Elon Musk's ex-lawyer frontrunner to take seat in Congress as Republican

WASHINGTON — In the race to replace Rep. Michael McCaul in Congress, Republicans in Texas and Washington are consolidating behind prominent GOP attorney Chris Gober, who served as chief lawyer of Elon Musk’s super PAC and has raised more than $1 million for his campaign.

McCaul, an Austin Republican who has represented Central Texas’ 10th Congressional District for more than two decades, announced in September he wouldn’t seek reelection. Gober is one of 10 Republicans competing to succeed him in the red-leaning district, which covers all or parts of 13 counties spanning from Austin to East Texas.

While the district added more residents of liberal Travis County under Republicans’ redrawn congressional map, it also now stretches farther into bright-red East Texas. Nearly one-third of the seat’s population remains situated in Brazos County, home to Texas A&M University and College Station. The district would have given Donald Trump about 60% of the vote had it existed during the 2024 presidential election.

Gober, an Austin-based lawyer, currently runs a law firm called Lex Politica, which he told The New York Times last year that he wants to be “synonymous with the conservative movement.” Gober founded the firm after serving as director and chief lawyer of Musk’s America PAC in 2024 and defending a legal challenge against Musk’s $1 million payouts to swing state voters.

Gober did not respond to a request for comment. At a Feb. 1 candidate forum in Livingston, he said what differentiates him from the other candidates is his ability to achieve results and his experience in politics.

“When I go to Washington, D.C., we’re going to take on the institution,” Gober said during the forum. “We’re going to secure the borders, we are going to fight fraud, waste and abuse and this reckless spending that is bankrupting our country.”

Also seeking the District 10 nomination is Ben Bius, the owner of a real estate investment and development company; lobbyist Jessica Karlsruher, who was endorsed by Maggie’s List, a conservative PAC that supports female candidates; and Army veteran Scott MacLeod.

Another candidate, former turnaround specialist Robert Brown, attacked all his opponents present at the Livingston forum, calling Gober the “$300 million man.” He also criticized Gober for his testimony on Musk’s $1 million giveaways, in which he disclosed that the money was not awarded via a random lottery, as Musk previously said, but rather was given to predetermined recipients based on who the super PAC’s leaders thought would be effective political spokespeople.

In December, shortly after the primary field was solidified, Gober notched endorsements from Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, who Gober represented in a campaign finance case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022. He’s also endorsed by a new super PAC backed by AI companies, which funded an ad that said Gober would focus on “promoting American technology investment.”

Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said a Trump endorsement is especially valuable in congressional primary races because voters tend to know less about the candidates.

“A Trump endorsement in these types of races is worth its weight in gold,” he said. “The most beneficial signal you can send in these races to a Republican primary voter is that you are endorsed by Donald Trump.”

Gober’s deep ties in conservative circles, and his lineup of high-profile backers, has helped him raise more than four times as much campaign cash as anyone else in the race. Still, Jones said the race is likely to go to a runoff because of the breadth of candidates.

Jon Taylor, political science and geography department chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said if Gober were to win the seat, it would mean a more Trump-aligned member of Congress compared to McCaul. McCaul, who chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee, was outspoken about concerns he had with Trump’s foreign policy and clashed with Republicans on providing aid to Ukraine.

“[McCaul] is one of those old guard Texas Republicans … kind of a national defense Republican who believes in low taxes, and I think he's one of those who was maybe viewed as a little bit suspect by the Trump crowd,” Taylor said. “Gober would be much more of a doctrinaire MAGA Republican, and in particular, someone who will be heavily involved in pushing for AI tech.”

Kara King, the mayor of Bee Cave in west Travis County, had raised $230,000 for her campaign — the closest to Gober’s $1.05 million haul — before she suspended her campaign in January and endorsed Gober.

"Unfortunately, outside forces are supporting a different candidate, which pushes the district toward a costly and divisive intraparty fight," King wrote in explaining her decision. "I've always been a consensus builder, and I won't participate in a civil war that hurts our community."

Bius, the real estate executive, ran for a Texas House seat in 2022 and 2024 that overlaps with parts of the central and eastern share of District 10. He was defeated in primary runoffs both times. Bius also operates a direct air carrier company, which was hit with a complaint from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas in April 2025 for allegedly violating Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

Some of Bius’ priorities include cutting red tape for small businesses, eliminating the federal Department of Education, cutting government spending and strengthening border security.

During the Livingston forum, Bius said the fact that his central location in the district, just west of Huntsville and 10 miles south of the geographic center of the area, means he can serve voters and better hear their concerns.

“This is a rural district and this rural life that we love and we share is worth fighting for,” he said during the forum.

Other candidates in the race include Army veteran Rob Altman; Jenny Garcia Sharon, who ran for Congress unopposed in the 2024 District 37 Republican primary before losing to Rep. Lloyd Doggett in the left-leaning district; software engineer Brandon Hawbaker; and Jeremy Story.

The winner of the Republican primary will face one of three Democrats. Caitlin Rourk, a former Army officer who most recently worked at Dell Technologies, has raised the most so far in the Democratic primary, bringing in $155,000. State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, campaigned for a month for the 10th Congressional District before dropping out and instead running for state comptroller.

Early voting begins Tuesday and runs until Feb. 27. Election Day is March 3.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Kara King suspended her campaign for the 10th Congressional District in January.

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This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.