What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
- Conservative economic policy aimed at putting more money in people's pockets through job creation and the rule of law.
- Building infrastructure to keep up with Texas population growth.
- A visible district presence: he says when he is not voting in Washington he is in the district.
- A public role for faith; he describes America as one nation under God and calls for leadership with moral character.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
- U.S. Representative for the 17th District since January 2021; re-elected in 2024 with 66.4%.
- Previously represented Dallas-area districts in Congress from 1997 to 2019, including as chair of the House Rules Committee.
- Born, raised and living in Waco; an Eagle Scout.
- Advanced from the March 3, 2026 Republican primary.
Arguments in favor
He chairs the House Subcommittee on Government Operations and has used it on the Epstein files, saying the committee's pursuit "revealed gaps in information across multiple administrations, jurisdictions and federal and state agencies."
— Pete Sessions, quoted by Texas Politics
His ratings from the groups that grade these things are near-perfect: 100% from National Right to Life, the Texas Farm Bureau and the National Federation of Independent Business, an A from the NRA and 94% from the American Conservative Union.
— Pete Sessions's campaign
Arguments against
He voted for HR 1, which protesters outside his Waco office in May 2025 said would strip health insurance and SNAP benefits from thousands of people in this district.
— Protesters at his Waco office, reported by KWTX
He committed to vote against the discharge petition to release the Epstein files, arguing the petition itself would be proof that Congress is "not working together" — while chairing the subcommittee handling the matter.
— Pete Sessions's own stated position, reported by the Washington Examiner
What we couldn’t verify
- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's published case against him dates from the 2018 cycle and a different district, and is not used here.
- Turning Point Action scores him at 74.03 for this session, below several of his Texas colleagues; no criticism framed around that figure 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.