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Lance Gooden

U.S. House · TX-5 · Republicans · since 2025

also

Candidate for U.S. House · TX-5

Target Lance

Biography

Overview

Lance Gooden is a Republican U.S. Representative from Texas's 5th congressional district, serving since 2019. Born December 1, 1982, in Terrell, Kaufman County, he holds degrees in government and finance from the University of Texas at Austin. Before his 2018 election to Congress, Gooden served in the Texas State House representing the 4th district (2011–2015, 2017–2018), though he lost a reelection bid in 2014. His district encompasses parts of eastern Dallas and surrounding exurban and rural areas.

Career

In Congress, Gooden has focused on immigration enforcement, border security, and China-related threats. He co-sponsored legislation to criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth and did not vote for the Respect for Marriage Act. He voted to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force and opposed the $60 billion Ukraine military aid package. He has been critical of the United Nations and co-chairs the Congressional Brazil Caucus. In 2021, he filed an ethics complaint response regarding stock disclosures and gained attention for changing his vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which he claimed was accidental.

Prior political experience

Gooden was first elected to Congress in 2018, winning the general election with 62.7% of the vote. He was reelected in 2020 with 62% of the vote. His state legislative record shows: he upset six-term incumbent Betty Brown in the 2010 Republican primary with 50.5% of the vote; won his second term unopposed in 2012; lost reelection in 2014 to Stuart Spitzer but defeated Spitzer in the 2016 primary with 51.8% of the vote, returning to the state house in 2017.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress+0.717

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
-0.051
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 344 scored votes

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Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
4thU.S. House TX-52025–presentIn progressLance Gooden—
3rdU.S. House TX-52023–2025Term endedLance GoodenLance Gooden
2ndU.S. House TX-52021–2023Term endedLance GoodenLance Gooden
1stU.S. House TX-52019–2021Term endedPete SessionsLance Gooden

Committee assignments

  • The Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust
    House· 2025–present
  • Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet
    House· 2025–present
  • Tactical Air and Land Forces
    House· 2025–present
  • Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation
    House· 2025–present
  • Seapower and Projection Forces
    House· 2025–present
  • House Committee on the Judiciary
    House· 2025–present
  • House Committee on Armed Services
    House· 2025–present

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
2024U.S. House TX-5Won50.00%