The Full Record

U.S. House · Texas's 9th District

A redrawn district covering the Houston Ship Channel area and Liberty County, east and southeast of Houston.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 16 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.

  • Softened Gutierrez priority item: her survey mentions 'the Derecho' without specifying 2024; removed the added year since the source doesn't state it.

On the ballot · 2 candidates

Leticia GutierrezD

Raised $55K · spent $37K · $19K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Alex MealerR

Raised $2.1M · spent $1.7M · $362K 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.

ISSUELeticia Gutierrez
D
Alex Mealer
R
Expand immigration enforcement and deportations—Supports[4]
Raise taxes on high earners or corporationsSupports[3]—
Increase police funding and staffing—Supports[4]

The candidates, in full

Leticia Gutierrez

D

Won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary in a multi-candidate field

Leticia Gutierrez is the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. House seat in Texas's 9th District. She holds a finance and economics degree from the University of St. Thomas and has focused her campaign on affordability and infrastructure resilience following the district's history of hurricanes and winter storms.[3]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporations

    Says the government has been giving subsidies to large corporations while working families 'foot the bill,' and wants that to end.[3]

In their words — priorities

  • Everyday affordability: says rising costs of groceries and other necessities are forcing families to forgo healthcare and housing investments.[3]
  • Making government work for constituents, including ending what she describes as subsidies to large corporations paid for by working families.[3]
  • Infrastructure resilience: cites Hurricane Harvey, Winter Storm Uri and the derecho as reasons to invest in aging pipes, power lines and roads.[3]

Background

  • Holds a degree in Finance and Economics from the University of St. Thomas.[3]

Campaign money

Raised $55K · spent $37K · $19K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Alex Mealer

R

Won the May 26, 2026 Republican primary runoff over Briscoe Cain

Alex Mealer is the Republican nominee for the open U.S. House seat in Texas's 9th District. A West Point graduate, Army combat veteran and Harvard-trained lawyer, she worked in energy-sector finance before running for Congress on a platform built around border security, public safety and the Houston Ship Channel economy.[4]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand immigration enforcement and deportations

    Lists keeping the border secure as the first item of her platform to pass what she calls President Trump's 'America First Agenda.'[4]

  • SupportsIncrease police funding and staffing

    Says she is committed to ensuring law enforcement is 'fully resourced' with the tools needed to protect communities.[4]

In their words — priorities

  • Border security and immigration enforcement, framed as part of a broader 'America First' agenda.[4]
  • Public safety: says law enforcement should be fully resourced and equipped to protect communities.[4]
  • Protecting the Houston Ship Channel and port economy, which she says generates more than $1 trillion in GDP for the region.[4]

Background

  • Graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer in the U.S. Army, including combat deployment to Afghanistan.[4]
  • Earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a law degree from Harvard Law School, then worked in Houston advising energy companies on mergers, acquisitions and capital-markets transactions before becoming a small-business owner.[4]

Campaign money

Raised $2.1M · spent $1.7M · $362K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

Gutierrez does not appear to have a standalone Ballotpedia biography page or personal campaign statements beyond her Candidate Connection survey responses; her record here reflects that survey.

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.Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  3. 3.Leticia Gutierrez candidate profile, Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
  4. 4.Alex Mealer for Congress | TX-09 · Alex Mealer campaign website · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words