The person behind the name
Alex Mealer's public life runs from an Army bomb-disposal unit in Afghanistan to Houston's energy-finance desks, a near miss for Harris County judge in 2022, a seat on the region's transit board and, in 2026, the Republican nomination for a congressional district drawn the year before. [1][8][14][16][4]
The Houston Chronicle's 2022 profile reported that Alexandra del Moral Mealer was born in Sacramento and raised by a single mother; it put her age at 38 that October, and the paper's February 2026 candidate roundup at 41. The Texas Tribune likewise describes her as a California native. The Chronicle reported that her grandparents are from Spain, and she has said her grandfather fought against Franco in the Spanish civil war. Her campaign biography says she and her husband, Clay, also a West Point graduate, have been married for more than 17 years and have two children; the Chronicle placed the family home in the Heights, in Houston. She does not live inside the new 9th District, which is not required, and has said she would move into it if she wins. [19][28][29][1][30][37]
Education and professional preparation
By her campaign biography she graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, volunteered for and was selected as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer, and led soldiers in combat while defusing bombs in Afghanistan. Houston Public Media reported in 2022 that she graduated from West Point in 2007, served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer, rose to the rank of captain and saw combat in Afghanistan; the Chronicle reported that she deployed during the Afghanistan surge and left the Army in 2012. The transit authority's 2024 release says she chose West Point after the September 11 attacks, following her grandfathers' tradition. The campaign describes her as a former West Point athlete without naming the sport. No Defense Department record of her service dates, unit or awards was retrieved. [1][39][19][14][2]
She then earned degrees from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, where the campaign says she was active in the Federalist Society and the Adam Smith Society, moved to Houston in 2016 and went into investment banking; the campaign describes work on “billion dollar transactions as a strategic advisor on mergers & acquisitions and capital markets financing for public and private companies.” Houston Public Media reported that she resigned from an investment-banking job with Wells Fargo to run for county judge. The campaign biography now calls her a “current small business owner”; the business is not named in the material reviewed. No source reviewed describes her as a practicing attorney; bar admission, degree years and bar records were not part of this review. [1][19][20][39][2]
Her first campaign was for Harris County judge, the county's chief executive. In the March 1, 2022 Republican primary she led a field of nine with 50,435 votes, 29.50 percent, and on May 24 won the runoff over Vidal Martinez with 85,778 votes, 75.42 percent. On November 8, 2022 she received 534,720 votes, 49.15 percent, to County Judge Lina Hidalgo's 552,903, and conceded the next morning. She filed an election contest in January 2023 and dropped it that September. [9][10][8][20][21][22]
Senator Ted Cruz and the Republican Party of Texas named her the party's 2024 Victory Chair on October 9, 2023; she resigned the post in May 2024 after being sworn in, on March 21, 2024, as a METRO board member appointed to represent the fourteen smaller cities in the transit authority's service area, where she chaired the public-safety committee, a role reported by Houston Public Media, the Tribune and the Chronicle. She was still described as a board member when she announced for Congress in August 2025; by May 2026 the Tribune listed her as the board's former public-safety chair, and the authority's board page no longer listed her in September 2026. [25][26][14][27][29][40][35][41]
She announced for the redrawn 9th District on August 25, 2025, four days before the Governor signed the new map. President Trump endorsed her on February 16, 2026. In the March 3 primary she led nine Republicans with 11,343 votes, 35.80 percent, and on May 26 won the runoff over state Representative Briscoe Cain with 15,625 votes, 68.29 percent. She faces Leticia Gutierrez, who won the Democratic primary outright with 18,703 votes, on November 3, 2026. [27][16][31][5][4][6][7]
A note on the campaign's superlatives. The biography says she won the 2022 nomination “despite being outspent 3:1,” lost “in a severely flawed general election,” and spent “nearly a year and several hundred thousand dollars” on the election contest. The canvasses establish the votes; the spending ratio and the cost of the contest are the campaign's statements, and the court's findings are described in the fuller record below. [1][8]
Life & public service
From a West Point commission to a redrawn congressional district, the documented milestones show what the record contains and what it does not.
Victory Chair
Named the Republican Party of Texas's 2024 Victory Chair, leading its Victory Fund, in an October 9, 2023 announcement by Senator Cruz and the state party. [25]
Accomplishments, in the record
Election canvasses, Federal Election Commission filings, a transit authority's release and the Legislature's and the Supreme Court's records establish the following. Mealer has never held elective office, so there are no votes or bills; the record is military, professional, civic and electoral, and it is described at the level those documents support.
Bomb disposal in Afghanistan
The campaign biography says that after West Point she “volunteered and was ultimately selected to serve as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer (bomb squad) in the Army” and proved herself “leading soldiers in combat and defusing bombs in Afghanistan.” Houston Public Media reported in October 2022 that she graduated from West Point in 2007, served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer, rose to the rank of captain and saw combat in Afghanistan. The Houston Chronicle's 2022 profile reported that she deployed as part of the surge in Afghanistan, rose quickly and led soldiers in combat before leaving the Army in 2012; Houston Public Media and the Tribune describe her as a former Army captain. The transit authority's 2024 release repeats the campaign account and adds that she chose West Point after the September 11 attacks. [1][39][19][20][36][14]
No Defense Department document was retrieved for this review, so dates of service, unit, rank at separation and any decorations are not established here. The campaign's Endorsements page lists With Honor Fund III and SEAL PAC among her supporters; those are the campaign's statements. [3]
An investment banker in Houston
After Harvard she moved to Houston in 2016 and worked in investment banking; Houston Public Media reported that she resigned from an investment-banking job with Wells Fargo to seek the 2022 nomination, and described her career as oil and gas finance. The campaign describes her as a former oil and gas banker who worked on the execution of billion-dollar mergers, acquisitions and capital-markets financings, and its biography now calls her a “current small business owner”; the transactions and the business are not identified in the material reviewed, and no licensing record was examined. [19][20][39][1][2]
Nine candidates, a runoff and 534,720 votes
The Harris County Clerk's official cumulative results record her first campaign. In the March 1, 2022 Republican primary for county judge she received 50,435 of 170,944 votes, 29.50 percent, ahead of Vidal Martinez's 44,216 and Martina Lemond Dixon's 25,912 in a field of nine. In the May 24 runoff she defeated Martinez 85,778 to 27,952, 75.42 percent to 24.58 percent. [9][10]
In the November 8, 2022 general election, with 1,107,390 of the county's 2,543,162 registered voters participating, she received 534,720 votes, 49.15 percent, to Lina Hidalgo's 552,903, 50.82 percent; a write-in candidate received 241. The margin, computed from the canvass, was 18,183 votes. The Chronicle reported that she raised $4.9 million over three months that summer, more than tripling Hidalgo's total and setting a record for the office, with more than $1 million from three Houston donors led by Richard Weekley at $400,000. The Tribune, reading her campaign finance report, put the figure at more than $4.9 million from July 1 to September 29, 2022, against about $1.5 million for Hidalgo, with $400,000 from Weekley, $350,000 each from Alan Hassenflu and from Jeffery and Melinda Hildebrand and $100,000 from Defend Texas Liberty PAC, and reported that she had outspent Hidalgo nearly $3.5 million to $1.4 million; Houston Public Media wrote that she dramatically outraised and outspent the incumbent. The Chronicle reported in July 2025 that her final county campaign finance report showed the account's funds fully exhausted. Those figures are the newspapers'; the county campaign-finance reports themselves were not part of this review. [8][19][18][20][40]
Victory Chair, then the METRO board
On October 9, 2023 Senator Ted Cruz and the Republican Party of Texas named her 2024 Victory Chair to lead the party's Victory Fund. On March 21, 2024 the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County swore her in as a board member appointed to represent fourteen smaller cities in its service area, with Commissioner Tom Ramsey administering the oath; the authority's newsletter records that its nine members serve two-year terms with an eight-year maximum and that the multi-cities hold two of the seats. In May 2024 she resigned the party post, telling The Texan that “With my new position as a board member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee for METRO, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, I felt it best to step aside in order to focus on my family and serving the people of Houston and Harris County.” The Texan reported that at least $150,000 had been raised for the Victory effort during her seven months in the role, plus over $1 million in transfers from Senator Cruz's entities to the party. [25][14][15][26]
Her statement at the swearing-in: “I want to make sure that METRO is a good fiduciary of their investment, which will require strategic planning based on data, directly reflecting the unique characteristics of METRO’s challenging service area that is significantly more spread out (1,309-square-miles) and less dense than service areas of similar population size.” The Chronicle reported in July 2025 that she served as chair of the agency's Public Safety Committee, citing her X profile, and Houston Public Media still described her as a board member when she announced for Congress on August 25, 2025. By May 2026 the Tribune's runoff guide listed her as the board's former public-safety chair, and the authority's board page, read September 18, 2026, no longer lists her: the multi-cities' seat is held by Robert A. Fry, Jr., who chairs what the page calls the “Public Safety, Customer Service, and Operations Committee.” The date her service ended and the committee's actions under her chairmanship were not established by this review. [14][40][27][35][41][1]
What the FEC filings show
The Federal Election Commission's summary for Alexandra del Moral Mealer for Congress, covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, records total receipts of $2,080,513.66, of which $1,703,956.31 came from individuals ($1,657,237.09 itemized), $259,300.00 from other committees, $4,850.44 from the candidate and $112,406.67 in transfers from other authorized committees; no loans were taken. Disbursements were $1,718,473.99, cash on hand $362,039.67 and debts none. The current statement of candidacy on file was filed February 11, 2026, and the FEC lists a sponsored leadership PAC, The American Made PAC. [11][13]
The Democratic nominee's committee reported receipts of $55,357.90 and cash on hand of $18,657.58 for October 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. [12]
Independent expenditures are reported separately by the groups that make them. The Commission's aggregate for the 2026 cycle, read through its public data service on September 18, 2026, lists spending to support her by Club for Growth Action, $1,106,493.76; Veterans Duty Fund, $749,780.00; Defending Our Values PAC, $646,325.11; Win It Back PAC, $616,236.22; Defend American Jobs, $461,942.36; American Liberty Foundation, $406,698.41; WFW Action Fund, $312,459.59; Patriotic Fund, $278,365.00; Conservatives for American Excellence, $245,026.34; Senate Conservatives Action, $10,803.47; Senate Conservatives Fund, $8,116.31; and Club for Growth PAC, $5,351.34, which sum to $4,847,597.91, computed from the list; and spending to oppose her by Building a Strong America, $269,851.00; Citizens for American Strength, $84,885.80; and Courageous Conservatives PAC, $7,389.20, which sum to $362,126.00. The Commission cautions that these totals are drawn from quarterly, monthly and semi-annual reports and exclude 24- and 48-hour reports; they are not the same figures the press reported during the primary, which appear in the fuller record. [42][11]
A plurality in March, a landslide in May
The Secretary of State's results for the March 3, 2026 Republican primary in the 9th District, with all 254 counties reporting, give Mealer 11,343 votes, 35.80 percent; Briscoe Cain 9,886, 31.20 percent; Steve Stockman 5,196; Dan Mims 2,608; Crystal DeLeón Sarmiento 788; Dwayne Stovall 724; Jaimy Blanco 498; Michael A. Curran 351; and Terry Lee Thain 291, of 31,685 votes. In the May 26 runoff she received 15,625 votes, 68.29 percent, to Cain's 7,257. In the Democratic primary Leticia Gutierrez won outright with 18,703 of 34,865 votes, 53.64 percent. [5][4][6]
The map she is running on
House Bill 4 of the 89th Legislature's second called session, “Relating to the composition of the districts for the election of members of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Texas,” was filed August 15, 2025, passed the House on August 20 and the Senate on August 23, was signed by the Governor on August 29 and took effect December 4, 2025; Cain is listed among its coauthors. A federal district court in the Western District of Texas ruled against the map on November 18, 2025. In Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens, No. 25-845, docketed January 15, 2026, the Supreme Court on April 27, 2026 reversed that judgment summarily, with Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson dissenting, and issued its judgment on May 29. [16][17][34]
The Tribune's description of the resulting district: parts of Houston's East End, Baytown, Deer Park, Pasadena and La Porte, and, as Houston Public Media puts it, all of Liberty County; a population 62.1 percent Hispanic; and a 2024 presidential result of Trump 59.5 percent, Harris 39.6 percent. The seat is one of five the Legislature redrew in 2025, and the incumbent, Al Green, is running in the neighboring 18th District instead. [35][36][37]
Family & community
Her campaign biography identifies her husband as Clay, a fellow West Point graduate, says they have been married for more than 17 years and describes “two precocious children”; Houston Public Media also reported that her husband is a West Point graduate; the Chronicle's 2022 profile placed the family in the Heights with two toddlers, and the Cruz campaign's 2023 release said she lives in Houston with her husband and two children. [1][30][19][25]
Community roles as the documents state them: a METRO board seat for the fourteen multi-cities from March 21, 2024, with the chairmanship of its public-safety committee, until a date this review did not establish; the state party's 2024 Victory Chair from October 2023 to May 2024; and, by the campaign's account, continued support for Harris County candidates across election cycles. The campaign's Endorsements page lists the Seafarers International Union, the National Border Patrol Council, the Texas Municipal Police Association, local police associations, the Liberty County sheriff, the mayors of Deer Park, La Porte, Liberty, Dayton and Cleveland and former mayors of Baytown, Pasadena, Morgan's Point, La Porte and Deer Park; the list is the campaign's. [14][26][41][1][3]
On religion the campaign biography is explicit: the family are “proud members of the Second Baptist family where they worship and their children attend school.” This profile records that statement and makes no further claim. [1]
Mission & priorities
“I’m running for Congress to fight for the families and businesses of TX-09 that make this district the economic engine of Texas.” {2}
The following summarizes the agenda on Mealer's campaign website and in her public statements. These are proposed priorities from a candidate who has never cast a legislative vote, not completed accomplishments. [2]
01Restore trust in Congress
“Members of Congress should serve the American people, and no one else. I will fight to BAN members of Congress from trading individual stocks while serving in office and implement term limits for Congress.” The campaign names no bill; she has also said she would encourage Congress to reassert its budgetary powers to rein in deficit spending, per the Tribune. [2][29]
02Make life more affordable
“I will fight to cut taxes and unnecessary regulations, create good-paying jobs, and lower the cost of living so families can keep more of what they earn and businesses can thrive.” The page attributes higher costs to taxes, inflation and regulation and offers no cost estimate or offset. [2]
03The Ship Channel, the port and Lake Houston
“I will be the fiercest advocate for crucial infrastructure projects to protect and grow the Houston Ship Channel and Port Houston—the largest petrochemical complex in the U.S. and collectively responsible for 20% of the Texas GDP and thousands of jobs for Texans in our region.” The 20 percent figure is the campaign's. On flooding: “I will LEAD THE DELEGATION of regional leaders to target the state and federal funds required to complete flood mitigation projects around Lake Houston.” At the Liberty County forum in February she called infrastructure “a core function of government” and said the port must be commercially competitive, and the Tribune reported her Pasadena remark that “The infrastructure is not keeping up with what is needed to compete.” [2][30][29]
04Secure the border, back the police
“In Congress, I will fight to restore law and order at the border, enforce our immigration laws, and ensure law enforcement have the federal resources they need to protect Texas families.” The page adds that “The war on law enforcement must end” and commits her to supporting federal partners in the cities. The campaign lists the National Border Patrol Council, the Texas Municipal Police Association and the Texas State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police among its endorsers. [2][3]
05Champion American energy
“I will fight to expand domestic energy production to drive down gas and electricity prices and make our country energy secure and dominant.” The plank rests on her career in oil-and-gas finance, which the campaign describes and Houston Public Media reported, and which this review did not document beyond press accounts. [2][19][39]
06Girls' sports and locker rooms
“In Congress, I will fight to protect girls’ sports and keep biological men out of women’s locker rooms.” The page grounds the position in her years as a West Point athlete and as the mother of a young daughter. [2]
07Artificial intelligence and China
The campaign says she is committed to ensuring that the United States, not China, sets the pace and rules for artificial intelligence, and that “I support commonsense safeguards, including rigorous safety reviews for the most powerful AI systems, transparency when artificial intelligence is used to impersonate humans, and strong protections against nonconsensual deepfakes and digital exploitation.” The Tribune reported that Defending Our Values PAC, a group affiliated with an Anthropic-backed effort supporting candidates who favor stronger guardrails on the AI industry, spent over $400,000 supporting her in the runoff. The plank and the spending are documented; no causal claim is made here. [2][36]
08Election integrity
The campaign biography says the 2022 election contest left her “deeply familiar with the weaknesses in our existing election integrity laws” and “committed to securing our elections through legislative reform,” and the Tribune's runoff guide lists election-integrity legislation among her stated positions. The record behind the plank is her 2022 contest, described in the fuller record, and her statement at a March 2022 forum that, with Republicans back in the county majority, the county could start by dissolving the Elections Administrator's office and ordering an external audit. [1][35][19]
How to assess a proposal. A campaign plan states an intention. Enactment, implementation costs, replacement revenue, and measured results are separate questions. These priorities should be read alongside the legislative and voting history above.
The fuller record
A useful profile includes the questions a first-time federal candidate has been asked, the limits of a claim, and responses to material criticism.
The 2022 election contest, and what the courts found
Mealer conceded on November 9, 2022, then filed an election contest by the January 6, 2023 deadline, asking the court to declare her the winner or void the election and order a new one, after the county's own report on Election Day paper shortages said its investigation “has not yet revealed” whether voters were turned away. Her statement: “It is inexcusable that after two months, the public is no further in knowing if, and to what extent, votes were suppressed.” County Attorney Christian Menefee called the twelve Republican contests “a shameful attempt by a group of losing candidates who couldn’t win the hearts and minds of Harris County voters,” and Rice University's Bob Stein said, “I’m extremely doubtful that there is a legitimate legal challenge here.” On September 21, 2023 she nonsuited: “My goal in filing an election contest was not to relitigate my race, but rather to make sure future races are fair to all voters and candidates,” and “Because my efforts have been exhausted, I am now nonsuiting my claims.” The Chronicle later reported that the same post alleged “widespread violations of the Texas Election Code.” Menefee's reply: “She didn’t win the election and she wasn’t going to win the election contest, yet she insisted on continuing to spread conspiracy theories in an attempt to overturn the will of the voters.” Her campaign biography now says the contest ran through a court “where the judge ruled there were numerous violations of the state’s Election Code.” The ruling it refers to came in another candidate's case: in May 2024 visiting Judge David Peeples ordered a new election for the 180th District Court, finding 1,430 illegal votes in a race decided by 449, while upholding the results in twenty other 2022 contests; in April 2025 the 14th Court of Appeals found “no evidence” to support the district clerk contest. No court ruled on the county-judge race, because she withdrew it. [20][21][22][40][1][23][24]
Residence and the new district
At the February 11, 2026 candidate forum in Dayton, rival Dan Mims said four of the nine Republicans did not live in the district, a remark Houston Public Media described as a jab at Mealer, who acknowledged she does not currently live in the new 9th. The Tribune noted she is a California native who moved to Texas in 2016, while Cain stressed his roots in Deer Park. Houston Public Media reported after the runoff that district residence is not required and that she has said she would move into the district if she wins. Rice's Mark Jones called the issue less of a negative inside a metropolitan area than it would be in a rural district. [30][29][37]
Outside money, and the attacks on Cain
The runoff was not a contest of equals in money. The Tribune reported that Mealer outspent Cain three to one over the cycle; that Club for Growth invested more than $1.1 million to support her and oppose him; that Win It Back PAC, affiliated with the Club, ran an ad attacking Cain for accepting contributions from the developers of Colony Ridge, an attack Mealer herself had made in the primary, according to the Tribune's February report; that Conservatives for American Excellence aired an ad calling him a “liberal lightweight”; and that Defending Our Values PAC spent over $400,000 on her behalf, while Cain's only outside support, Building a Strong America, spent over $85,000 from undisclosed donors. Mealer attacked Cain for supporting the House's 2023 impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton; Governor Abbott and forty-eight House members had endorsed Cain, while her endorsers included President Trump, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who appeared with her at a Pasadena rally in late January, and Club for Growth. After the result Cain posted, “We have a socialist to beat in November,” and “Let’s unite and win.” Club for Growth PAC's March 4 release said Club for Growth Action and its affiliated Win It Back PAC had invested over $750,000 in ads supporting her in the primary. The Commission's aggregates of this spending are set out in the record above. Endorsements and expenditures establish who supported whom; they are not evaluations of the record. [36][29][33][42]
The 2020 election and certification, in her words
In 2022 the Chronicle reported that Mealer said Trump lost the 2020 election and that, barring evidence of impropriety, she would accept the result if she lost; the Tribune reported the same month that she unequivocally rejected the election-denier label and said Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The Hidalgo campaign nonetheless called her an election denier. She had told KHOU she would “without question certify the election results as long as our County Clerk and County Tax Assessor testify to the integrity of the process and are the ones administering the election,” offices that no longer ran Harris County's elections, and at a March 2022 forum said the county could start “dissolving the Elections Administrator and ordering a 100 percent external audit.” Two months after losing, she filed the contest described above. The statements and the filing are both on the record; readers can weigh them together. [19][18][21]
A photograph and a grandfather
At an April 2022 forum her runoff opponent, Vidal Martinez, held up a photograph he said was inscribed to her grandfather by Fidel Castro and argued Democrats would use it against her. Her answer, as the Chronicle reported it: her grandfather fought in the Spanish civil war and “led the opposition against Franco, a dictator and a fascist,” and “My family spent a life fighting against strong government and the fact that this is your attack, that's pathetic.” In the same exchange she said of Hidalgo, “She truly is a communist,” and the paper reported that one Mealer campaign ad claimed Hidalgo's crime policies had led to hundreds of murders. She won the runoff with 75.42 percent. [19][10]
The district's lean, and the Democratic nominee
The Tribune calculated that Trump would have carried the new district by 20 points in 2024 and Senator Cruz by 11, while Beto O'Rourke would have won it by 1 point in 2018; the district ranked 33rd of 38 in turnout in 2024, and only 8 percent of registered voters took part in the 2022 Republican primary. Rice's Mark Jones told Houston Public Media it is “a pretty solid shade of red to pink” and the only Houston-area seat in any doubt in November. Leticia Gutierrez, an organizer with Air Alliance Houston whose site describes fifteen years of advocacy, won the Democratic primary outright with 53.64 percent and, as of June 30, 2026, had raised $55,357.90 to Mealer's $2,080,513.66; she told Houston Public Media that voters will turn out when someone is listening and called Mealer disconnected from the district. [29][37][30][38][6][12][11]
Questions & answers
Who is Alex Mealer?
Alex Mealer's public life runs from an Army bomb-disposal unit in Afghanistan to Houston's energy-finance desks, a near miss for Harris County judge in 2022, a seat on the region's transit board and, in 2026, the Republican nomination for a congressional district drawn the year before. [1][8][14][16][4] The Houston Chronicle's 2022 profile reported that Alexandra del Moral Mealer was born in Sacramento and raised by a single mother; it put her age at 38 that October, and the paper's February 2026 candidate roundup at 41. The Texas Tribune likewise describes her as a California native. The Chronicle reported that her grandparents are from Spain, and she has said her grandfather fought against Franco in the Spanish civil war. Her campaign biography says she and her husband, Clay, also a West Point graduate, have been married for more than 17 years and have two children; the Chronicle placed the family home in the Heights, in Houston. She does not live inside the new 9th District, which is not required, and has said she would move into it if she wins. [19][28][29][1][30][37]
What office is Alex Mealer running for in 2026?
Who is Alex Mealer running against?
She announced for the redrawn 9th District on August 25, 2025, four days before the Governor signed the new map. President Trump endorsed her on February 16, 2026. In the March 3 primary she led nine Republicans with 11,343 votes, 35.80 percent, and on May 26 won the runoff over state Representative Briscoe Cain with 15,625 votes, 68.29 percent. She faces Leticia Gutierrez, who won the Democratic primary outright with 18,703 votes, on November 3, 2026. [27][16][31][5][4][6][7]
What are Alex Mealer's stated priorities?
The following summarizes the agenda on Mealer's campaign website and in her public statements. These are proposed priorities from a candidate who has never cast a legislative vote, not completed accomplishments. [2] The campaign lists: Restore trust in Congress; Make life more affordable; The Ship Channel, the port and Lake Houston; Secure the border, back the police; Champion American energy; Girls' sports and locker rooms; Artificial intelligence and China; Election integrity.
What does the public record show?
Election canvasses, Federal Election Commission filings, a transit authority's release and the Legislature's and the Supreme Court's records establish the following. Mealer has never held elective office, so there are no votes or bills; the record is military, professional, civic and electoral, and it is described at the level those documents support. The campaign biography says that after West Point she “volunteered and was ultimately selected to serve as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer (bomb squad) in the Army” and proved herself “leading soldiers in combat and defusing bombs in Afghanistan.” Houston Public Media reported in October 2022 that she graduated from West Point in 2007, served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer, rose to the rank of captain and saw combat in Afghanistan. The Houston Chronicle's 2022 profile reported that she deployed as part of the surge in Afghanistan, rose quickly and led soldiers in combat before leaving the Army in 2012; Houston Public Media and the Tribune describe her as a former Army captain. The transit authority's 2024 release repeats the campaign account and adds that she chose West Point after the September 11 attacks. [1][39][19][20][36][14]
How was this profile researched?
Reviewed September 17, 2026, with additional checks on September 18. Alex Mealer has never held elective office, so this profile contains no votes, bills or agency actions; it is a documented overview of her military, professional, civic and electoral record and her stated priorities. Her Army service was read from the campaign biography, a transit authority's release and press accounts, not from Defense Department records; her banking career from press accounts and the campaign; the METRO service from the authority's own publications and press accounts. The Harris County results were read from the Clerk's official cumulative reports, the 2026 results through the Secretary of State's results site, and outside spending through the Federal Election Commission's public data service. Her 2022 county campaign-finance reports, her candidate financial disclosure filed with the Clerk of the House, the election-contest pleadings, bar admission, degree years and bar records were not part of this review. The Ballotpedia entry and the independent race ratings on the Ledger's board could not be retrieved by the tools used here and are not cited. Numerical claims retain their original meaning and attribution. Filings and campaign pages may change after this review.
Sources & methodology
Government records anchor the profile: the Texas Secretary of State's results, the Harris County Clerk's official cumulative reports, the Federal Election Commission's filings and independent-expenditure aggregates, the transit authority's release and board page, the Legislature's bill history and the Supreme Court's docket. Original reporting supplies the service and professional background, scrutiny and responses; campaign materials are used for the candidate's own priorities and claims.
- 01About | Alex Mealer for Congress (campaign biography)Alexandra del Moral Mealer for Congress (campaign) · Accessed September 17, 2026
Campaign biography: West Point, Explosive Ordnance Disposal service in Afghanistan, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, energy finance, the 2022 county-judge race and election contest, METRO, husband Clay, two children, Second Baptist. Self-descriptions.Campaign or advocacy material - 02Alex Mealer for Congress | TX-09 (home page and issue planks)Alexandra del Moral Mealer for Congress (campaign) · Accessed September 17, 2026
The nine campaign planks quoted in this profile, the committee disclaimer, the campaign e-mail and the linked X, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Proposals, not record.Campaign or advocacy material - 03Endorsements | Alex Mealer for CongressAlexandra del Moral Mealer for Congress (campaign) · Accessed September 17, 2026
The campaign's list of endorsers: local officials, the Seafarers International Union, the National Border Patrol Council and police associations, Club for Growth, With Honor Fund III, Maggie's List and others. The campaign's own list.Campaign or advocacy material - 042026 Republican Primary Runoff Election — U.S. Representative District 9 (official results)Texas Secretary of State (election results site) · May 26, 2026; results last updated June 12, 2026
Mealer 15,625 (68.29 percent), Cain 7,257 (31.71 percent) of 22,882 votes, 254 of 254 counties reporting. Select the 2026 Republican Primary Runoff Election on the linked page; the figures were read through the site's data service (election 58315).Government record - 052026 Republican Primary Election — U.S. Representative District 9 (official results)Texas Secretary of State (election results site) · March 3, 2026; results last updated April 14, 2026
Mealer 11,343 (35.80 percent), Cain 9,886 (31.20 percent), Stockman 5,196 (16.40 percent), Mims 2,608, Sarmiento 788, Stovall 724, Blanco 498, Curran 351, Thain 291 of 31,685 votes. Select the 2026 Republican Primary Election on the linked page; figures read through the site's data service (election 53813).Government record - 062026 Democratic Primary Election — U.S. Representative District 9 (official results)Texas Secretary of State (election results site) · March 3, 2026; results last updated March 24, 2026
Gutierrez 18,703 (53.64 percent), Clayton 5,673, Virts 5,095, Ivey 2,462, Rocha 2,374, Filler 558 of 34,865 votes. Select the 2026 Democratic Primary Election on the linked page; figures read through the site's data service (election 53814).Government record - 07Important Election Dates, 2026Texas Secretary of State · Accessed September 17, 2026
The March 3, 2026 primary, the May 26, 2026 primary runoff, the November 3, 2026 uniform election date and the October 5 registration deadline.Government record - 08November 8, 2022 General and Special Elections — Official Cumulative ResultsHarris County Clerk (Elections) · Run date November 19, 2022
County Judge: Mealer 534,720 (49.15 percent); Hidalgo 552,903 (50.82 percent); Houjami, write-in, 241; 1,087,864 votes cast in the race; 1,107,390 of 2,543,162 registered voters participated.Government record - 09March 1, 2022 Republican Primary Election — Official Cumulative ResultsHarris County Clerk (Elections) · 2022
County Judge, Republican primary: Mealer 50,435 (29.50 percent); Martinez 44,216; Dixon 25,912; Kubosh 16,388; Howell 13,346; Gonzales 7,316; Dorris 7,036; Zoes 4,287; Bolanos 2,008; 170,944 votes cast.Government record - 10May 24, 2022 Republican Primary Runoff Election — Official Cumulative ResultsHarris County Clerk (Elections) · Run date June 1, 2022
County Judge, Republican runoff: Mealer 85,778 (75.42 percent); Martinez 27,952 (24.58 percent); 113,730 votes cast.Government record - 11MEALER, ALEXANDRA — candidate overview, 2026 (H6TX09140)Federal Election Commission · Accessed September 17, 2026
Financial summary for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026: receipts, individual and committee contributions, transfers, disbursements, cash on hand and debts; the principal committee; the leadership PAC; the statement of candidacy filed February 11, 2026.Government record - 12GUTIERREZ, LETICIA — candidate overview, 2026 (H6TX09231)Federal Election Commission · Accessed September 17, 2026
The Democratic nominee's financial summary for October 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026: receipts of $55,357.90, disbursements of $36,700.32, cash on hand of $18,657.58 and a $500 candidate loan.Government record - 13Candidate master file, 2025–2026 election cycle (cn26.zip)Federal Election Commission (bulk data) · Accessed September 17, 2026
The FEC's candidate master: Mealer's candidate identifier H6TX09140 and principal committee C00917112, and the identifiers of the other Texas District 9 candidates, including Cain (H6TX09124) and Gutierrez (H6TX09231).Government record - 14Alexandra del Moral Mealer Sworn Into METRO Board of Directors (news release)Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) · March 21, 2024
The authority's release: sworn in March 21, 2024 with Commissioner Tom Ramsey administering the oath; appointed to represent fourteen smaller cities in the service area; the authority's biographical summary and her statement on the board's fiduciary role.Government record - 15METRO Welcomes New Board Members (METRO Connections newsletter)Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) · April 2024
How the nine-member board is composed: five Houston appointees, two from Commissioners Court and two from the fourteen multi-cities; two-year terms with an eight-year maximum; Mealer listed as the multi-cities' appointee.Government record - 1689(2) History for HB 4 — Relating to the composition of the districts for the election of members of the United States House of Representatives from the State of TexasTexas Legislature Online · 2025; accessed September 17, 2026
The 2025 congressional map: filed August 15, 2025; passed the House August 20 and the Senate August 23; signed by the Governor August 29, 2025; effective December 4, 2025. Author Hunter; Cain listed among the coauthors.Government record - 17Docket for 25-845, Abbott v. League of United Latin American CitizensSupreme Court of the United States · Docketed January 15, 2026; order of April 27, 2026
The appeal from the Western District of Texas decision of November 18, 2025; the Court's April 27, 2026 summary reversal, with Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson dissenting; judgment issued May 29, 2026.Government record - 18Lina Hidalgo faces tough reelection race for Harris County JudgeThe Texas Tribune (Joshua Fechter) · October 20, 2022
The 2022 race: Mealer's July 1 to September 29 fundraising of more than $4.9 million from her campaign finance report, the named donors, her spending against Hidalgo's, her rejection of the election-denier label and her statement that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.Independent reporting - 19GOP candidate Alexandra Mealer runs her campaign on the notion Hidalgo makes Harris County dangerousHouston Chronicle (Jen Rice) · October 19, 2022; updated October 20, 2022
The 2022 profile: born in Sacramento and raised by a single mother; West Point, the bomb squad and the Afghanistan surge; left the Army in 2012; Harvard degrees; Houston in 2016; age 38; the Heights; the $4.9 million summer of fundraising; the Castro photograph; her statements on 2020, certification and the Elections Administrator.Independent reporting - 20Alexandra del Moral Mealer concedes to Lina Hidalgo in Harris County Judge raceHouston Public Media · November 9, 2022
The concession the morning after the election; her resignation from an investment-banking job with Wells Fargo to run; the election-night margin before the official canvass.Independent reporting - 21GOP Harris County judge candidate contesting loss after election issuesThe Texas Tribune · January 6, 2023
The election contest: the request to be declared the winner or to void the election; her statement; the county attorney's response; a Rice University political scientist's assessment; twelve Republican contests filed by the deadline.Independent reporting - 22Former Harris County Republican candidate drops lawsuit challenging election resultsHouston Public Media · September 22, 2023
The nonsuit of September 21, 2023, her statement on X and the county attorney's reply; about twenty of 782 polling sites ran out of ballot paper, per the Houston Chronicle.Independent reporting - 23Judge orders Harris County to hold new election for 180th District Court judgeThe Texas Tribune · May 15, 2024
Judge David Peeples's ruling in the Pierce v. Jones contest: 1,430 illegal votes in a race decided by 449; the outcomes of the twenty other 2022 contests he heard. The ruling the Mealer campaign's biography refers to; it was not her case.Independent reporting - 24'No evidence' to support Republican-backed 2022 election challenge, says appeals courtHouston Chronicle (John Lomax V) · April 22, 2025
The 14th Court of Appeals opinion in the district clerk contest; twenty-one Republican contests, twenty resolved for the county officials and one judicial race ordered rerun; Hidalgo's reference to the dropped contest against her.Independent reporting - 25Sen. Ted Cruz and the Republican Party of Texas Name Alexandra Mealer as 2024 Victory ChairTed Cruz for Senate (campaign release) · October 9, 2023
The appointment to lead the state party's Victory Fund, with statements by Senator Cruz, Chairman Rinaldi and Mealer; the release's description of her family and background. A campaign's own material.Campaign or advocacy material - 26Texas GOP Victory Chair Resigns, Citing METRO Board Appointment and Family CommitmentsThe Texan (Brad Johnson) · May 16, 2024
Her resignation seven months into the role, her statement naming the METRO public-safety chairmanship, and the party's and the Cruz campaign's responses.Independent reporting - 27Former GOP Harris County Judge candidate Alex Mealer declares bid for redrawn 9th Congressional DistrictHouston Public Media (Kyle McClenagan) · August 25, 2025
The announcement, its 'dark horse' framing and the launch video with Jim McIngvale; Cain's announcement the prior week; the map awaiting the Governor's signature.Independent reporting - 28Meet the candidates for Texas' 9th Congressional District — a high-stakes battleground in 2026Houston Chronicle (Claire Goodman) · February 16, 2026
The candidate roundup: Mealer, 41, described as a small business owner, combat veteran and former oil and gas finance executive; she did not respond to the paper's requests for comment.Independent reporting - 29Briscoe Cain, Alex Mealer lead 9th Congressional District packThe Texas Tribune (Gabby Birenbaum) · February 5, 2026
The primary field, endorsements, fundraising and outside spending; the district's profile (Trump by 20 points in 2024; Cruz by 11; O'Rourke by 1 in 2018; turnout rank 33rd of 38); her Pasadena forum remarks on the Ship Channel; her move to Texas in 2016.Independent reporting - 30High-profile endorsements help Alex Mealer, Briscoe Cain lead crowded GOP primary field in redrawn TX-9Houston Public Media (Andrew Schneider) · February 17, 2026
The Liberty County forum of February 11, 2026; the Hobby School poll (Mealer 34, Cain 26, Mims 10, undecided 19); the residency exchange; her remarks on infrastructure and the port; Trump's Truth Social endorsement the evening of February 16.Independent reporting - 31President Donald Trump endorses Alex Mealer in Texas' 9th Congressional District raceHouston Chronicle (Claire Goodman) · February 17, 2026
The endorsement's wording as reported, Mealer's response, and the February 3–10 Hobby School survey.Independent reporting - 32Alex Mealer and Briscoe Cain headed to runoff in Republican primary for new TX-9Houston Public Media · March 3, 2026
Primary-night results (Mealer 36 percent, Cain 31.1 percent, Stockman 16.3 percent), the runoff rules and date, and Gutierrez's outright Democratic win.Independent reporting - 33Club for Growth PAC Congratulates Alex Mealer on Advancing to TX-09 Republican Primary RunoffClub for Growth PAC (press release) · March 4, 2026
The group's statement of support and its report that Club for Growth Action and Win It Back PAC spent over $750,000 on ads in the primary. Advocacy material.Campaign or advocacy material - 34U.S. Supreme Court allows Texas' newest congressional map to stand, nullifying claims of racial gerrymanderingHouston Public Media / The Texas Newsroom (Blaise Gainey) · April 27, 2026
The map's path from the Governor's signature to the district court's November ruling and the Supreme Court's reversal; reactions from the Governor's office and the House minority leader.Independent reporting - 35TX-09 GOP primary runoff: Alex Mealer vs. Briscoe CainThe Texas Tribune (Kayla Guo) · May 5, 2026
The runoff guide: district demographics (62.1 percent Hispanic; Trump 59.5 percent, Harris 39.6 percent in 2024); each candidate's fundraising, outside support, endorsements and stated policy positions.Independent reporting - 36Mealer defeats Cain for GOP nod in 9th Congressional DistrictThe Texas Tribune (Kayla Guo) · May 26, 2026
The runoff result and its context: her statement, the outside spending on both sides, the Colony Ridge and Paxton-impeachment attacks, Cain's concession post and her biography as the Tribune summarized it.Independent reporting - 37Alex Mealer beats Briscoe Cain for GOP nomination in new 9th Congressional DistrictHouston Public Media · May 26, 2026
Runoff-night figures (68.3 to 31.7 percent), the early-May Hobby School poll, her residence outside the district and stated intention to move, and the Democratic nominee's remarks.Independent reporting - 38Leticia Gutierrez for Congress District 9 (campaign home page)Leticia Gutierrez for Congress (campaign) · Accessed September 17, 2026
The Democratic nominee's self-description as an organizer and advocate of fifteen years. The opponent's own material.Campaign or advocacy material - 39Crime and partisanship are likely to be the main factors deciding the Harris County Judge's raceHouston Public Media (Andrew Schneider) · October 24, 2022
Her West Point graduation in 2007, service as an explosive ordnance disposal officer rising to captain, combat in Afghanistan, the Harvard degrees and a career in oil and gas finance; her 2022 pledge to fund 1,000 additional law enforcement positions.Independent reporting - 40Alexandra del Moral Mealer has 'no plans' to run for Harris County Judge in 2026Houston Chronicle (John Lomax V) · July 15, 2025
Her decision not to seek the county judgeship again; her final 2022 campaign finance report; the METRO appointment in March 2024 and the Public Safety Committee chairmanship as of July 2025, citing her X profile; her X post alleging widespread violations of the Election Code.Independent reporting - 41About METRO | Leadership | Board of DirectorsMetropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) · Accessed September 18, 2026
The authority's current board roster: nine members appointed by the City of Houston, Harris County or the multi-cities; Mealer no longer listed; the multi-cities' seat held by Robert A. Fry, Jr., chairman of the Public Safety, Customer Service, and Operations Committee.Government record - 42Independent expenditures by candidate — MEALER, ALEXANDRA (H6TX09140), 2026 cycleFederal Election Commission (OpenFEC public data service) · Accessed September 18, 2026
The Commission's aggregate of independent expenditures supporting or opposing the candidate, by committee, as processed on the access date; the same figures the FEC's candidate page displays under spending by others.Government record
No matching sources. Try “Clerk,” “Senate,” or “campaign.”
Scope & method. Reviewed September 17, 2026, with additional checks on September 18. Alex Mealer has never held elective office, so this profile contains no votes, bills or agency actions; it is a documented overview of her military, professional, civic and electoral record and her stated priorities. Her Army service was read from the campaign biography, a transit authority's release and press accounts, not from Defense Department records; her banking career from press accounts and the campaign; the METRO service from the authority's own publications and press accounts. The Harris County results were read from the Clerk's official cumulative reports, the 2026 results through the Secretary of State's results site, and outside spending through the Federal Election Commission's public data service. Her 2022 county campaign-finance reports, her candidate financial disclosure filed with the Clerk of the House, the election-contest pleadings, bar admission, degree years and bar records were not part of this review. The Ballotpedia entry and the independent race ratings on the Ledger's board could not be retrieved by the tools used here and are not cited. Numerical claims retain their original meaning and attribution. Filings and campaign pages may change after this review.
Images. Conservative Ledger masthead supplied by the site creator. No official government portrait exists for a candidate who holds no office, and no photograph of the candidate was found on Wikimedia Commons; the candidate portrait is therefore a campaign photograph published on alexandramealer.com, reproduced at reduced size pending the site owner's decision on its use, and credited beneath the image. Inclusion does not imply campaign authorization or endorsement of this publication.
Where to find the candidate
Every link below was read from the campaign’s own website or the candidate’s official government page. A follower count is printed only where it was measured; otherwise the link is published and the number is left blank rather than guessed at.
Voting in Texas: official dates, deadlines and rules
The general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The dates and rules below were read from the Texas Secretary of State; the authority's own page, linked beside each one, is the final word.
Dates and deadlines
- Voter registration deadlineMonday, October 5, 2026. An application counts if it is postmarked by that date or received in the county voter registrar's office by that date. A voter registration application filled out online must still be printed and sent to the county voter registrar's office. Read from: votetexas.gov/faq/registration.html
- Ballots sent to military and overseas (FPCA) votersSaturday, September 19, 2026 — deadline for county election officials to mail or email ballots to military and overseas voters who applied with a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA); for an FPCA received after that date, the ballot goes out no later than the seventh calendar day after it is received. This date applies to FPCA voters only. Read from: sos.texas.gov/elections/laws/advisory2026-03.shtml
- Early voting in person beginsMonday, October 19, 2026 — first day of early voting by personal appearance. Read from: votetexas.gov/faq/early-voting.html
- Early voting in person endsFriday, October 30, 2026 — last day of early voting by personal appearance. Read from: votetexas.gov/faq/early-voting.html
- Deadline to apply for a ballot by mail (received, not postmarked)Friday, October 23, 2026. The Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) must be received — not just postmarked — by the early voting clerk in the county where you are registered, before the close of regular business or 12 noon, whichever is later. Read from: votetexas.gov/voting-by-mail/application-for-ballot-by-mail.html
- Deadline to return a ballot by mail (received by)The early voting clerk must receive the ballot by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, if the carrier envelope is not postmarked; or by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 (the next business day), if the carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day at the location of the election. Different deadlines apply to overseas and military voters. Read from: sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/important-election-dates.shtml
- Polling place hours on Election Day7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, 2026, at all polling places statewide. Read from: votetexas.gov/voting/where.html
Rules to know
- What to bringVoters who have one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID must present it when voting in person: a Texas driver license, Texas Election Identification Certificate, Texas personal identification card or Texas handgun license issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS); a U.S. military ID card with photo; a U.S. citizenship certificate with photo; or a U.S. passport. For voters aged 18–69 the ID may be expired no more than four years; for voters 70 or older, for any length of time. A voter who does not have one of these and cannot reasonably obtain one may show a supporting form of ID — such as a voter registration certificate, current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck — and sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration. A voter who has an acceptable ID but does not bring it may vote provisionally and has six days to show it to the county voter registrar. Read from: votetexas.gov/voting/need-id.html
- Who may vote by mail and how to applyVoting by mail in Texas is limited to voters who are 65 or older on Election Day; sick or disabled; expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day; absent from their county of registration during the early voting period and on Election Day; civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code; or confined in jail but otherwise eligible. To ask for a ballot, send an Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) to the early voting clerk in the county where you are registered — in person, by mail, by common or contract carrier, or by fax or email (if faxed or emailed, the application must also be mailed so that the clerk receives it no later than the fourth business day after the clerk received the fax or email). VoteTexas.gov says a voter who applies because of an expected absence may apply in person before the period of early voting in person begins (Monday, October 19, 2026). The ABBM must include your Texas driver license, Texas personal ID or Election Identification Certificate number or, if you have none of these, the last four digits of your Social Security number. Read from: votetexas.gov/voting-by-mail/eligibility-requirements.html
- Early voting in personAny registered voter may vote early in person; no special qualification is required. From October 19 through October 30, 2026, you may vote at any early voting location in your county of registration. Hours vary by location. Early voting locations appear in the state's My Voter Portal two days before the first day of early voting, and the early voting clerk in your county can also provide them. Read from: votetexas.gov/faq/early-voting.html
- Track your ballot by mailAfter you send your ballot by mail to your county's early voting clerk, you can check its status in the Ballot by Mail Tracker on the Texas Secretary of State's My Voter Portal. To log in, enter your first and last name, your date of birth, the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your Texas driver license or DPS personal ID number. Read from: votetexas.gov/voting-by-mail/track-my-ballot.html
- Correcting a defect in a mail ballot application or carrier envelopeIf your Application for Ballot by Mail or your carrier envelope was rejected because the ID number was missing or did not match your voter registration record, you may correct the defect online through the Ballot by Mail Tracker. For other carrier-envelope defects — no signature, a signature mismatch, a missing Statement of Residence or incomplete witness information — complete the Corrective Action Form enclosed with the notice of defect and mail it back to the early voting clerk, or complete it in person at the clerk's office. You have until the 6th day after Election Day to correct the defect so that the ballot is counted. You may instead cancel the ballot by mail at an early voting or Election Day polling place and vote in person; without the mail ballot to surrender, the only option is a provisional ballot. Read from: votetexas.gov/voting-by-mail/corrective-action.html
Read from: Welcome to Texas Elections · Important Election Dates · November 3, 2026 Election Law Calendar · Current Elections Information List · Ballot Certification Report 2026 NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION November 03, 2026 · SAMPLE BALLOT (BOLETA DE MUESTRA) — Rules and dates as of Sep 17, 2026
Ideas, questions, corrections
If something on this page is wrong, out of date, or missing, the fastest way to get it fixed is to send the document. Corrections that arrive with a source are applied. Suggestions for what the Ledger should cover next are welcome on the same address. info@alexandramealer.com
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