Lauren Peña

Peña was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and says she was raised across multiple U.S. cities and towns. She graduated from Northwest High School.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree from Southern New Hampshire University in 2024, after attending the University of Texas and Austin Community College in 2023.[1] In her Ballotpedia survey, she describes surviving a decade of human trafficking in Texas and says she has spent the past five years testifying before the Texas Legislature and advocating for welfare and housing reforms.[1]

Peña founded and directs Peña Legal Advocacy, which she describes as providing no-cost legal support; her listed career experience includes work as a policy advisor, legal advocate, and community leader.[1] She has been affiliated with the Austin Public Safety Commission, the Austin Community Police Review Commission, and the Travis County Republican Party, and also describes herself as a homeschool educator.[1] This was her first run for office. She advanced from the March 3, 2026 Republican primary to a runoff against Ge'Nell Gary, which she won with about 58% of the vote according to KUT.[1][2] During the campaign, she said she was running on border security, welfare reform, community policing, and accountability for federal spending.[1] She received 16.2% of the vote to Greg Casar's 83.8%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]