Former Harris County judge candidate Alex Mealer and state Rep. Briscoe Cain are facing off in the Republican runoff for Texas’ 9th Congressional District, a newly drawn red-leaning seat in east Harris County that includes some of the state’s major industry powerhouses.
Mealer and Cain finished atop a nine-person field in the March 3 Republican primary, but neither cleared the 50% threshold to win the nomination outright. Whoever wins the May 26 runoff will face Leticia Gutierrez, a community organizer and the Democratic nominee.
The district is one of five previously blue seats Texas Republicans redrew last summer to favor the GOP. Democrat U.S. Rep. Al Green currently represents the 9th District; with the new lines encompassing almost entirely new territory, Green is running instead in the neighboring 18th District.
