Texas’ 10th Congressional District Race: Chris Gober vs. Caitlin Rourke

2026 midterm elections The race for Texas’ newly redrawn 10th Congressional District is drawing attention because of its connections to Silicon Valley funding, artificial intelligence policy, data center development, government efficiency efforts, and right-wing political networks.

Why Texas’ 10th District is a race to watch

Key issues: DOGE, Elon Musk’s political network, super PAC spending, artificial intelligence lobbying, and data center development.

Former America PAC lawyer Chris Gober is running to represent Texas’ newly redrawn 10th Congressional District. Gober served as an adviser to Texas’ Republican congressional delegation, which participated in the 2025 redistricting effort. The new maps were created for the 2026 midterm elections and would establish five new Republican congressional districts.

Gober is also represented by Mr. Musk’s PAC, while his law firm, Lex Politica, represents him in the race. Lex Politica has been connected to Elevate New Mexico, a limited liability company that ran an advertising campaign supporting a controversial data center project in the state. The firm is also connected to Danube Institute USA, a think tank affiliated with former Hungarian right-wing leader Viktor Orbán.

Chris Gober’s DOGE and technology connections

The New York Times reported that Gober was one of several lawyers who advised President Donald Trump on the structure of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration.

The district also includes Grimes County, where SpaceXAI and Tesla announced plans to open a 100-million-square-foot “TerraFab” semiconductor manufacturing facility.

In addition to his legal work, Gober’s LinkedIn profile lists him as general counsel for Maven Advocacy Partners, a lobbying group whose clients include several defense technology startups. The name appears to reference the Department of the Army’s Project Maven, which is backed by technology companies such as Palantir and Anduril.

Gober also appears to run another company called Maven Defense Solutions. The company and the lobbying group share addresses with his law firm, Lex Politica, and his campaign office.

Super PAC spending in the Texas congressional race

Gober’s campaign received $747,550. American Mission PAC is a right-wing super PAC focused on promoting AI-friendly candidates and policies. It is funded by Leading the Future, which has raised more than $140 million from Silicon Valley billionaires, including OpenAI president Greg Brockman and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, as well as venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.