Is it possible for a Republican to win in UT and West Campus\u2019s Austin-based 37th Congressional District?<\/p>\n
Since its creation in 2021, the district has sent a Democrat to Congress in each election with an average of about three-quarters of the vote. In a Thursday interview with the Texan, Lauren B. Pe\u00f1a, the Republican Party\u2019s 2026 nominee for the district, said there is a difference between those elections and the one that will take place in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has never been a Republican contender that\u2019s fought this hard,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cI\u2019m not here because a party wanted me. I\u2019m here because my constituents need me, and I need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A mother of six and a constitutional conservative according to her website, Pe\u00f1a said she is not a traditional Republican candidate. She said she moved to public housing in 2020 after escaping human trafficking and has advocated in front of city officials and the state legislature for better conditions.<\/p>\n
At the center of her campaign is an allegation that the elected Democrats who represent Austin have not been responsive enough to those concerns, including inaccessibility concerns for her disabled and elderly neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like oftentimes the (Democratic) Party here in Austin, and our elected officials, they claim I\u2019m the exact demographic that they care about,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cSo it\u2019s concerning that if I\u2019m that exact demographic, why do you not care what I have to say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pe\u00f1a faces challenges beyond the district\u2019s Democratic lean. Her opponent, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, who is running for this district after Republicans in the state legislature redrew<\/a> his old district in 2025, has raised nearly 10 times the amount of money Pe\u00f1a has, according to the latest available filings with the Federal Election Commission.<\/p>\n Casar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Pe\u00f1a said she supports efforts to limit the federal government\u2019s role in funding universities and give that authority to the states. She also favors limiting higher education programs that do not result in high-paying jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can level the playing field somehow, but that takes things coming from an unbiased perspective,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cThe way we do that is we send the funds to the states because they\u2019re going to have a better understanding of where the money needs to go.\u201d<\/p>\n