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Our verdict

LiberalMind endorses August Pfluger

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and voting is already underway in Texas. This is the whole race — the records, the claims against each candidate, and what the sources actually show. Read the research, and decide which flaw you can live with.

The setup

Texas's 11th District — Midland–Odessa, San Angelo, and the Permian Basin — is held by incumbent Rep. August Pfluger (R), first elected in 2020. His challenger is Claire Reynolds (D).

On the lean: no verified new-map baseline was located in the sources consulted for this district, and no old-map number is printed here as a substitute. What the file establishes is the seat itself: a deeply Republican Permian seat held by the incumbent.

August Pfluger (Republican)

The record: Pfluger served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot and squadron commander, retired as a colonel (February 1, 2026), flew the F-22, and served on National Security Council staff. He is a seventh-generation Texan with a family ranching business, and he founded a Permian Basin energy investment company.

Pros: A long, checkable record: 26 years of Air Force service at command level, national-security staff experience, and direct ties to the ranching and energy economy this district runs on — plus a term-by-term record in Congress since 2020 for voters to audit.

Cons: An incumbent's record is also the case against him for any voter who disagrees with how he has used the seat since 2020. The file located no specific documented break or scandal to print beyond that ordinary accountability.

The flaw, plainly: Pfluger's flaw, if a voter finds one, is in a record that is fully on display — there is no hidden file here. He asks to be judged on service rendered, in uniform and in Congress.

Claire Reynolds (Democratic)

The record: Reynolds holds a journalism degree from Northwestern's Medill school and a law degree from the University of San Diego, and has lived in Texas since 2007 — campaign biography as compiled by The Ballot Brief. No prior elected office was located.

Pros: Training in both journalism and law, and nearly two decades living in Texas.

Cons: No service record exists in which a break with her party toward our values could be documented — the Manchin test reads service, and there is none here. What she offers is her party's program in the Permian Basin.

The flaw, plainly: Reynolds asks voters to replace a six-year incumbent with a campaign biography and no elected record. There is nothing else in the file to weigh.

OUR CALL

LiberalMind endorses August Pfluger.

An incumbent with 26 years of military service and a congressional record voters can check line by line, against a challenger with no prior elected office located and no documented break toward our values. The arithmetic of the seat is not printed here because no verified new-map baseline was located — the records alone decide this one, and they are not close.

This race is one of hundreds in LiberalMind's Election 2026 coverage. For the complete breakdown — every race, claim by claim — go to liberalmindhq.com.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Winner: August Lee Pfluger II (Republican) — called by the Associated Press. This result was appended on November 4, 2026 (results wave 1); the original article above is unchanged, exactly as published before Election Day.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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