Overview
- State records show a filing received Friday under the name Offer Vince "ShamWow" Shlomi, and his candidacy appears on the Texas Republican Party website.
- He has not filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission ahead of the state’s December deadline.
- Shlomi says his run is aimed at "destroying wokeism" and "making America happy," describing the bid as a tribute to the late Charlie Kirk.
- He is challenging 84-year-old Republican incumbent John Carter in a reliably red district that includes the northern Austin suburbs, Temple and Fort Hood.
- The GOP primary is March 3, 2026, with multiple Republicans already in the race, and coverage notes Shlomi’s past controversies, including a 2009 Miami Beach arrest in which no charges were filed.