Padilla Stout Wins Texas 23rd District Seat
Democrat Katy Padilla Stout won the 23rd Congressional District and joined the Congressional Progressive Caucus after succeeding Republican Tony Gonzales.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Elections
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Democrat Katy Padilla Stout won Texas's 23rd Congressional District, a seat vacant since former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned in April after an affair with a staffer. She joined leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Sunday and will be sworn in on January 3.
Why it matters
The district stretches west from San Antonio into rural Texas and would have supported Donald Trump by roughly 15 percentage points under its current boundaries. Its flip highlights how a redrawn map and a polarizing opponent can reshape a race, and it leaves about 800,000 Texans without representation until the new term begins.
The district was redrawn redder after the 2020 Census, and Trump's margin under the old boundaries was roughly 15 percentage points. Gov. Greg Abbott declined to call a special election, leaving the seat empty for roughly 800,000 residents until the January 3 swearing-in.
The players
Katy Padilla Stout
Democrat who won Texas's 23rd Congressional District and has named Peter Clerkin her chief of staff.
Tony Gonzales
Former Republican U.S. representative whose resignation earlier this year after an affair with a staffer left the seat vacant.
Greg Abbott
Governor of Texas who declined to call a special election to fill the vacant 23rd District seat.
The details
Padilla Stout capitalized on a polarizing opponent, gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera, and national Democrats sent money to the district for the first time in several cycles. Democrats had removed the seat from their target map after redistricting, and she was recruited to take advantage of potential Republican turmoil.
Timeline
April 2026: Gonzales resigned, leaving the seat vacant.
Nov. 4, 2026: Padilla Stout held a press conference after the election.
Nov. 8, 2026: Padilla Stout joined Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders.
January 3, 2027: Padilla Stout is scheduled to be sworn in.
Season Trajectory
The 23rd District was taken off Democrats' target map after the redistricting that followed the 2020 Census made it redder. Padilla Stout's win shows that a boundary change alone does not settle a race when the opposing candidate is polarizing.
Residents of the 23rd District have had no congressional representative since April, and the seat will remain filled by a new member only after the January 3 swearing-in. Whether a special election will be held before then has not been resolved by the governor.
The takeaway
A redrawn map gives a party a structural edge, but a single candidate and a single opponent's weaknesses can still decide the outcome. Watch how the Congressional Progressive Caucus uses its expanded role in the new Congress.
What happens next
Padilla Stout is scheduled to be sworn in on January 3, 2027.
Further reading
For more on how seats like this change hands, see Elections coverage across Texas.
Source note: This article includes information reported by San Antonio Report.
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