HOUSTON—Early voting in primaries is beginning across Texas, intensifying the scramble in high-stakes Senate races and other crucial contests.
Texans can start casting early ballots on Feb. 17, one day after President’s Day. Early voting will continue through Feb. 27.
Primary Election Day is March 3.
The start of primary voting in Texas comes after House races there were upended by redistricting, part of a wider redistricting battle between Democrats and Republicans across the country. Texas’s new congressional map is expected to increase Republican representation from that state.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is defending his seat from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) in a heated Republican primary.
That primary and other competitive races could come down to runoffs scheduled for May 26.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, on Nov. 10, 2025. (Michael Clements/The Epoch Times)
The Democratic Senate primary, which pits Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) against Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D), has proved no less dramatic.
All five marquee Senate candidates are among the hopefuls campaigning throughout Texas during the first week of early voting.
Texans who wish to vote by mail in the primary election face a Feb. 20 deadline for the receipt of those ballots by early voting clerks.
Mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on March 3 if they are not postmarked. Some ballots can be accepted by up to 5 p.m. the day after Election Day—specifically, those that are postmarked on Election Day at the location of the election.
Exemptions apply to ballots cast from outside the United States that arrive within five days after Election Day.
Senate Candidates Stretch Out
Cornyn, a former attorney general of Texas, was first sent to the Senate in 2002.
Now he’s fighting to stay above water in a three-way race with Hunt and Paxton.
Paxton and Cornyn have generally vied for first and second place in polling.
“I think it is going to come down between Paxton and Cornyn,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a political consultant who has worked with both men, in an interview with The Epoch Times.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), accompanied by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on May 1, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“The case for Cornyn is incumbency,” Steinhauer added. “Not that many statewide Republicans have lost primaries in Texas over the years.
“The case for Paxton is he’s the insurgent candidate. He does have his finger to the pulse of the grassroots of the party.”
Turning Point Action’s endorsement of Paxton has added to his momentum.
President Donald Trump has not issued an endorsement in the contest.
On the Democratic side, Talarico and Crockett are likewise competitive with each other in polling.
The Democratic and Republican races have cost millions so far, including more than $50 million for advertising in support of Cornyn.
On Feb. 16, Paxton and Cornyn spoke at events in Tyler and Dallas, respectively. The attorney general will also appear in Allen, Magnolia, and Richmond during the first week of early voting.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 8, 2025. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)
Cornyn’s campaign stops include a get-out-the-vote rally in Austin on Feb. 17, the same day Talarico will headline his own rally in the state capital.
With the Senate out of session, the incumbent has a packed campaign schedule this week. It includes events in San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston, Edinburg, Bryan/College Station, the Woodlands, and Corpus Christi.
Talarico will appear again this week in El Paso on Feb. 21, one of many stops ahead of Election Day on what he bills as the “Take Back Texas Tour.”
Rep. Wesley Hunt on service and family for NTD’s "Profiles of Service." (NTD)
Hunt will also be touring. Events shared with The Epoch Times include engagements in Tomball, Nacogdoches, Tyler, Austin, and Navasota.
The House, like the Senate, is out of session.
Other Notable Races
Key House races include those in Texas’s 28th district, a narrowly GOP-leaning district according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Like others in the state, it shifted towards the Republicans after recent redistricting.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who faces two minor opponents in his own primary, may soon contend with a former Democrat, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, who is running in the Republican primary.
In Texas’s 34th District, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) is also staring down a more Republican map following redistricting.
Multiple candidates are competing in the district’s Republican primary, including former Rep. Mayra Flores.
(Left) Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. (Right) Former Rep. Mayra Flores, a congressional candidate. (U.S. House of Representatives; Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
In the Republican primary for Texas’s 23rd District, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) is once again facing firearm activist Brandon Herrera, among other opponents. Herrera narrowly lost to Gonzales in the 2024 primary runoff for that district.
In the Republican attorney general primary, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) faces Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R), former Trump administration official Aaron Reitz, and another Texas state senator, Joan Huffman.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) speaks during a House Rules Committee meeting on June 20, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright is fighting off a challenge from Jim Matlock in the GOP primary.
Meanwhile, Texas State Comptroller Kelly Hancock could lose his bid for the Republican nomination.
A February poll from the University of Houston showed Hancock in third behind real estate developer and former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines and Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddock.
Darlene McCormick Sanchez contributed to this report.
