Keep reading to get the details about the 2026 election cycle, including voter registration deadlines and election dates; the election processes for various political parties and an overview of state-level races. Community Impact will also launch a primary election voter guide with candidate Q&As in late January.
Dates to know
March primary elections:
- Feb. 2: Last day to register to vote in the March primaries
- Feb. 17: Early voting begins
- Feb. 20: Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot
- Feb. 27: Early voting ends
- March 3: Primary election day
November midterm election:
- Oct. 5: Last day to register to vote in the November election
- Oct. 19: Early voting begins
- Oct. 23: Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot
- Oct. 30: Early voting ends
- Nov. 3: Midterm Election Day
The election process
Texas holds primaries for all partisan elected positions, such as state officials; state and federal lawmakers; and county judges, commissioners and justices of the peace.
Republican and Democratic primary elections will take place March 3, and the winner of each primary will appear on the midterm election ballot Nov. 3. Texas is one of 17 states with open primaries, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, meaning voters do not need to be affiliated with a specific party and can vote in either primary and corresponding runoff races. Voters may not cast ballots in both parties’ primaries during a single election cycle.
Third-party candidates, including independents, Libertarian Party candidates and Green Party candidates, will not be listed on the primary ballots in March. Independent candidates were required to submit paperwork declaring their intent to run for office by Dec. 8, and they have until June 25 to file a candidate application for the November election, according to the secretary of state’s office.
The Libertarian and Green parties will hold party-specific nominating conventions to determine who will run on their behalf in the midterm election, according to the secretary of state. Interested candidates were required to submit applications by Dec. 8.
Write-in candidates can file declarations to appear on the ballot between July 18 and Aug. 17.
Did you know?
Republicans currently hold all statewide offices on the ballot, although some are not running for reelection. No Democrat or third-party candidate has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, election records show.
The Texas Democratic Party had candidates file for every state-level seat on the 2026 primary ballot, the party stated in a Dec. 10 news release. This includes all seats up for election in the Texas House, Texas Senate, U.S. Congress, state courts and the State Board of Education.
“This marks the first time in modern Texas history that either party has filled the entire slate,” the release states.
On the ballot
All of Texas’ 150 state House seats are up for election in 2026, alongside 16 of Texas’ 31 state Senate seats. Eight of Texas’ 15 State Board of Education seats are also up for election.
Texas’ 38 congressional seats will also appear on the ballot. Many Texans may see new congressional representation in 2027, previous Community Impact reporting shows.
Several members of Texas’ congressional delegation are not seeking reelection in 2026, and 37 of the state’s 38 congressional districts were redrawn this summer. After a swift legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Dec. 4 that Texas could use its new congressional map in the 2026 elections.
The following statewide races will appear on all Texas voters’ ballots:
- One U.S. Senate seat
- Governor
- Lieutenant governor
- State attorney general
- State comptroller of public accounts
- State general land commissioner
- State agriculture commissioner
- State railroad commissioner
- Texas Supreme Court, chief justice
- Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 2
- Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 7
- Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 8
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Place 3
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Place 4
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Place 9
- 15th Court of Appeals, chief justice
- 15th Court of Appeals justice, Place 2
- 15th Court of Appeals justice, Place 3
