AUSTIN – Political hopefuls from across Texas start their races for the 2026 election season in earnest on Monday, as the window for filing their candidacies for public office draws to a close.
Up for grabs in the March primaries and November general election next year are 150 seats in the Texas House and 16 in the state Senate, as well as one U.S. Senate seat and all 38 U.S. Congressional districts.
The primaries, run by the Republican and Democrat parties, will be held March 3, 2026. Early voting opens Tuesday, Feb. 17. The general election is Nov. 3.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will be defending his position for a fourth term and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is running for re-election in what would be his fifth term. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, completing his fourth six-year term in Washington, faces a heavy attack for his post from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a fellow Republican, and a few high-profile Democrats.
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Notably, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett is expected to announce today she will run for Cornyn’s Senate seat. Her expected entry into the race prompted Colin Allred, who ran for Senate in 2024 against incumbent Ted Cruz, to withdraw from the Senate contest and set his sights on the House instead. State Rep. James Talarico remains Crockett’s strongest foe in the upcoming primary.
Paxton’s exit from the AGs office leaves a field of candidates vying for his post, along with four other statewide officials, four members of the Texas Supreme Court, three members of the Criminal Court of Appeals, and eight members of the Texas Board of Education.
The Congressional races will be influenced by a newly drawn district map after the Texas Legislature redrew the lines this summer to send additional Republicans to Washington to support President Donald Trump. Democrat districts in Dallas, Houston and South Texas were redrawn to shift to Republican, a plan that has touched off court battles but has so far held up under legal scrutiny.
The new map gathers Republican voters into districts that will help their candidates, but the statewide offices — all of which have been controlled by the GOP for more than 20 years – are still vulnerable to the demographic and political shifts that have hinted at a more blue Texas in recent cycles.
Paxton, who was impeached by the GOP-dominated Texas House in 2023 but acquitted of the charges in a trial by the Texas Senate, has drawn criticism from the left over the years for his involvement in scandals that included felony indictment for securities fraud. He has escaped the legal tangles but remains a favorite target for Democrats who say he embodies the very political corruption his controlling party has vowed to abolish.
“Republican leadership has abused the power, neglected the operations, and left unfulfilled the
obligations of the Attorney General’s Office,” said state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, who is running for the post. “They have maliciously and recklessly used it as a right-wing headline machine, taking their orders from D.C. power mongers and megadonor ideologues.”
Rather than distance themselves from Paxton, Republican candidates for his office are leaning on their willingness to support public safety, although the AG’s office doesn’t do criminal prosecutions.
“You want someone who is going to defend your freedom, who’s going to defend your rights, but will also aggressively prosecute and go after those who want to harm you, your families or your communities,” said state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican and former prosecutor vying for the spot.