AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas State Rep. James Talarico are making their closing messages to primary voters this week as preliminary totals show Democratic voters outpaced Republicans during the first week of early voting.

Crockett and Talarico are making stops across the state as they work to earn the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate race in November.

“We are focusing on mobilizing voters all over the state, particularly new voters, and our campaign is so excited to see that work come to fruition,” Talarico told CBS Austin on Monday following a rally in San Marcos.

Both candidates have taken aim at what they view as corruption at the state and federal levels.

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“Right now, it just feels like there are certain people, so long as you have enough power, that there is no accountability,” Crockett said during a stop in El Paso on Sunday. “And that doesn’t work well with me as a criminal defense attorney, as a civil rights lawyer.”

The Senate seat has been held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn since 2002. Cornyn is facing a contentious primary of his own, facing off with Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

Early voting numbers

According to data from the Texas Secretary of State, 581,426 Texans have already voted in the Democratic primary election, and 520,794 Texans have already voted in the Republican primary election, as of Monday evening.

Early voting continues until Friday, but Democrats are already on track to have a higher turnout than during the 2022 primary race, when 625,152 Democrats voted early or mailed in ballots.

The trends are similar locally in counties like Travis, Williamson, and Hays:

Democratic early voter turnout (as of 2/23):

Travis – 53,246 / 5.8% of registered voters

Williamson – 23,177 / 5.1% of registered voters

Hays – 9,201 / 4.8% of registered voters

Republican early voters (as of 2/23):

Travis – 13,585 / 1.5% of registered voters

Williamson – 16,578 / 3.6% of registered voters

Hays – 4,331 / 2.2% of registered voters

One week to Primary Election Day

Early voting continues in Texas through Friday, Feb. 27.

Next Tuesday, March 3, is the final chance for Texans to cast their ballot.

A number of statewide and local primaries are also on the ballot, including Texas Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Comptroller.

In Texas primaries, if no candidate receives the majority of the vote, a runoff primary will take place for the race at the end of May.