The Full Record

U.S. House · Texas's 35th District

A South-Central Texas district including parts of San Antonio.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 15 claims re-checked against their sources · 1 corrected · 0 removed

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

  • Carlos De La Cruz's water-treaty priority reworded to drop 'under treaty obligations', a framing not present in his campaign website's 'Protecting our Farmers and Ranchers' statement, which only says Mexico owes agricultural communities water.
  • Verified bio facts and quotes for both candidates (Garcia's West Side/SWAT background from his campaign site, De La Cruz's Air Force/kickboxing-gym bio and border/China quotes from his Ballotpedia page) and the two-candidate D/R general-election slate.

On the ballot · 2 candidates

Johnny GarciaDFormer Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy and SWAT hostage negotiator

Raised $932K · spent $609K · $323K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Carlos De La CruzRU.S. Air Force veteran; small business owner

Raised $1.0M · spent $776K · $272K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Where they stand — side by side

Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.

ISSUEJohnny Garcia
D
Carlos De La Cruz
R
Expand immigration enforcement and deportations—Supports[4]
Expand public health coverageSupports[3]—
Broad tariffs on imported goods—Supports[4]

The candidates, in full

Johnny Garcia

DFormer Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy and SWAT hostage negotiator

Won the Democratic primary runoff against Maureen Galindo

Johnny Garcia is a former Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy, SWAT hostage negotiator, and public information officer from San Antonio's West Side, running as a Democrat focused on lowering costs and affordable health care.[2][3]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand public health coverage

    Campaign describes him as fighting for affordable health care for working families.[3]

    “for lower costs, affordable healthcare, and the chance to get ahead”

In their words — priorities

  • Says he is fighting for lower costs, affordable health care, and economic opportunity for working families in TX-35.[3]

Background

  • Born and raised in San Antonio's West Side; graduated from Memorial High School and attended St. Philip's College.[2][3]
  • Worked in construction before spending nearly two decades at the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, including as a SWAT hostage negotiator and public information officer.[2][3]

Campaign money

Raised $932K · spent $609K · $323K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Carlos De La Cruz

RU.S. Air Force veteran; small business owner

Won the Republican primary runoff against John Lujan

Carlos De La Cruz is a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran who deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the U.S.-Mexico border, and who co-founded a kickboxing gym in San Antonio with his wife after leaving the military.[4]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand immigration enforcement and deportations

    Supports continuing to secure the border and providing Border Patrol agents more resources.[4]

    “We need to continue securing our border and ensure our Border Patrol agents have the tools, manpower, and support they deserve.”
  • SupportsBroad tariffs on imported goods

    Supports trade measures aimed at stopping China from what he describes as unfair trade practices, as part of an "America First" platform.[4]

    “stopping communist China from ripping us off”

In their words — priorities

  • Supports continued efforts to secure the border and equip Border Patrol agents.[4]
  • Supports holding the Mexican government accountable for delivering water it owes to Texas agricultural communities.[4]
  • Says he will support President Trump's agenda in Congress, including on manufacturing and trade with China.[4]

Background

  • Served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, deploying to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the border with Mexico.[4]
  • Co-founded a kickboxing gym in San Antonio with his wife, a VA nurse practitioner, after leaving the Air Force.[4]

Campaign money

Raised $1.0M · spent $776K · $272K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

Johnny Garcia has not completed a Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey and his campaign website's issues page returned a 404 error; his entry relies on Ballotpedia's biography and his campaign homepage's brief description.

Sources · 4

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.Johnny Garcia · Ballotpedia Reference
  3. 3.Johnny Garcia For Congress · Johnny Garcia for Congress campaign website Candidate's own words
  4. 4.Carlos De La Cruz · Ballotpedia (quoting De La Cruz's campaign website) Candidate's own words