Lance Gooden

Lance Gooden
Texas State Representative for District 4 (Kaufman and Henderson counties)
In office January 2011 – January 2015
Preceded by	Betty J. Brown
Succeeded by	Stuart Spitzer
In office January 2017 – January 2019
Preceded by	Stuart Spitzer
Succeeded by	Pending
Born	December 1, 1982 Terrell, Kaufman County Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Alexa Calligas Gooden (married 2016) One son
Religion	Church of Christ

Lance Gooden (born December 1, 1982) is a Republican departing member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 4, which encompasses Kaufman and Henderson counties to the east of Dallas, Texas. In the 2010 primary election, Gooden narrowly upset the six-term incumbent Republican Representative, Betty J. Brown, with 50.5 percent of the vote.

A native of Terrell, a small city east of Dallas, Gooden, who is adopted, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, from which he received both a Bachelor of Arts in government and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Gooden had five major contributors to his 2010 campaign, including the interest groups, the Texas Oil and Gas Association and Texans for Insurance Reform. He raised more than $277,000.

Upon taking office early in 2011, Gooden worked on the state budget in an attempt to eliminate wasteful spending. He serves on these House committees: Appropriations, County Affairs, and House Administration, the latter of which handles employment by the House.

In 2010, Gooden had no Democratic opponent in his heavily Republican district. He then won renomination to a second term in the Republican primary held on May 29, 2012. He polled 6,385 votes (53.5 percent) to 5,545 (46.5 percent) for his more conservative opponent, the physician Stuart Spitzer. In 2014, Spitzer unseated Gooden in the Republican primary, but Gooden returned in triumph in the Republican primary held on March 1, 2016. In the primary held on March 6, 2018, when Gooden did not seek a fourth non-consecutive term in the state House, Spitzer ran once again and polled nearly 46 percent of the ballots cast. Spitzer now faces intra-party rival Keith Bell in the May 22 runoff contest to choose a nominee to succeed Gooden.

In the 2018 primary, Gooden led an eight-candidate field for Texas' 5th congressional district seat being vacated by the retiring Jeb Hensarling. With 17,501 votes (29.9 percent), he faces the second-placed candidate, Bunni Pounds, in the pending runoff election. Pounds, the preferred choice of Hensarling, finished the primary with 12,895 votes (22 percent). The six other candidates held the remaining 48.1 percent of the ballots cast. Returns were slow to report on the outcome of the Gooden-Pounds race, but Gooden led throughout the first hours after the polls closed.

In the May 22 runoff, Gooden's former intra-party rival, Dr. Stuart Spitzer, failed in a second comeback attempt for the state House seat. Spitzer polled 5,508 votes (41.1 percent) to rival Keith Bell, who led with 7,892 (58.9 perecent).