Nathaniel Moran
Nathaniel Moran, a Republican attorney who has represented Texas's 1st congressional district since 2023 and previously served as Smith County judge, faces Democrat Yolanda Prince in his 2026 re-election race.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- September 23, 1974
- Birthplace
- Arizona
- Education
- Whitehouse High School (1993)
United States Military Academy
Texas Tech University (Bachelor of Arts in Russian, Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Nathaniel Moran was born a twin on September 23, 1974, in Arizona, to Marjorie McCall and Dale E. Moran. His parents moved to Smith County, Texas, to create a bible college, and his father later served on the city council and as mayor of Whitehouse.
Moran graduated from Whitehouse High School in 1993 and attended West Point for two years.
He then graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian, a Master of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor, and he worked as a teaching assistant in the Lubbock Independent School District. He and his wife, Kyna, have four children.
Career
Nathaniel Moran was active in Republican politics as a member of the College Republicans, a precinct chair and a convention delegate. In 2005 he was elected to the Tyler city council from the 5th district, succeeding term-limited Ron Shaffer, and he was re-elected without opposition in 2007.
He resigned in 2009 when his family moved to Houston so that his son, who had lost his hearing, could attend a special school.
In July 2016 the Smith County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to make Moran acting county judge after the suspension of Joel Baker, and he won the office in 2018 against Democrat Michael Mast.
When Representative Louie Gohmert chose to seek the Republican nomination for Texas attorney general, Moran announced his campaign for the 1st district on December 2, 2021. He won the Republican nomination and defeated Democrat Jrmar Jefferson in 2022, resigning as county judge on November 9, 2022.
In the 119th Congress he serves on the Committee on Ethics, the Committee on Ways and Means and the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
2026 race
Texas's 1st congressional district encompasses much of East Texas, including Tyler, Longview, Nacogdoches and Texarkana. Nathaniel Moran, who was re-elected unopposed in 2024, was again unopposed in the 2026 Republican primary, receiving 80,547 votes.
His Democratic opponent is Yolanda Prince, a project manager who won her party's nomination in a runoff against software developer Dax Alexander with 72.3% of the vote. Independent Sonia Canciola is also on the general election ballot, and voters decide the race on November 3, 2026.