The 2026 election cycle is already heating up ahead of mandatory filing deadlines next month, with primaries fast approaching. Candidates vying to be Texas’ next U.S. Senator, Governor, Attorney General and congressional delegate laid out their platforms, hoping to set themselves apart from their competition. Here’s what you need to know.
Senate
By Emmie Adams and Justin Doud
Two frontrunners, Colin Allred and James Talarico, spoke at the 2025 Texas Tribune Festival Nov. 14, highlighting their campaign platforms and strategies to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
Allred, a former U.S. Representative and NFL linebacker, is a Democrat from Dallas. He centers his platform around affordability in healthcare, childcare and education for working-class families and ending corruption in politics. Allred’s main opponent in the 2026 primary race for Texas’ U.S. Senate seat is State Rep. James Talarico, who is prioritizing education, inequity and a “new kind of politics,” though U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has alluded she may jump into the race before the December filing deadline.
Allred said Texas Democrats are fighting against more than the Republican party, adding they are fighting against the idea that nothing can change.
“What I think we’re challenged by here in Texas is we’re often not running against just Republicans,” Allred said. “We’re running against the cynicism, the belief that nothing will change.”
Talarico reiterated that idea in his own appearance, emphasizing his current role as a part-time seminary student and strong ties to his faith.
“I do feel like something is broken in this country,” Talarico said. “Our eceonomy is broken, our political system is broken, but even our relationships with each other feel broken. And I think that”s because the most powerful people in the world want it that way.”
Allred struck first at the Tribune Festival, changing what had so far been a primary challenge focused on Republican opposition as opposed to internal party criticism. He criticized Talarico for accepting funds from Miriam Adelson, a billionaire Israeli-American doctor.
“I like James, but when I see him say that he’s running against billionaires, but then when nobody was looking, his top donor was Miriam Adelson,” said Allred.
Allred said the main difference between himself and Talarico is his goal for unity in Texas.
“I’m coming at this from a perspective of trying to serve in a way that they can bring us back together as a state,” Allred said.
Talarico reiterated his desire for a clean primary before Allred’s appearance at the Festival.
“I’m not going to spend time in this race tearing down my fellow Texas Democrats, because we are all on the same team,” Talarico said. “We may have some friendly rivalries and friendly competition between teammates, but we all have the same goals.”
Allred said Texas is the number one trade state with Mexico, and there is a lot the two can do together. He emphasized Texas’ need to stand up for itself. Both candidates expressed a similar sentiment toward the compromise that ended the 43-day government shutdown. They said the Democrats should not have compromised to end the shutdown.
“What I will not do, and what I see the other side doing, is bootlick,” Allred said.
Beto O’Rourke: Senate Hopeful?
By Emmie Adams
Former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke spoke with The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich about his efforts to increase voter turnout for younger generations.
O’Rourke served in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. In 2018 he ran for Texas’ Senate seat, losing to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz. O’Rourke campaigned for President in 2020, but ended his Democratic campaign before the election. He was also defeated by Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2022 gubernatorial election.
O’Rourke now works with Powered by People, a political action committee, registering Texas Democrats.
In light of the upcoming Senate race, Leibovich asked O’Rourke if he was running.
“I don’t think I am,” O’Rourke said. O’Rourke shifted the conversation to focus on what he said he’s doing right now with Powered by People and said he would make an official announcement Dec. 9.
O’Rourke said last year voter turnout for 18 to 29 year olds nationally was 42%, and in Texas, 36%. He said turnout for the voters involved with Powered by People was 79.5%.
“This group is posting up on college campuses and other places where young people congregate all over the state of Texas,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke said young people are not consuming news like they used to and as a result don’t know how to tell what is true.
“So we now want to leverage these relationships that we have with these voters, personal, intimate, forged when we’re together on these campuses, and share the truth,” O’Rourke said.
Leibovich asked O’Rourke what his thoughts were on the performance of the Democratic party overall. O’Rourke said he was dissatisfied with the eight Democrats who voted to end the national government shutdown because they decided to compromise.
“They said they were going to hold out for us, but then they didn’t,” O’Rourke said.
Leibovich also asked O’Rourke what keeps him going.
“It’s not hard,” O’Rourke said. “And so I feel lucky to be alive and to be in this fight.”
Governor
By McKenna Valentine
Democratic candidates for Texas governor, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa and Andrew White, spoke at the Texas Tribune Festival on Thursday, Nov. 13. The candidates intend to unseat Governor Greg Abbott, who is seeking reelection for a record fourth term. On the docket for discussion were the affordability crisis, immigration and school vouchers.
Hinojosa intends to address the Texas teacher pay gap — which is $10,000 below the national average — by offering teachers a pay raise. She says she will build a budget that “delivers real results for our kids.”
She says that, in Travis County, a large percentage of single-family houses were bought out by a private equity firm, making home ownership increasingly difficult. Hinojosa says she filed HB 2334 in March to address this crisis.
Corruption is the most driving force behind policy in the state of Texas, Hinojosa says, citing Gov. Abbott’s private school voucher program, which is “driven by contributions from out-of-state billionaire [Jeff Yass].”
White is also anti-school voucher and wants to use that money to fund pre-k education for public schools.
Both candidates repeatedly spoke in disapproval of Governor Greg Abbott.
Hinojosa cited an October poll from the Texas Politics Project saying Governor Greg Abbott has a 40% approval rating.
“I don’t think the governor understands what the word ‘eliminate’ means,” Hinojosa says in reference to his initiative to eliminate the STAAR tests, which he “tripled” during his terms.
White says, “I think if you secretly ask Greg Abbott who he does not want to run against, it’s me.”
Hinojosa took a broader approach.
“It’s going to take all of us to defeat Greg Abbott,” Hinojosa said. “I am welcoming whoever wants to be in this race.”
Attorney General
By Joseph Sweeney and Elijah Carll
Candidates vying to be Texas’ next Attorney General pitched their platforms at the 2025 Texas Tribune Festival Nov. 14.
This comes after incumbent Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he would not seek reelection, instead declaring a run for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary, according to an X post made by Paxton last Wednesday.
On the Democratic side, Joe Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston, emphasized his party’s need to focus on “meeting the moment.”
“We need to set the agenda and show that we are the party that can bring America back to its values,” he said.
In terms of policy, Jaworski wants to see an improved state child-support system, a reformed property tax system and better consumer protections around insurance.
Texas State Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-16) said the conservative hold on Texas is weakening, and that Democrats need to appeal more to moderates and “thinking Republicans.”
“We have many of them in Texas who say, ‘You know, I don’t agree with Nathan on everything, but I trust that he’s going to do a good job,’” he said.
Johnson believes the office needs to reduce political corruption, improve public safety and promote business competition.
Johnson criticised Paxton’s use of the office, saying that while the incumbent sued former President Joe Biden’s administration 106 times, he refused to aim at Trump even after withholding billions in education funds to Texas and hundreds of millions in solar panel infrastructure.
“That’s already our money, and Trump is withholding it. Paxton doesn’t sue him,” Johnson said. “Dude, where are you when we need you?”
On the Republican side, Texas State Sen. Joan Huffman spoke on her experience as a prosecutor and as a state senator, where she chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.
Huffman touted her leadership in stabilizing the state’s economy at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People continue to come to Texas and invest in Texas and because of that, our economy is growing, and our budget is growing,” she said.
If elected, Huffman said she would uphold a “conservative budget” by investing more tax dollars towards public education, specifically teacher pay raises and special education programs.
Huffman, herself a former criminal court judge, also positioned herself as an ally of law enforcement.
She noted her role in passing state law enforcement legislation in 2021, which prevented certain Texas counties from reducing or reallocating local law enforcement budgets without holding a prior election.
“I could have run for this office earlier in my career,” Huffman said. “I’ve been working on heavy issues for a long time, but now, I think I have something to offer to the people of Texas.”
Aaron Reitz, most recently an assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice, positioned himself as a political outsider in the Republican Primary, emphasizing his loyalty to the platform of President Donald Trump.
Reitz was previously deputy attorney general under Paxton before embarking on a slew of other opportunities within the Republican Party. Reitz was later endorsed by Paxton for the position of Texas Attorney General.
“I’m not a traditional politician. I’m someone Trump describes as a true MAGA attorney and warrior of the constitution,” he said.
Reitz boasted his achievements as a prosecutor at the federal, state and local level. He said this experience differentiates him from fellow Republicans in the race.
Should he be elected, Reitz said he would begin treating Democrats as a “threat” to Texas values. He would focus on working together with Trump in escalating immigration enforcement operations and deporting undocumented immigrants.
Reitz added he would enforce Texas’ Quo Warranto laws to remove certain officials Texas courts find to be in violation of state law. He declared removing Jose Garza and Sean Teare, district attorneys for Travis and Harris County respectively, his number one priority.
“If Texas is ever gonna become something that is not Texas, it will be because of the abuses of power and liberal insanity coming out of places like Travis County, Harris County, Bexar County and other blue pockets around the state,” Reitz said.
Feb. 2 is the last day to register to vote in the March 3 primary. Early voting runs Feb. 17-27.
Houston Congressional District 18
By Aneesh Tiwari
Harris County Attorney and frontrunner Houston Congressional Candidate Christian Menefee criticized recent gerrymandering efforts in Texas and called for a stronger response by city leaders to federal policies on a panel centered around Houston politics at the 2025 Texas Tribune Fest Friday.
On the panel alongside Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones and U.S. House Representative Sylvia Garcia, Menefee opposed the decision by Governor Abbott to pursue redistricting at the request of President Donald Trump.
“I’m not going to do that to the people in my state just to advance your own political agenda,” Menefee said. “That’s the difference between the Democratic Party right now and the Republican Party right now. The number one metric in the Republican party for your long term success is, how do you pledge (loyalty to) Donald Trump — when he says, ‘jump,’ how high do you jump?”
Menefee, who is the youngest person and first Black man to serve as Harris County Attorney, ran for a U.S. House seat for Texas’ 18th district in a special election this year after incumbent Democrat Sylvester Turner died in March. Menefee won nearly 29% of the vote in the first round, the most of any candidate, advancing to a run-off election against fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards.
When asked about recent downward trends for business and population, Menefee, who was born and raised in Houston, said he’s still encouraged about the future of the city because of its economic resources.
“What makes us different from Detroit 50 years ago is that we have the core assets on the ground right now,” he said. “We are the energy capital of the world. We have the world’s largest medical health (center), right? We have the port, which is being deepened and widened right now. We have NASA. These are assets that a lot of those cities in the Midwest did not have.”
Menefee also shared his opinion on the job Houston Mayor John Whitmire has done, saying that he has a good relationship with the mayor but hoped for a larger response against Trump’s policies.
“I think his approach with the federal government is very different than the approach that I would take,” he said. “You have to be willing to stand up. I know that can lose some aid. I know that that can lose some federal dollars, but I stand by why I got into politics … I got into politics to make sure that the next kid has an opportunity like I had to get to where I’ve been.”
