Michael Cloud

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Michael Cloud was born on May 13, 1975. He graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in mass media communications, and he competed on the university's cross country and track teams. His wife was naturalized, a process that took her seven years.

Career

Before entering Congress, Cloud chaired the Victoria County Republican Party from 2010 to 2017. In 2018 he won the Republican runoff for the 27th district seat held by Blake Farenthold, who resigned after settling a sexual harassment lawsuit with public money.

On June 30, 2018, Cloud won the special election to succeed Farenthold, defeating Democrat Eric Holguin, 55% to 32%, and he was sworn in on July 10, 2018. He defeated Holguin again that November with 60.3% of the vote and was re-elected in 2020 with 63.1%.

In the House, Cloud serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and he is a member of the House Department of Government Efficiency Committee. He belongs to the Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee. On January 3, 2023, at the start of the 118th Congress, he voted for Jim Jordan for speaker, and in January 2026 he was named a founding member of the Sharia Free America Caucus.

2026 race

Michael Cloud is seeking re-election in the 27th district, which stretches across the Coastal Bend from Corpus Christi and Port Aransas through Victoria to the southern and eastern suburbs of Austin. He was re-elected there with 66.0% of the vote in 2024.

In the 2026 Republican primary he won 73.0% of the vote against U.S. Army veteran Chris Hatley.

In the November 3, 2026, general election Cloud faces Democrat Tanya Lloyd, a teacher and the party's 2024 nominee for the district, and independent Dan McQueen, a former mayor of Corpus Christi, also appears on the general election ballot.