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Updated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
Democratic · 3 November 2026
Joaquin Castro
U.S. Representative for Texas's 20th congressional district (since 2013)
Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who has represented Texas's 20th congressional district since 2013 and previously served in the Texas House, is seeking reelection in 2026 against Republican Edgardo Baez, an attorney.
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Recent media coverage for Joaquin Castro.
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Meet Edgardo Báez, who's running to unseat Rep. Joaquin Castro
Though he’ll take every seat he can get while trying to hold onto a narrow U.S. House majority, even Speaker of the House Mike Johnson doesn’t seem to have confidence that CD20 is flippable .
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Reelection all but secure, Joaquin Castro focuses on immigration
In 2002, when he was 28, Castro ran for Texas’ 125th House district seat, and in the Democratic primary, defeated incumbent Arthur Reyna. In the general election, he defeated Republic nominee Nelson Balido.
No story this week names this candidate.
- Born
- September 16, 1974
- Birthplace
- San Antonio, Texas
- Education
- Thomas Jefferson High School
Stanford University (Bachelor of Arts in political science and communications)
Harvard Law School (Juris Doctor)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Joaquin Castro was born on September 16, 1974, and was raised in San Antonio, where he attended Thomas Jefferson High School. He is the identical twin brother of Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, and was born a minute after him.
His father, Jessie Guzman, is a retired mathematics teacher, and his mother, Rosie Castro, is a community activist. Castro graduated with honors from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and communications and earned a Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School.
The brothers worked at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before starting their own firm in 2005. Castro and his wife, Anna Flores, have three children.
Career
Castro was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2002, at age 28, after defeating incumbent Arthur Reyna 64% to 36% in the Democratic primary. He represented the 125th district from 2003 to 2013 and served as vice chair of the Higher Education Committee.
After first announcing a run for the newly drawn 35th district in June 2011, Castro switched to the 20th district when its representative, Charlie Gonzalez, announced his retirement; he was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and defeated Republican David Rosa 64% to 34% in November 2012.
Castro was sworn in on January 3, 2013. He was named a chief deputy whip in the 114th Congress and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 116th Congress. In January 2021 he was named an impeachment manager for President Trump's second impeachment trial. He serves on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he is ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
2026 race
Castro is the Democratic incumbent in Texas's 20th congressional district, which covers downtown San Antonio and extends east to Kirby and west to Leon Valley; he was re-elected unopposed in 2024. In the Democratic primary he won 88.2% of the vote against teacher Kendra Wilkerson and professor John Atwood. In the general election on November 3, 2026, he faces Republican Edgardo Baez, an attorney who was unopposed in the Republican primary.