James Talarico (Photo by Antonio Esparza, via Wikimedia Commons), left
and Ken Paxton, right
TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editor
Nash@DallasVoice.com
Information from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office showed that there are a record 19 million Texans registered to vote in the 2026 midterms, about 7.7 percent more than in the 2022 midterms. And as of Tuesday morning, Oct. 27, according to KERA, information from the Secretary of State indicated that some 26 percent of those registered had already cast their midterm ballots in early voting.
More than 4.7 million people had cast their ballots in person by Tuesday morning, and another 215,000 had submitted ballots by mail.
And that was with four more days of early voting left, not to mention Election Day next Tuesday, on Nov. 3. Republican analyst Derek Ryan predicted to The Texas Tribune that this year’s final turnout numbers will be over 50 percent.
Nationally, analysts are giving Democrats a decided edge in this year’s midterms. In Texas, analysts say that, based on previous voting records and where the votes are coming from, it appears that Democrats have the edge in early voting here, too. But others warn that the Democrats’ obvious enthusiasm could also be spurring on Republicans to get out and vote, too.
U.S. Senate
One of the races drawing attention from across the country is the battle between Republican Ken Paxton, the state’s current attorney general, and Democrat James Talarico, the current state representative from District 50, to replace incumbent Republican John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate.
Campaign finance reports indicate that Talarico’s campaign has spent $145 million, with another $71 million spent on his behalf by pro-Talarico and pro-Democrat groups.
Paxton’s campaign, on the other hand, has directly spent only about $20 million, while pro-Paxton/Pro-Republican groups have spent another $175 to $205 million on Paxton’s behalf.
Of that outside spending for Paxton, some $190 million came from Elon Musk.
The Talarico-Paxton contest is of special interest to LGBTQ+ Texans because of Paxton’s extensive attacks on the community, especially transgender children and teens. Those attacks include Paxton’s lawsuit that forced Texas Children’s Hospital to shut down its program offering gender-affirming treatment to trans youth and to instead open what Paxton this week bragged is “the first-ever detransition clinic” in the U.S.
By Tuesday, Oct. 27 — one week before Election Day — five of six polls showed Talarico leading Paxton, with two of the polls — Univision/YouGov and Cook Political Report — giving Talarico a five-point advantage. The sixth poll, from Fox News, showed the two candidates tied at 49 percent each.
Texas Governor
Another race of particular interest to the LGBTQ+ community is the one between Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. Abbott, like Paxton, has frequently targeted the LGBTQ+ community, including a 2022 directive by Abbott ordering the state’s department of Child Protective Services to investigate for child abuse parents who support their trans children in getting gender-affirming healthcare.
Most polls give Abbott a slight lead in that race, ranging from a 5-point advantage in the ActiVote poll (52.5 percent-47.5 percent) to a 1-point leader in the Fox News Survey (48 percent-47 percent).
The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project, however, shows Hinojosa with a 1-point advantage over Abbott (49 percent-48 percent).
Tech billionaire and Donald Trump buddy Elon Musk has also contributed heavily to Abbott’s campaign, starting with a $500,000 donation earlier than adding another $5 million on Sept. 28.
Texas Legislature
There are currently nine openly-LGBTQ+ members of the Texas Legislature, including state Sen. Molly Cook, whose current term runs through Jan. 9, 2029. All eight LGBTQ+ members of the state House, however, are up for re-election.
Running unopposed for re-election are Rep. Jessica González in District 104 (Dallas), Rep. Mary González in District 75 (Clint/El Paso) and Christian “Manuel” Hayes in District 22 (Beaumont).
LGBTQ+ lawmakers facing challengers this Election Day are:
- Erin Zwiener in District 45 (Driftwood), opposed by Republican Tennyson Moreno.
- Ann Johnson in District 134 (Houston), opposed by Republican Mike Michna.
- Jolanda Jones in District 147 (Houston), opposed by Republican Theodis Daniel.
- Venton Jones in District 100 (Dallas), opposed by Republican Jordan Scott Huffnagel.
- Josey Garcia in District 124 (San Antonio), opposed by Republican Sylvia Soto and Independent write-in candidate LD Howard, and
- Lauren Ashley Simmons in District 146 (Houston), opposed by Republican Alexandria Nicole Butler.
Other LGBTQ+ candidates in Texas
Two LGBTQ+ candidates are running unopposed for Dallas County Precinct 5 justice of the peace offices. Sara Martinez is running in Place 1, and former Dallas City Councilmember Omar Narvaez is running in Place 2.
The national organization Victory Fund, which trains and endorses openly-LGBTQ+ candidates has endorsed candidates in several other races around they state. They include: Austin City Council candidate Alexandria Anderson, Katy City Council candidate AJ Bailey, Harris County Criminal Court #4 judge candidate Shannon Baldwin, Hays County Criminal District Attorney Landon Campbell; Bexar County District Clerk Christine Castillo, Hays County Clerk Nicholas Costillo, Harris County Probate Court 3 judge Jason Cox, Harris County JP Precinct 1 Place 2 Steve Duble, Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors at large position Chris Ehlinger, Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors Skyler Korgel, Harris County Civil Court 2 judge Jim Kovach, Harris County JP Davis Mendoza Darusman, 190th Texas State Judicial District judge Beau Miller, Bell County Commissioner Louie Minor, 5th Court of Appeals justice Place 8 Nicholas Palmer, Harris County Probate Court 1# judge Jerry Simoneaux and Texas State Representative District 67 Jordan Wheatley.
Equality Texas Action endorsements
Equality Texas Action, a 501(c)(4) that “endorses candidates who will improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ Texans if elected,” has endorsed a total of 90 LGBTQ+ and allied candidates at the federal and state levels in the 2026 general election.
Federal level candidates include:
James Talarico for U.S. Senate, and in races for the U.S. House, Laura Jones in Congressional District 8, Lorraine Varela in CD 16, Sylvia Garcia in CD 29, Justin Early in CD 31 and Melissa McDonough in CD38.
In races for statewide office Equality Texas Action has endorsed Gina Hinojosa for governor, Vikki Goodwin for lieutenant governor, Nathan Johnson for attorney general, Sarah Eckhardt for Comptroller, Jon Rosenthal for railroad commissioner and Ben Flores for land commissioner.
In races for the Texas Senate, the organization endorsed Bobby Tillman in Senate District 3, Shannon Dicely in SD 11, Borris Miles in SD 13, Roland Gutierrez in SD19, Judith Zaffirini in SD 21, Joe Herrera in SD 24 and Jose Menendez in SD 26.
Equality Texas Action has endorsed 71 candidates for the Texas State House. They are Andie Ho in House District 12, Matthias Early in HD 20, Kristin Hook in HD 21, Christian Manuel in HD 22, Eliz Markowitz in HD 26, Ron Reynolds in HD 27, Karen Reeder in HD 29, Jennifer Dominguez in HD 31, Orlando Lopez in HD 33, Erin Gamez in HD 38, Armando Martinez in HD 39, Terry Canales in HD 40, Erin Zwiener in HD 45, Sheryl Cole in HD46, Pooja Sethi in HD 47, Donna Howard in HD 48, Montserrat Garibay in HD 49, Lulu Flores in HD 51, Brittany Black in HD 61, Sandeep Srivastava in HD 66, Mihaela Plesa in HD 70, Eddie Morales in HD 74, Mary Gonzalez in HD 75, Suleman Lalani in HD 76, Vincent Perez in HD 77, Joe Moody in HD 78, Cullin Knutson in HD 86, Diana Loyd in HD 87, Heather Wallace in HD 88, Angie Carraway in HD 89, Ramon Romero Jr.in HD 90, Salman Bhojaniin HD 92, Nicole Collier in HD 95, Beth Llewellyn McLaughlin in HD 97, Cate Brennan in HD 98, Venton Jones in HD 100, Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos in HD 102, Rafael Anchia in HD 103, Jessica González in HD 104, Terry Meza in HD 105, Joe Mayes in HD 106, Linda Garcia in HD 107, Allison Mitchell in HD 108, Aicha Davis in HD 109, Toni Rose in HD 110, Yvonne Davis in HD 111, Rhetta Bowers in HD 113, John Bryant in HD 114, Cassandra Hernandez Garcia in HD 115, Philip Cortez in HD 117, Kristian Carranza in HD 118, Elizabeth Campos in HD 119, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins in HD 120, Diego Bernal in HD 123, Josey Garcia in HD 124, Desiree Klaus in HD 128, Josh Wallenstein in HD 133, Ann Johnson in HD 134, Odus Evbagharu in HD 135, John Bucy in HD 136, Gene Wu in HD 137, Tyler Smith in HD 138, Charlene Ward Johnson in HD 139, Senfronia Thompson in HD 141, Harold Dutton in HD142, Ana Hernandez in HD 143, Christina Morales in HD 145, Lauren Simmons in HD 146, Jolanda Jones in HD 147, Penny Morales Shaw in HD 148 and Darlene Breaux in HD 149.
— From Staff Reports