Early Voting for May 26 Primary Runoff Election Begins Monday
posted on 5.12.2026Early voting in the Republican and Democratic Parties’ primary runoff election begins on Monday, May 18 and ends Friday, May 22. One may still vote in a party’s primary runoff election if that individual did not cast a ballot in a party’s March primary election, but by law, a prior primary voter may not vote in the other party’s runoff election races.
Republican Party Primary Runoff Races
Republican Party voters have four statewide races on the ballot and 16 congressional, statehouse, and local appeals court positions on the ballot. Two of the congressional races have already been decided but those contests will remain on the ballot.
Former TX 23 U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, dropped out of that congressional primary runoff after he resigned from Congress in early April. The district runs from the west side of San Antonio to the eastern outskirts of the El Paso area. Businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley, R-Richardson, dropped out of the TX 32 congressional primary runoff election in the Dallas area after he garnered just 22 percent of the GOP primary vote compared to Jace Yarbrough of Rockwall, who won 49 percent.
Three of the statewide races are garnering the most interest – U.S. Senate, Attorney General, and Railroad Commission. Two of those races involve embattled incumbents seeking another term (U.S. Senate, Railroad Commission), while the third is an open seat race (Attorney General).
GOP statewide incumbents and candidates that withdrew from congressional races are bolded in the table below.
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MAY 26 GOP PRIMARY ELECTION RUNOFF RACES |
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STATEWIDE |
U.S. Senate |
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-San Antonio, vs. Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-McKinney |
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STATEWIDE |
Attorney General |
SD 11 St. Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, vs. TX 21 U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin |
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STATEWIDE |
Railroad Commissioner |
RRC Chairman Jim Wright, R-Orange Grove, vs. Bo French, R-Fort Worth |
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STATEWIDE |
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 |
Alison Fox, R-Taylor, vs. Thomas Smith, R-Dallas |
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AUSTIN |
TX 37 |
Ge’Nell Gary, R-Austin, vs. Lauren B. Peña, R-Austin |
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CORPUS CHRISTI |
SD 19 |
Marcus Cardenas, R-Corpus Christi, vs. Robert Marks Jr., R-Corpus Christi |
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DFW |
TX 30 |
Everett Jackson, R-Desoto, vs. Sholdon Daniels, R-Dallas |
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DFW |
TX 32 |
WITHDREW: Ryan Binkley, R-Richardson, vs. Jace Yarbrough, R-Rockwall |
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DFW |
TX 33 |
Patrick David Gillespie, R-Dallas, vs. John Sims, R-Dallas |
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EL PASO |
TX 16 |
Adam Bauman, R-El Paso, vs. Manuel J. Barraza, R-El Paso |
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HOUSTON |
1st Court of Appeals, Place 3 |
Todd Frankfurt, R-Houston, vs. Zach Gibson, R-Houston |
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HOUSTON |
TX 7 |
Alexander Hale, R-Houston, vs. Tina Cohen, R-Houston |
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HOUSTON |
TX 9 |
HD 128 St. Rep. Briscoe Cain, R- Deer Park, vs. Alex Mealer, R-Pasadena |
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HOUSTON |
TX 38 |
Jon Bonck, R-Houston, vs. Shelly DeZavallos, R-Houston |
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HOUSTON |
HD 126 |
Kelly Peterson, R-Spring, vs. Stan Stanart, R- Houston |
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LUBBOCK |
TX 19 |
Tom Sell, R-Lubbock, vs. Abraham Enriquez, R-Lubbock |
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SAN ANTONIO |
TX 23 |
WITHDREW: U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, vs. Brandon Herrera, R-Helotes |
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SAN ANTONIO |
TX 35 |
Carlos De La Cruz, R-Universal City, vs. HD 118 St. Rep. John Lujan, R-San Antonio |
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SOUTH TEXAS |
HD 40 |
Celeste Cabrera-Huff, R-Edinburg, vs. Nehemias “Memo” Gomez, Edinburg |
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SOUTH TEXAS |
HD 41 |
Sergio J. Sanchez, R-McAllen, vs. Gary Groves, R-McAllen |
Democratic Party Primary Runoff Races
Democratic Party voters have two statewide races on the ballot and 18 congressional, statehouse and State Board of Education local offices to consider.
The two statewide offices, Lt. Governor and Attorney General, as well as the TX 33 and TX 18 congressional primary runoff races in Dallas and Houston, respectively, are garnering the most attention. Additionally, the HD 100 and HD 149 Texas House seats in Dallas and Houston, respectively, are being scrutinized as they each feature an embattled incumbent.
Incumbents are bolded in the table of races below.
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MAY 26 DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRIMARY ELECTION RUNOFF RACES |
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STATEWIDE |
Lt. Governor |
HD 47 St. Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, vs. Marcos Isaias Velez, D-Deer Park |
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STATEWIDE |
Attorney General |
SD 16 St. Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, vs. Joe Jaworski, D-Galveston |
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AUSTIN |
State Board of Education, District 5 |
Stephanie Limon Bazan, D-Austin, vs. Allison Bush, D-Pflugerville |
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AUSTIN |
HD 49 |
Kathy Tovo, D-Austin, vs. Montserrat Garibay, D-Austin |
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BEAUMONT |
State Board of Education, District 7 |
Debra Drake Ambroise, D-Port Arthur, vs. Tiffany Perkinz, D-Groves |
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DFW |
TX 5 |
Chelsey Hockett D-Terrell vs. Ruth “Truth” Torres, D-Mesquite |
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DFW |
TX 24 |
Kevin Burge D-North Richland Hills vs. T.J. Ware, D-Keller |
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DFW |
TX 33 |
Former TX 32 U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, vs. TX 32 U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Dallas |
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DFW |
HD 97 |
Diane Symons, D-Benbrook, vs. Beth Llewellyn McLaughin, D-Fort Worth |
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DFW |
HD 100 |
HD 100 St. Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas vs. Amanda Richardson, D-Dallas |
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HOUSTON |
TX 14 |
Richard Davis, D-Dickinson vs. Thurman Bill Bartie, D-Port Arthur |
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HOUSTON |
TX 18 |
TX 18 U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Houston, vs. TX 9 U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston |
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HOUSTON |
HD 131 |
Lawrence Allen, Jr., D-Houston, vs. Staci Childs, D-Houston |
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HOUSTON |
HD 149 |
HD 149 St. Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston vs. Darlene Breaux, D-Houston |
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SAN ANTONIO |
TX 35 |
Maureen Galindo, D-San Antonio, vs. Johnny Garcia, D-San Antonio |
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SAN ANTONIO |
HD 125 |
Adrian Reyna, D-San Antonio, vs. Michelle Barrientes Vela, D-San Antonio |
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SOUTH TEXAS |
HD 37 |
Oziel "Ozzie" Ochoa Jr., D-Harlingen, vs. Esmeralda "Esmi" Cantu-Castle, D-Harlingen |
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SOUTH TEXAS |
HD 41 |
Victor “Seby” Haddad, D-McAllen, vs. Julio Salinas, D-Mission |
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TYLER |
TX 1 |
Yolanda Prince, D-Tyler, vs. Dax Alexander, D-Tyler |
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WACO/TEMPLE/ BRYAN |
TX 17 |
Milah Flores, D-Diboll, vs. Casey Shepard, D-Waco |
Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.
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