The Full Record

U.S. House · Texas's 8th District

A redrawn district in southeast Texas covering parts of Montgomery, Walker, San Jacinto and surrounding counties north of Houston.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 20 claims re-checked against their sources · 3 corrected · 1 removed

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

  • Corrected context: Laura Jones' March 3, 2026 Democratic primary was not unopposed; she defeated Keith Coleman 65.7% to 34.3% (Ballotpedia).
  • Corrected Laura Jones' ballotNote from 'unopposed' to naming the margin over Keith Coleman.
  • Corrected Laura Jones' summary: she lost the 2020 Democratic primary (not the general) and lost the 2022 and 2024 general elections to the Republican incumbent, not 'losing to Republican incumbents each time.'
  • Removed Jessica Steinmann's school_choice position: her campaign material discusses gender-identity curricula/parental rights, not public funding for vouchers or charters (the issue's actual statement), so the source doesn't support this issue mapping.

On the ballot · 2 candidates

Laura JonesD

Raised $22K · spent $17K · $7,859 cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Jessica SteinmannR

Raised $2.1M · spent $1.9M · $122K 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.

ISSUELaura Jones
D
Jessica Steinmann
R
Expand immigration enforcement and deportations—Supports[6]
Raise taxes on high earners or corporationsSupports[5]—
Expand public health coverageSupports[5]—
Raise the minimum wageSupports[5]—

The candidates, in full

Laura Jones

D

Won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary over Keith Coleman, 65.7% to 34.3%

Laura Jones is the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. House seat in Texas's 8th District. A businesswoman from the Houston area, she has run for this seat in each of the last three election cycles (2020, 2022 and 2024), losing the 2020 Democratic primary and the 2022 and 2024 general elections to the Republican incumbent.[3][4]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsRaise the minimum wage

    Says the federal minimum wage has been stagnant since 2009 and should be raised and tied to the cost of living.[5]

  • SupportsExpand public health coverage

    Supports expanding and improving Medicare for All, saying healthcare is a right rather than a privilege tied to employment.[5]

  • SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporations

    Says billionaires and large corporations should pay more so taxes can be lowered for working families.[5]

In their words — priorities

  • Affordability and a living wage: raise the minimum wage and tie it to the cost of living so that a full-time worker can afford housing, utilities and food.[5]
  • Expand and improve Medicare for All, arguing it is the only way to guarantee healthcare access and bring down costs.[5]
  • Lower taxes for the '99%' by making billionaires and large corporations 'pay what they owe.'[5]

Background

  • Born in Houston, Texas; profession listed as businesswoman.[3]
  • Previously ran for Texas's 8th Congressional District in 2020 (lost the Democratic primary), 2022 and 2024 (won the Democratic nomination both years but lost the general election to Republican incumbents).[4]

Campaign money

Raised $22K · spent $17K · $7,859 cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Jessica Steinmann

R

Won the March 3, 2026 Republican primary over five other candidates

Jessica Steinmann is the Republican nominee for the open U.S. House seat in Texas's 8th District. She served in the first Trump administration as Director of the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime and later as Executive General Counsel at the America First Policy Institute, and describes herself as an 'America First conservative.'[6]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand immigration enforcement and deportations

    Says she will fight to finish the border wall, end 'catch-and-release,' and restore 'law and order' at the southern border.[6]

    “I will fight to finish President Trump's wall, end catch-and-release, and restore law and order at our southern border.”

In their words — priorities

  • Secure the southern border: finish the border wall, end 'catch-and-release,' and reduce illegal immigration.[6]
  • 'Protect children and families': campaign material says she will oppose gender-identity curricula in schools and defend parental rights over children's upbringing.[6]
  • Combat human trafficking, citing her DOJ record directing federal anti-trafficking funding.[6]

Background

  • Served in President Trump's Department of Justice as Director of the Office for Victims of Crime, where she says she oversaw nearly $9 billion and awarded over $2.5 billion in 2020 funding to crime victims, including the largest federal funding to combat domestic human trafficking.[6]
  • After leaving the Trump administration, worked as Executive General Counsel at the America First Policy Institute, where she says she led litigation including a lawsuit representing 36 U.S. Air Force members against the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and a lawsuit on behalf of high school track athletes over transgender participation in girls' sports.[6]
  • Describes herself as a wife, mother of two, and Christian conservative.[6]

Campaign money

Raised $2.1M · spent $1.9M · $122K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

Both candidates' Ballotpedia pages have no biography or Candidate Connection survey on file; background and positions are drawn from campaign websites. No public voting or legislative record exists for either candidate since neither has held office.

Sources · 6

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.Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  3. 3.Laura Jones (Texas) · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  4. 4.Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (prior elections) · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  5. 5.Laura Jones for U.S. Congress | Texas District 8 · Laura Jones for Congress campaign website · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
  6. 6.Jessica Steinmann for Congress · Jessica Steinmann campaign website · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words