Who's In the Race

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) faces Democrat Casey Shepard in the Nov. 3 general election in Texas's 17th District. Texas redrew its congressional district boundaries in August 2025, and voters will use the new map in 2026. ​

Sessions is a Waco native who previously served in Congress from 1997 through 2019 and returned in 2021. He ran unopposed in the March 3 Republican primary.

Shepard is a Waco-based attorney who has practiced in Central Texas since 2011, focusing on indigent criminal defense, and is a seventh-generation Texan. He won the May 26 Democratic primary runoff with about 60 percent of the vote over Milah Flores.

What They Stand For

Sessions has supported border security measures and holding those responsible for border security accountable, according to his official House website. He's also supported:

  • Domestic energy production to achieve energy independence, while encouraging private investment in alternative fuels,
  • Patient-centered, market-based health care solutions intended to lower costs and increase options; and
  • a Waco native who served in Congress from 1997 through 2019 and returned in 2021.

Shepard has proposed protecting the separation of powers so Congress can fully check actions by the executive branch, according to his campaign website. He's also supported:

  • Changing immigration policy to allow more trained medical workers to legally serve communities,
  • Ending tariffs to lower construction costs and grow the workforce; and
  • Encouraging new housing development through tax incentives, according to the SMU Daily Campus.

The Money Behind the Race

Through June 30, Sessions had raised about $1.05 million and had about $934,000 in the bank, dwarfing Shepard, who had raised about $8,800 and had about $3,145 on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Shepard carried $5,000 in debt as of that date, more than half of his total receipts. Outside groups have spent a negligible amount in the race: the Texas Alliance for Life Fed PAC reported about $54 in completed independent expenditures supporting Sessions through Sept. 30, well below the threshold for a material outside-spending presence.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

Cook Political Report rated the race Solid Republican as of Oct. 9; Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it Solid Republican as of Oct. 11; and Inside Elections rated it Solid Republican as of Oct. 2. Kalshi traders gave Republicans, whose nominee is Sessions, a 96.05% chance of winning as of Oct. 14, with Democrats, whose nominee is Shepard, at 3.95%.

Sessions carried the district with about 66% of the vote in both 2022 and 2024, showing consistent Republican dominance. Republicans won 25 of Texas's 38 U.S. House seats, and Democrats won 13 in both 2022 and 2024. Donald Trump carried Texas in the 2024 presidential election with about 56% of the vote.

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