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U.S. House · Texas's 23rd District

Katy Padilla Stout

CandidateD

Race
U.S. House · Texas's 23rd District
Result
Katy Padilla Stout, projected winner
Opponents
Brandon Herrera (R); Ben Mendoza (IND)
Research
Minimal record

Party linenone

No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.

Said vs. did4 statements · 0 votes

I support expanding our Medicare system to cover all Americans.

Expand public health coverage

Compare statements with votes ›

On the ballotU.S. House · 23

2026-11-03

Brandon Herrera Rchallenger
Katy Padilla Stout Dchallenger
Ben Mendoza INDchallenger

Won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 52.1% of the vote over three other candidates.

Said vs. did

Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.

Expand public health coverageSupports
I support expanding our Medicare system to cover all Americans.

Campaign issues page says she supports expanding Medicare to cover all Americans and, short of that, strengthening the Affordable Care Act.[5]

No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.

Stricter gun lawsSupports
No constitutional right is without reasonable limits grounded in common sense, and laws concerning responsible gun ownership should be no exception.

Campaign issues page says no constitutional right is without reasonable limits and names universal background checks, a bump stock ban and red-flag laws as measures most Americans support.[5]

No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.

Protect legal access to abortionSupports
I believe women’s reproductive rights need to be protected.

Campaign issues page says women's reproductive rights need to be protected and the government should not be involved in those decisions.[5]

No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.

Raise the minimum wageSupports
we should invest in families and strengthen our workforce by raising the minimum wage and requiring paid parental leave

Campaign issues page says she supports raising the minimum wage.[5]

No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.

Biography

Democrat Katy Padilla Stout won the open 23rd District seat in Texas on November 3, 2026, defeating Brandon Herrera. She is an attorney and former elementary school teacher who, according to her campaign website, practices child welfare and education law at a family firm in Carrizo Springs, and she won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 52.1% of the vote in a four-candidate field.[1][2][3][4]

Little public record found for this candidate.

Padilla Stout describes herself as a lifelong Texan raised by a single mother and says her father and grandparents were migrant farmworkers from South Texas. The San Antonio Report says she was born and raised in San Antonio.[3][6] She graduated from Lee High School in San Antonio and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, in education according to her campaign website, in 2007 according to the San Antonio Report.[3][2][6] She taught elementary school in Northside ISD before attending law school, and she earned a law degree from the South Texas College of Law in 2013. She built a practice focused on child welfare and education law and says she now works with her father at their family firm based in Carrizo Springs.[3][2][6]

Padilla Stout has served since 2017 as an appointed member of the Bexar County Child Welfare Board, and she sits on the board of directors of Artvango Therapeutic Services, a nonprofit that provides expressive therapies for children.[3][6] She says she lives in San Antonio with her husband, a career prosecutor, and their four children, two of whom they adopted through foster care. In the San Antonio Report questionnaire she said she lives in Leon Springs with her husband, Austin.[3][6] Padilla Stout won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 52.1% of the vote over Santos Limon, Bruce Richardson and Gretel Marysdatter Enck.[4][2] She won the November 3, 2026 general election with 52.1% of the vote to Brandon Herrera's 44%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]

Campaign website ↗

Campaign money$485K raised · 93% from individuals · FEC through 2026-06-30

Totals this cycle

Raised$485K
Spent$314K
Cash on hand$171K

Bars share one scale (raised = full). Cash on hand can include money carried over from earlier cycles.

Who gave

  • Individuals $440K
  • PACs & committees $23K
  • Own money & loans $9,792

Largest committee contributions

  1. Fair Shot PAC PAC$5,000
  2. Chc Bold PAC PAC$5,000
  3. Emilys List PAC$5,000
  4. Midwest Region Laborers' Political League PAC$5,000
  5. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen PAC Fund PAC$2,500
  6. Fighting for South Texas PAC PAC$1,000
  7. Giffords PAC PAC$1,000
  8. Get Out the Vote PAC PAC$1,000
  9. NEA Fund for Children and Public Education PAC$1,000
  10. Latino Victory Fund PAC$1,000

Direct contributions only; outside spending is not included. Individual donors are itemized in the FEC’s receipts. All itemized receipts ↗ FEC filing ↗

Profile: /people/katy-padilla-stout

Compare all 3 candidates side by side ›

Sources cited in this profile

  1. 1.Texas 23rd District U.S. House election results 2026 · NBC News News report
  2. 2.Katy Padilla Stout · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  3. 3.Meet Katy · Katy Padilla Stout for Congress Candidate's own words
  4. 4.United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  5. 5.Where I Stand On The Issues · Katy Padilla Stout for Congress Candidate's own words
  6. 6.Katy Padilla Stout | 2026 candidate for Texas' 23rd Congressional District · San Antonio Report · 2026-10-19 News report