If you were a new voter this year and eagerly anticipated casting a vote in the primaries this spring, continue to read for a recap of what just happened and what to know for next time. This February through March, the senator, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, commissioner of the General Land Office, commissioner of agriculture, railroad commissioner, chief justice, judge of the Texas Court, and the state board of education were voted on.
Texas runs open primaries, so you could’ve chosen to vote in either party’s primary on election day. For example, if you’re a registered Democrat, you could’ve voted in the Republican primaries if you chose. On the day of, they should have asked you which primary you want to participate in, then you’d receive the party of your choice’s ballot.
If there are more than 2 candidates, and no one received more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff between the top 2 candidates. This year we had quite a few. (runoff candidates linked below)
A quick and reliable way to stay informed about the various candidates is the League of Women Voters of Texas, a great resource. They create small bios on each candidate based on a short interview, available on their website in 4 languages. This is the link for this year’s elections.
https://www.lwvtexas.org/#gsc.tab=0
Key Dates:
2/2 last day to register to vote or update your registration
2/17 first day of in-person early voting
2/20 last day of the vote by mail application to be received (this means you have to hand it to the post office by this day
2/27 last day of early voting in person
3/3 Election day and last day for mail ballots to be received
Also, look at this New York Times Article for more insights:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/us/elections/primary-results-incumbents-dems-gop.html