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Candidates › TX-37 race › 2025–2026
Lauren Peña
R Republican nominee for U.S. House, TX-37
Has not served in Congress
- On the ballot
- On the general election ballotNov 3, 2026 · Texas US House 37
- Where to vote
- Find your polling place (opens in a new tab) · More ways to vote
- Top priorities
- Fighting For Texas
- SAFE NIGHTS ACT
- SODA ACT
- Medical Freedom
- 2nd Amendment Rights
- Money
- $132.2K raised, $127.7K spent, $4.5K cash on hand (through Oct 14, 2026). Where it comes from
- Who gives
- 82% of individual money from donors at $200 or less · 58% from Texas · largest committee giver TRAVIS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY FEDERAL COMMITTEE, $5K
27 priorities from lauren4congress.com, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
Washington has been robbing taxpayers for decades. Lauren will audit every agency, expose the fraud, and prosecute the corrupt.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Your tax dollars are being stolen. Lauren will stop it.
- ✓Audit every federal agency for fraud, waste, and abuse
- ✓Prosecute government officials who misuse taxpayer funds
- ✓Demand full transparency on all federal spending and contracts
- ✓Expose Congressional corruption and conflicts of interest
- ✓Support the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) mission
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Texas is an energy powerhouse. Lauren will cut the regulations strangling our energy sector and lower costs for every family.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Texas is the energy capital of the world. Let's act like it.
- ✓Eliminate federal regulations strangling Texas energy production
- ✓Oppose Green New Deal mandates that raise electricity costs
- ✓Expand LNG exports to strengthen Texas energy economy
- ✓Protect ERCOT independence from federal overreach
- ✓Support nuclear energy as a clean, reliable baseload power source
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Faith, family, and freedom are not negotiable. Lauren will defend parental rights, school choice, and the values that built Texas.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Parents — not the government — raise children.
- ✓Expand school choice and education savings accounts
- ✓Oppose gender ideology in K-12 public schools
- ✓Defend parental notification rights in all medical decisions
- ✓Protect children from inappropriate content in school libraries
- ✓Support homeschooling families and private school options
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
As a survivor herself, Lauren will fight harder than anyone to end human trafficking. The SAFE NIGHTS Act is her first bill.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Written by a survivor. Designed to end it.
- ✓Pass the SAFE NIGHTS Act — targeting trafficking in nightlife venues
- ✓Pass the SODA Act — ending legal protections for predators
- ✓Increase federal funding for survivor support services
- ✓Mandate trafficking awareness training in hospitality industries
- ✓Strengthen penalties for trafficking across state lines
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Expose Congressional misconduct. Release the Epstein files. End the two-tiered justice system. Lauren will not stay silent.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
The American people deserve the truth.
- ✓Release the full Epstein client list — no redactions
- ✓Expose and prosecute Congressional sexual misconduct
- ✓Audit all federal agencies for waste, fraud, and abuse
- ✓Term limits for Congress — 12 years maximum
- ✓Require all Congressional stock trades to be disclosed in real time
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
The men and women who served this country deserve world-class care, not bureaucratic neglect. Lauren will make veterans a priority.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
They served us. We owe them everything.
- ✓Expand VA mental health services — end veteran suicide epidemic
- ✓Streamline VA benefits claims — no veteran waits more than 30 days
- ✓Increase veteran hiring preferences in federal contracting
- ✓Oppose any cuts to veteran pension and disability benefits
- ✓Fund veteran housing assistance programs
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Austin rents up 60%. Median home price over $550K. Lauren will cut federal spending driving inflation and fight to make Austin affordable for every family.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Austin has become a testing ground for national progressive political experiments while working families get priced out. Lauren B. Peña will fight to reverse the policies destroying affordability in our city and bring relief to every Texas family.
Austin used to be the city where you could build a life. Now it's the city where you can barely afford to stay. Rents have doubled. Grocery bills have exploded. Small businesses are closing. And the politicians responsible keep getting re-elected. That ends November 3rd.
Since 2019, the median rent in Austin has increased by over 60%. The median home price has surpassed $550,000 — pricing out teachers, nurses, firefighters, and the working families who built this city. Austin has gone from one of the most affordable major cities in America to one of the fastest-rising cost-of-living metros in the country.
This didn't happen by accident. It happened because of deliberate policy choices made by career politicians like Greg Casar who prioritized ideological experiments over practical results. Casar's "People's Budget" defunded the Austin Police Department by $150 million — driving up crime, scaring away businesses, and accelerating the exodus of middle-class families who no longer felt safe.
Meanwhile, federal spending under the progressive agenda has poured gasoline on inflation. Every dollar of wasteful federal spending is a tax on every family's grocery bill, rent check, and utility payment. Lauren B. Peña will vote against bloated spending bills, fight for regulatory relief that reduces the cost of housing construction, and push for policies that bring real economic relief — not government dependency.
The solution isn't more government programs. It's getting government out of the way. Deregulate housing construction. Cut the red tape strangling small businesses. Stop the federal spending that drives inflation. And hold accountable the politicians who turned Austin from a city of opportunity into a city of unaffordability.
Lauren B. Peña grew up knowing what it means to struggle financially. She didn't come from wealth or political connections. She came from the streets of Austin — and she knows exactly what it costs when politicians play games with people's lives. When she gets to Congress, she will fight every single day to make Austin affordable again.
If you can't afford to live here, nothing else matters. Austin is becoming unaffordable for the very people who built it — and I'm running to fix that.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/austin-affordability
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Casar cut $150M from Austin PD. Crime hit a 30-year high. Lauren will restore full law enforcement funding and make Austin safe again.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
As a trafficking survivor, Lauren will champion the SAFE NIGHTS Act, fight for parental rights, and protect Austin's children from every threat.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Stops human trafficking where it hides
Targets the nightlife and entertainment industries where trafficking operates in plain sight. Mandatory reporting, enhanced penalties, and real enforcement — written by a survivor who lived it.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
Safeguarding Against Forced Exploitation in Nightlife Through Hiring Standards ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com/legislation at this heading)
Adult entertainment venues — including bars, clubs, and strip clubs — are routinely used to exploit minors, undocumented individuals, and vulnerable Americans through misclassification, cash labor, and coercive working conditions. Lauren knows this because she lived it.
The SAFE NIGHTS Act would require workers in these establishments to be classified as employees, not independent contractors. Employee classification requires lawful identity and age verification, creates documentation that helps prevent exploitation, and enforces labor standards — including the 40-hour work week — making forced confinement easier to detect.
"I saw women and girls, some minors, some from other countries, trapped in these places for weeks at a time. Armed men. Showers. Rooms. Patrons had no idea that what was entertainment to them was terror to us. It was so normalized that I did not even know it was trafficking. That is how this crime survives."
This is not about shaming workers. This is about cutting traffickers off from their business model. If you are a survivor, an advocate, or an organization fighting human trafficking, Lauren encourages you to reach out. Together, we can pass this essential bill.
Creates documentation that helps prevent exploitation of minors and undocumented workers
Exposes 24-hour venues operating with beds, showers, and living quarters where individuals are kept against their will
Reduces welfare fraud by closing the under-the-table income loophole
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/legislation
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Ends special treatment for predators
Eliminates the legal loopholes and congressional protections that shield predators from accountability. If you exploit someone, you face the full weight of the law. Period.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com
The SODA Act (Stopping Official Deference to Abusers) eliminates the legal loopholes and institutional protections that allow powerful people — including members of Congress — to escape accountability for sexual misconduct and exploitation.
The Congressional Accountability Act currently allows members of Congress to settle sexual misconduct claims using taxpayer funds while keeping the victims silent. The SODA Act ends this practice, requires full public disclosure of all settlements, and removes congressional immunity from civil suits related to sexual misconduct.
Eliminate taxpayer-funded congressional misconduct settlements
Require full public disclosure of all congressional misconduct claims
Remove congressional immunity from sexual misconduct civil suits
Mandate independent ethics investigations — no self-policing
Permanent ban from federal office for convicted predators
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/legislation
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Your body, your choice — for real this time.
- ✓Oppose federal vaccine mandates of any kind
- ✓Protect the doctor-patient relationship from government interference
- ✓Support informed consent in all medical procedures
- ✓Investigate COVID-19 origins and federal agency responses
- ✓End pharmaceutical company immunity from liability
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com/issues ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com/issues at this heading)
Shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed.
- ✓Oppose all federal red flag laws
- ✓Oppose universal background check mandates
- ✓Protect concealed carry reciprocity across state lines
- ✓Oppose any assault weapons ban
- ✓Support constitutional carry nationwide
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com/issues ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com/issues at this heading)
1.Cut federal spending that drives inflation
Every wasteful federal dollar is a hidden tax on Austin families. Lauren will vote against bloated omnibus bills and demand a return to fiscal discipline that reduces inflationary pressure on everyday costs.
2.Deregulate housing construction
Federal regulations add an estimated $93,000 to the cost of every new home. Lauren will push to streamline permitting, reduce compliance burdens, and free up land for affordable housing development.
3.Protect small businesses from regulatory overreach
Austin's small businesses are being strangled by federal mandates, minimum wage hikes, and compliance costs that large corporations can absorb but small operators cannot. Lauren will fight for regulatory relief.
4.Oppose policies that drive businesses out of Austin
When businesses leave Austin, jobs leave with them. Lauren will oppose the progressive tax-and-regulate agenda that has driven major employers out of the city and replaced them with nothing.
5.Hold politicians accountable for the affordability crisis
Greg Casar helped create this crisis from the Austin City Council and has continued it in Congress. Lauren will name the policies, name the votes, and name the politicians responsible — and offer a real alternative.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/austin-affordability
Heading as listed on lauren4congress.com/issues/austin-affordability ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com/issues/austin-affordability at this heading) · “Make Austin Affordable Again” on lauren4congress.com ↗ (opens lauren4congress.com at this heading)
Washington has been robbing American taxpayers for decades. Lauren B. Peña will go to Congress to audit, expose, and prosecute every dollar stolen from the American people.
The federal government wastes trillions of dollars every year through fraud, abuse, and outright corruption. While working families struggle to pay their bills, career politicians and their cronies line their pockets with taxpayer money. Lauren B. Peña will not stand for it.
The federal government spent over $6.1 trillion in fiscal year 2023 — yet independent watchdogs have identified hundreds of billions in improper payments, fraudulent contracts, and outright waste. The Pentagon has failed its audit for six consecutive years. FEMA has paid billions to fraudulent disaster relief claims. The IRS sends refund checks to dead people. This is not incompetence — it is a system designed to benefit insiders at the expense of taxpayers.
Congressional corruption is equally rampant. Members of Congress routinely trade stocks based on insider knowledge from committee hearings, award contracts to donors, and use campaign funds as personal slush funds. The revolving door between Congress and K Street lobbyists has turned Washington into a pay-to-play operation that serves the donor class, not the American people.
Lauren B. Peña has seen government failure up close — not from a boardroom, but from the streets. She knows what it means when government money meant to help people disappears into the pockets of bureaucrats and contractors. She will bring that perspective to Congress and use it to hold every agency accountable.
Lauren supports the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) mission and will work alongside it to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, fraudulent programs, and bloated bureaucracies. Real accountability means real consequences — not just headlines.
Washington doesn't have a revenue problem. It has a corruption problem. I'm going to Congress to fix it.
— Lauren B. Peña
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/border-security
1.Audit every federal agency
Mandate annual independent audits of all federal departments and publish results publicly. Agencies that fail audits face immediate budget freezes until deficiencies are corrected.
2.Prosecute fraud and abuse
Refer all credible cases of government fraud to the DOJ for criminal prosecution. Government officials who steal from taxpayers must face the same consequences as anyone else.
3.Full spending transparency
Require real-time public disclosure of all federal contracts, grants, and expenditures over $10,000 on a searchable public database.
4.End Congressional insider trading
Ban all members of Congress and their immediate families from trading individual stocks while in office. Require blind trusts for all investments.
5.Support DOGE and government efficiency reforms
Work alongside the Department of Government Efficiency to identify redundant programs, eliminate waste, and return savings to taxpayers through debt reduction and tax relief.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/border-security
Texas is the energy capital of America. Lauren B. Peña will fight to unleash American energy production, slash utility bills for Texas families, and end the radical green agenda destroying our grid.
Texas families are paying more for electricity, gasoline, and natural gas than at any point in a generation — not because of market forces, but because of deliberate policy choices made in Washington. Lauren B. Peña will reverse every one of them.
The average Texas household now spends over $3,200 per year on energy — a 40% increase since 2020. This is not an accident. It is the direct result of federal policies that have restricted domestic oil and gas production, blocked pipeline infrastructure, and poured billions into unreliable wind and solar projects that failed catastrophically during Winter Storm Uri.
Texas has the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the continental United States. We have the infrastructure, the workforce, and the geology to power not just America but the world. What we don't have is a federal government that will get out of the way.
Lauren B. Peña will vote to open federal lands to responsible energy development, approve pipeline infrastructure that has been blocked for years, and repeal the Biden-era regulations that have added billions in compliance costs to Texas energy producers — costs that are passed directly to consumers.
She will also fight to protect the Texas power grid from federal overreach. ERCOT is a Texas institution, and Washington bureaucrats who have never lived through a Texas summer have no business dictating how we manage our electricity. Lauren will push back against any federal attempt to force renewable mandates on Texas ratepayers.
Texas sits on top of the most valuable energy reserves in the world, and Washington is making us pay more for electricity every month. That ends when I get to Congress.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/energy-costs
1.Open federal lands to responsible energy development
Reverse the Biden-era leasing moratoriums and restore full permitting access for oil, gas, and LNG development on federal lands.
2.Approve blocked pipeline infrastructure
Fast-track approval for pipeline projects that have been delayed for years by regulatory obstruction, reducing transportation costs and increasing supply.
3.Repeal anti-energy regulations
Roll back the EPA regulations and methane rules that have added billions in compliance costs to Texas producers — costs passed directly to consumers.
4.Protect ERCOT from federal mandates
Block any federal attempt to impose renewable portfolio standards or grid management mandates on the Texas electricity market.
5.Expand LNG export capacity
Support the expansion of liquefied natural gas export terminals, creating Texas jobs and strengthening American energy diplomacy globally.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/energy-costs
Jeffrey Epstein ran a trafficking network that reached the highest levels of government, finance, and media. The American people deserve the full truth — unredacted, without exception. Lauren B. Peña will demand it.
Files must be released — no redactions
Powerful co-conspirators held accountable
The cover-up has lasted
Candidate demanding full transparency
The Epstein files are not a conspiracy theory. They are a documented trafficking network with documented victims, documented flight logs, and documented connections to some of the most powerful people in the world. The cover-up is the scandal. Lauren B. Peña will end it.
Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of sex trafficking. He ran a private island, a private jet — the 'Lolita Express' — and a network of properties used to exploit young women and girls for the benefit of powerful men. He died in federal custody under circumstances that remain deeply suspicious. And the full list of his clients, associates, and co-conspirators has never been made public.
As a human trafficking survivor, Lauren B. Peña has a personal and visceral stake in this issue. She knows what trafficking looks like. She knows how powerful men use money and influence to avoid accountability. And she knows that the only way to protect future victims is to expose the networks that enable trafficking — no matter how powerful the people involved.
The Epstein flight logs, visitor records, and investigative files contain the names of individuals who have never faced accountability. Some of those individuals may currently hold positions of power in government, media, and finance. The American people have a right to know who they are.
Lauren will introduce legislation requiring the full and unredacted release of all Epstein-related federal investigative files, flight logs, and visitor records. She will push for a congressional investigation with subpoena power. And she will not be intimidated by the powerful interests who want these files to stay buried.
This is not a partisan issue. Child exploitation is not a Republican or Democrat problem — it is a human problem. And the cover-up of that exploitation by powerful people is a threat to the rule of law itself.
I survived trafficking. I know what it means when powerful people protect each other instead of protecting victims. The Epstein files need to come out — all of them. Every name. Every flight. Every visit. The truth is not negotiable.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/epstein-files
1.Introduce legislation mandating full file release
Require the unredacted release of all federal Epstein investigative files, flight logs, visitor records, and communications — with no exceptions for powerful individuals.
2.Establish a congressional investigation with subpoena power
Create a select committee with full subpoena authority to compel testimony from individuals named in Epstein's network, regardless of their current position or political affiliation.
3.Demand accountability for the cover-up
Investigate how Epstein received a sweetheart plea deal in 2008, how he died in federal custody, and who in government facilitated the suppression of this case.
4.Strengthen trafficking prosecution for the powerful
Close the legal loopholes that have historically allowed wealthy and connected individuals to receive lighter sentences for trafficking-related offenses than ordinary Americans.
5.Protect whistleblowers who come forward
Strengthen federal whistleblower protections for individuals with knowledge of trafficking networks involving powerful figures, ensuring they can come forward without fear of retaliation.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · lauren4congress.com/issues/epstein-files