
  • Retired U.S. Navy rear admiral; served as physician to Presidents Obama and Trump.
  • Nominated as Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2018; withdrew before confirmation.
  • Advanced from the March 3, 2026 Republican primary.

Arguments in favor

  • The Navy reversed the demotion against him: in 2026 Navy Secretary John Phelan reinstated him to the retired rank of rear admiral after "a review of all applicable reports and references", overturning the 2022 decision.

    — Navy Secretary John Phelan, reported by NBC News and Military.com

  • He served as White House physician to two presidents of different parties, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, before entering Congress.

    — Ronny Jackson's campaign

Arguments against

  • The Pentagon inspector general concluded in 2021 that as White House physician he "disparaged, belittled, bullied and humiliated" subordinates, made "sexual and denigrating" comments about a female medical subordinate, and drank alcohol while providing medical care to President Obama on at least two official trips. The Navy demoted him retroactively on the strength of it.

    — Department of Defense Inspector General report, reported by The Hill and CBS News

  • The report described an incident on a 2014 presidential trip to Manila in which he knocked on a female subordinate's hotel door while drunk in the middle of the night saying "I need you."

    — Department of Defense Inspector General report, reported by The Hill

What we couldn’t verify

  • The 2026 reinstatement restored his rank but the inspector general's findings themselves were not withdrawn; the Navy's stated reasoning was only "a review of all applicable reports and references".
  • Jackson's own response to the inspector general's findings was not established from the sources found.
  • No criticism of him by name from Mark Nair's campaign or from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was found.
Their campaign site ↗Sources:teamronny.comsos.state.tx.uspolitics1.comen.wikipedia.orgthehill.comnbcnews.commilitary.com

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Refusing corporate PAC funding; the campaign is funded by individual donors.
  • Opposition to corruption and self-dealing in Congress.
  • Representing constituents' interests over those of special interests and billionaires.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • Educator, inventor and entrepreneur.
  • Resident of the district for more than thirty years.
  • 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 Nair by name could be found: not from Ronny Jackson or his campaign, not from the National Republican Congressional Committee, and not from Texas Panhandle news coverage. Because no case against him exists on the record, none is presented for him either, rather than showing his own campaign's case unanswered.
  • His positions and record were not stated in material available beyond his campaign site.
  • His fundraising totals were not reported in material available.
Their campaign site ↗Sources:marknair.comsos.state.tx.uspolitics1.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 Ronny Jackson and Democrat Mark Nair are the two candidates on the November ballot. The district was redrawn in Texas's 2025 mid-decade redistricting and covers most of the Texas Panhandle and the western Texoma region — Amarillo, Wichita Falls and the college town of Denton. It gave Donald Trump 72.5% 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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