Alex Mealer

Alex Mealer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2007 and served as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer in the U.S. Army, including combat service in Afghanistan, according to her campaign website.[3][4] She earned an MBA and a J.D. from Harvard University in 2016, and her campaign website says she was a member of the Federalist Society and the Adam Smith Society there.[3][4] Mealer then moved to Houston to work in energy finance, advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions and capital-markets financing; Ballotpedia describes her as an oil and gas finance executive.[3][4] She owns a welding supply company with her husband, Clay, according to Ballotpedia, and her campaign website describes her as a small business owner.[3][4]

Mealer entered politics in 2022 as a first-time candidate for Harris County Judge. She won a nine-candidate Republican primary, according to her campaign website, and lost the general election to incumbent Lina Hidalgo, 49.2% to 50.8%.[3][4] From 2024 to 2025 she served as Public Safety Chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) board.[3][4] Running for the newly drawn 9th District, an open seat in east Harris County, she won the May 26, 2026 Republican runoff over state Rep. Briscoe Cain, 68.3% to 31.7%, and faced Democrat Leticia Gutierrez in the November general election.[4][6] According to her campaign website, she and her husband, who is also a West Point graduate, have two children and attend Second Baptist.[3] During the campaign, she ran on border security, public safety and the Houston Ship Channel economy.[2][3][4] She received 42.4% of the vote to Leticia Gutierrez's 57.6%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[5]