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T.C. Manning

From Ballotpedia
This candidate is participating in a 2026 battleground election.Click here to read more about that election.
T.C. Manning
Image of T.C. Manning

Candidate, U.S. House Texas District 2

Elections and appointments
Next election

March 3, 2026

Military

Years of service

2003 - 2010

Personal
Birthplace
Ponca City, Okla.
Religion
Christian
Contact

T.C. Manning (Republican Party) is running for election to theU.S. House to representTexas' 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled onMarch 3, 2026.[source]

Biography

T.C. Manning was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Navy from 2003 to 2010. Ponca pursued his undergraduate education at Lone Star College, Central Texas College, and Tulsa Community College.[1]

2026 battleground election

See also:Texas' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Republican primary)

Ballotpedia identified the March 3, 2026, Republican primary as abattleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election,found here.

IncumbentDaniel Crenshaw (R),Steve Toth (R), and four other candidates are running in the Republican primary forTexas' 2nd Congressional District on March 3, 2026. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025. As of November 2025, Crenshaw and Toth led infundraising and local media attention.[2]

According to theHouston Chronicle's Jeremy Wallace, Crenshaw, who media outlets described as a rising star in the GOP after he was first elected, "has the power of incumbency and is one of the most recognizable members of Congress."[3] Toth is a state representative who theTexas Tribune's Gabby Birenbaum described as "aligned with the rightmost faction of the Texas Legislature...by far the best-known primary opponent Crenshaw has faced in his career."[2] Crenshaw defeatedJameson Ellis (R) 75%–17% and 60%–40% in the2022 and2024 primaries.

Crenshaw was elected to the House in2018 and is a U.S. Navy veteran. He is running on his record which he says includes bringing flood mitigation funding to the district and "leading the fight in Congress to defeat the Mexican drug cartels". Crenshaw says he stands for "common sense policies that ensure our nation’s prosperity and security, represent our Foundational values, and give Texans a reason to once again be proud of their leaders."[4]

Toth was elected to theTexas House of Representatives in 2012. He ran unsuccessfully forstate Senate in 2014 andU.S. House in 2016 before being re-elected to the state House in 2018. He is running on his record as a state legislator, which he says includes "banning both Critical Race Theory and Social Transitioning of Children in Texas schools" and securing "billions in funding for border security initiatives as a member of our Appropriations Committee." He is also a pastor and small business owner.[5] As of November 2025, Toth's campaign website listed "Securing Our Southern Border," "Fighting Liberal Indoctrination," "Our National Security," among his top priorities.

As of November 2025,The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter,Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, andLarry Sabato's Crystal Ball eachrated the general electionSolid/Safe Republican.

Texas conducted redistricting between the 2024 and 2026 elections. As a result, district lines in this state changed. According to anInside Elections analysis, under the old map, Donald Trump (R) would have won the district by 24 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election. Under the new map, Trump would have won the district by 23 percentage points.

Also running in the primary areMartin Etwop (R),T.C. Manning (R),Nicholas Plumb (R), andAva Zolari (R).

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on May 26.

Elections

2026

See also: Texas' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 2

Shaun Finnie andTyrone Price are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 2 on March 3, 2026.

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There are noincumbents in this race.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 2

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 2 on March 3, 2026.

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Incumbents arebolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Polls

See also:Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation fromRealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, pleaseemail us.

Election campaign finance

NamePartyReceipts*Disbursements**Cash on handDate
Daniel CrenshawRepublican Party$1,244,956$1,045,617$668,647 As of September 30, 2025
Martin EtwopRepublican Party$7,756$5,203$162 As of September 30, 2025
T.C. ManningRepublican Party$0$0$0Data not available***
Nicholas PlumbRepublican Party$0$0$0Data not available***
Steve TothRepublican Party$303,459$47,978$255,481 As of September 30, 2025
Ava ZolariRepublican Party$0$0$0Data not available***

Source:Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

*According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
**According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Satellite spending

See also:Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees,super PACs, trade associations, and501(c)(4)nonprofit groups.[6][7][8]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add,email us.

By candidateBy election


Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement,click here.

2020

See also: Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 18

IncumbentSheila Jackson Lee defeatedWendell Champion,Luke Spencer, andVince Duncan in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sheila Jackson Lee
Sheila Jackson Lee (D)
 
73.3
 
180,952
Image of Wendell Champion
Wendell Champion (R) Candidate Connection
 
23.5
 
58,033
Image of Luke Spencer
Luke Spencer (L)
 
1.8
 
4,514
Image of Vince Duncan
Vince Duncan (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
1.4
 
3,396

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 246,895
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Watch theCandidate Conversation for this race!

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 18

Wendell Champion defeatedRobert Cadena in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 18 on July 14, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wendell Champion
Wendell Champion Candidate Connection
 
71.8
 
4,000
Image of Robert Cadena
Robert Cadena Candidate Connection
 
28.2
 
1,570

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,570
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sheila Jackson Lee
Sheila Jackson Lee
 
77.1
 
49,729
Image of Marc Flores
Marc Flores Candidate Connection
 
8.3
 
5,353
Image of Bimal Patel
Bimal Patel
 
3.8
 
2,456
Image of Jerry Ford Sr.
Jerry Ford Sr.
 
3.7
 
2,417
Image of Stevens Orozco
Stevens Orozco Candidate Connection
 
3.4
 
2,180
Image of Michael Allen
Michael Allen Candidate Connection
 
2.6
 
1,672
Image of Donovan Boson
Donovan Boson Candidate Connection
 
1.1
 
709

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 64,516
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wendell Champion
Wendell Champion Candidate Connection
 
35.1
 
3,428
✔
Image of Robert Cadena
Robert Cadena Candidate Connection
 
20.5
 
2,005
Image of T.C. Manning
T.C. Manning Candidate Connection
 
18.7
 
1,823
Image of Nathan Milliron
Nathan Milliron Candidate Connection
 
11.0
 
1,076
Image of Ava Pate
Ava Pate
 
8.1
 
794
Nellie Heiskell
 
6.5
 
638

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 9,764
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 18

Luke Spencer advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 21, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Luke Spencer
Luke Spencer (L)

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

T.C. Manning has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.Send a message to T.C. Manning asking him to fill out the survey. If you are T.C. Manning,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 23,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the surveyhere.

You can ask T.C. Manning to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing info@manningforcongress.com.

Email

2020

Candidate Connection

T.C. Manning completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Manning's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all |Collapse all

Thomas's lifelong dream has been and is to serve his beloved country. Coming from a family of conservative business owners with over 65 years of family service in the United States military, TC enlisted in the United States Navy immediately after graduating high school in 2003. He quickly proved himself by earning 1 of the 3 meritorious promotions while at boot camp and continued to prove himself throughout his duty stations demonstrating outstanding work ethic and leadership skills. After being honorably discharged from active duty in 2010 T C has taken his experience of "cause and effect analysis" and utilizes it daily to solve complex problems in countries all over the world. T C served on-board the USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75) (2004-2005), USS Barry (DDG-52) (2006-2010) and other duty stations. T C was deployed to the Persian Gulf in defense of our country (2004), assisted in relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina (2005), mass evacuation of US Citizens from Lebanon (2006), Black Sea showing US presence Russia-Georgia conflict (2008).

His military awards include - Navy "E" Ribbon, Navy Good Conduct Medal x2, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal x2, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon x3TC is a father, a husband, a fighter and a Patriot who stands up for his beliefs. The beliefs of the American Dream.

  • The United States of America and the American Dream
  • Honor our Veterans and Texas values
  • Keep the economy going
Education - High Schools no longer prepare young adults for entering the workforce or the "real world" which they enter after graduating high school. The United States spends more per student than all but Norway yet our students perform below average in most areas. More money obviously does not solve the problem. Education reform is mandatory to stay competitive in a global market. In order for our children to have a chance at life we must put the trade schools back into high schools (for those who don't wish to go to college) and we must put the challenge classes that prepare one to enter the workforce back into high schools, i.e. accounting and payroll and other courses that may help in the job market.

Veterans - Approximately 17 veterans commit suicide per day. Military wives and husbands are worn out from their loved ones being deployed constantly. They are at their breaking point and it is destroying military families. Veterans have a history of poor treatment after giving so much for their country. The VA reform continues to be needed despite the improvements over the last few years. Our soldiers, airmen, and sailors need to come home. The military needs to be rebuilt and retooled for the next conflict. A strong military is a military that is less likely needed to be utilized than one that is weak, outdated, and overused.

Immigration - I am married to an immigrant - I understand the issues
2nd Amendment - Forever
Jobs & Economy

The Constitution
My father Tom Manning - He is stubborn, incredibly intelligent, opinionated and he keeps to his values, he has honor, and he taught me the golden rule. The founding fathers - in the face of death if they failed, they created they most amazing country on Earth. Audie Murphy - Another true American hero who's bravery did not just end on the battlefield, at home he spoke out about PTSD bringing it to the public's attention.
Honor, Integrity, Courage, Commitment, keeping promises, actions speak louder than words
Honor, Integrity, Courage, Commitment, Honesty - I am a fighter and I will fight for you until my last breath.
Representing those of his or her district to their fullest ability. Maintaining the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States of America.
I worked at a bait and tackle shop beginning at the age of 16. Okie Bait and Tackle. I kept the job for about 2 or 3 years.
No - what is beneficial is having the best person to perform for his or her bosses, the bosses are the people he or she represents.
1. Maintaining global economic dominance

2. Countering China's strategy for Pacific military and economic dominance
3. Continuation of the war on terror
4. Getting US spending under control

5. Infrastructure - US infrastructure is fragile and not robust. Our systems are outdated and vulnerable to bad actors and natural disasters.
Armed Services, Education and Labor, Foreign Affairs, Science Space and Technology, Veteran Affairs, Budget

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.


Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia LogoNote: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

T.C. Manning campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2026*U.S. House Texas District 2Candidacy Declared primary$0 N/A**
2020U.S. House Texas District 18Lost primary$44,091 $44,091
Grand total$44,091 $44,091
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also


External links

Candidate

U.S. House Texas District 2

  • Website

    • Personal

  • LinkedIn

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