HOUSTON – Greater Houston voters will help decide who writes Texas laws when they head to the polls in November. The ballot includes races for the Texas House and Senate — the lawmakers who vote on the state budget and legislation affecting public schools, property taxes, public safety and other issues across the state.
The winners will represent their districts in Austin during the Legislature’s next regular session in 2027.
This guide covers legislative races in Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties. These are district elections. The contests on your local ballot depend on your registered address.
Republican, Democratic and Libertarian candidates are identified as R, D and L. Names below follow the Texas Secretary of State’s ballot certification, with capitalization adjusted for readability. A race with one candidate listed still appears on the ballot.
The Texas Senate has 31 members. Sixteen seats are up for regular election in 2026, including five districts that cover parts of this nine-county area. State senators serve four-year terms.
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotCounties covered within this guideDistrict 3Trent Ashby (R); Bobby Tillman (D)LibertyDistrict 4Brett W. Ligon (R); Ron C. Angeletti (D)Harris, Montgomery, Galveston, ChambersDistrict 11Dennis Paul (R); Shannon Dicely (D)Harris, Brazoria, GalvestonDistrict 13Borris L. Miles (D)Harris, Fort BendDistrict 18Lois W. Kolkhorst (R); Erica Gillum (D)Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller, Austin
The county column identifies where each district intersects this guide’s coverage area. Some districts also extend into counties outside Greater Houston. Only voters within the district can vote in its race.
Borris L. Miles is the only named candidate certified for Senate District 13. The Secretary of State’s certified write-in list includes no additional candidates for the House or Senate districts covered in this guide.
All 150 Texas House seats are up for election in November. State representatives serve two-year terms. The nine counties in this guide contain all or parts of 37 House districts.
The tables below are organized by county. Districts that cross county lines appear in each affected county’s section; they are the same election.
Harris County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 126Stan Stanart (R); Stefanie Bord (D)District 127Charles Cunningham (R); Michelle Williams (D)District 128Tom Butler (R); Desiree Klaus (D)District 129Scott Bowen (R); Albert Wittliff (D)District 130Tom Oliverson (R); Brett Robinson (D)District 131Scott Whitmarsh (R); Staci Childs (D)District 132Mike Schofield (R); Sara McGee (D)District 133Mano DeAyala (R); Josh Wallenstein (D)District 134Mike Michna (R); Ann Johnson (D)District 135Liz Ramos (R); Odus E. Evbagharu (D)District 137Helen Zhou (R); Gene Wu (D)District 138Lacey Hull (R); Tyler Smith (D)District 139Kyle Harding (R); Charlene Ward Johnson (D)District 140Laura Garcia DeLeon (R); Armando Lucio Walle (D)District 141Julie Hunt (R); Senfronia Thompson (D)District 142Heidi Hall (R); Harold V. Dutton, Jr. (D)District 143Frank Salazar (R); Ana Hernandez (D)District 144David Flores (R); Mary Ann Perez (D)District 145Inocensia Moreno (R); Christina Morales (D)District 146Alexandria Nicole Butler (R); Lauren Ashley Simmons (D)District 147Theodis Daniel (R); Jolanda Jones (D)District 148Amanda LaBrie (R); Penny Morales Shaw (D)District 149Dave Bennett (R); Darlene Breaux (D)District 150Valoree Swanson (R); A’Yonna Kellum (D)
Fort Bend County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 26Matt Morgan (R); Elizabeth “Eliz” Markowitz (D)District 27Max Alalibo (R); Ron Reynolds (D)District 28Gary Gates (R); Sandy Ibanez (D)District 76Linda Howell (R); Suleman Lalani (D)District 85Dennis “Goose” Geesaman (R); Lawrence Brandyburg (D)
District 85 also includes voters in Waller and Austin counties.
Montgomery County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 3Kristen Plaisance (R); Nicole King (D)District 15Brad Bailey (R); Moniqua’ S. Scott (D); Jessi Cowart (L)District 16Will Metcalf (R); Bobbie Clayton (D)District 18Janis Holt (R); Valorie Barton (D)
District 18 also includes voters in Liberty County.
Brazoria County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 25Cody Thane Vasut (R); Mike Meadors (D)District 29Jeff Barry (R); Karen Reeder (D)
Galveston County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 23Terri Leo Wilson (R); Cheryl Lynn Clark (D)District 24Greg Bonnen (R); Frank N Carr (D)
District 23 also includes voters in Chambers County.
Chambers County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 23Terri Leo Wilson (R); Cheryl Lynn Clark (D)
District 23 also includes voters in Galveston County.
Liberty County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 18Janis Holt (R); Valorie Barton (D)
District 18 also includes voters in Montgomery County.
Waller County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 85Dennis “Goose” Geesaman (R); Lawrence Brandyburg (D)
District 85 also includes voters in Fort Bend and Austin counties.
Austin County
DistrictCandidates on the printed ballotDistrict 85Dennis “Goose” Geesaman (R); Lawrence Brandyburg (D)
District 85 also includes voters in Fort Bend and Waller counties.
What about the two special legislative elections?
Texas is also holding special elections on Nov. 3 for the unexpired terms in Senate District 22 and House District 93. Neither district is in Greater Houston, so those contests are outside this guide’s county-by-county listings. Eligible voters in those districts will have separate special-election contests in addition to the regular November election.
How to find your district and ballot
Your county’s sample ballot shows the legislative races you can vote in. A combined county sample ballot may list several House or Senate districts, but your individual ballot will include only the races tied to your registered address.
Use Texas Legislature Online’s Who Represents Me? tool to look up your districts, and check your county’s election website for your November sample ballot. Harris County’s ballot lookup includes voter-specific ballots; the Secretary of State lists county election websites.
Early voting runs Oct. 19-30 and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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