Chris Gober, an attorney that helped Elon Musk’s America PAC raise more than $250 million to support President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, launched a congressional campaign in Texas on Friday.
Gober confirmed in an email that he’s running in House District 10, a soon-to-be open district that leans heavily Republican. “I can confirm that the paperwork was filed this morning,” he said in the email.
Later, he referenced the need to defeat “radical progressives” in a statement.
“I’m running for Congress because President Trump needs proven allies who know how to beat the Left and won’t back down,” Gober said.
He joins a Republican primary to replace longtime Rep. Michael McCaul (R), whose district stretches from just west of Houston to Austin, near some of Musk’s companies. McCaul, serving in his 11th term, announced Sept. 14 that he will not seek reelection next year.
McCaul’s office declined to comment on Gober’s entrance into the race.
Gober’s fledgling law firm, Lex Politica PLLC, is set to move into McCaul’s district through a controversial redistricting plan that’s being challenged in court. The Austin-based firm’s goal, Gober told the New York Times in January, is to be “synonymous with the conservative movement.”
Gober, who once served as the top lawyer to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has represented some of the biggest names in Texas Republican circles. In 2022, he helped Senator Ted Cruz win a case at the US Supreme Court over the repayment of debt owed to a candidate who lends money to their own campaign.
He assisted in the effort that ultimately led to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) avoiding a finding of professional misconduct from the State Bar of Texas over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
As the attorney for Musk’s America PAC, Gober withstood a legal challenge from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to lottery-style $1 million giveaways to swing state voters ahead of the November 2024 election.
Gober, a Harvard Law graduate, has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 2005.
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