Texas will hold its 2024 primary elections on March 5. Here are all of the candidates who have filed for the Democratic and Republican primary elections, according to the Secretary of State. Voters in each primary will choose their candidates for U.S. president, U.S. Senate, congressional and legislative offices, the State Board of Education, the Railroad Commission and judicial seats.
Early voting begins Feb. 20. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff on May 28. Texas is an open-primary state, meaning voters can decide every two years whether to pick Republican or Democratic nominees (or hold out and go to third-party conventions).
Of note: whichever primary you decide to vote in, you can vote only in that same party’s runoff. You can, however, vote for either party's candidates in the general election.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order in this ballot guide. Elections in Texas are run by 254 different counties, and each county determines the order of candidate names on the ballots printed there. To see each county’s ballot order for the primary, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s site.
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You’ll also see county and local elections on your ballot. Sample ballots for specific counties can be found through the list of county websites maintained by the Texas Association of Counties.
See who's running for:Texas will hold its primary on Super Tuesday and will be an important state for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in 2024. There are 161 Republican and 244 Democratic delegates up for grabs which can be awarded proportionally, meaning more than one candidate can secure some of them. President Joe Biden is seeking reelection and has no serious competition in the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead among Republican candidates.
At least some of the candidates on the ballot will likely drop out by primary election day, however. Texas follows Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina on the primary calendar.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is seeking a third term and faces two other candidates in the Republican primary. Meanwhile, the Democratic primary has nine candidates including U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who is leading in fundraising. Other Democrats in the race include state Sen. Roland Gutierrez and state Rep. Carl Sherman.
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Texas has 38 congressional seats, and all up for election this year, with most incumbents running again. There are three open seats. Republicans are vying to replace U.S. Rep. Kay Granger in District 12 and U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess in District 26, both of whom are not seeking reelection. Meanwhile, Democrats are competing to succeed U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who is running for U.S. Senate, in District 32.
In Texas, the Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry. Members of the three-person board are elected statewide. One seat is up for election in 2024.
The Texas Supreme Court, the state’s highest civil court, has nine justices. Three of the nine seats on the Supreme Court are up for election in 2024. Justices are elected statewide, and Republicans currently hold all the seats.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state’s highest criminal court. The nine members are elected statewide and are currently all Republicans. Attorney General Ken Paxton is working to unseat the three Republican judges up for reelection this year. This is in response to a 2021 ruling by the court that struck down Paxton’s ability to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud.
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There are 15 districts within the State Board of Education, which sets curriculum and chooses textbooks for Texas public schools. Only 7 are up for election this year. Only one incumbent, Melissa Ortega in District 1, decided not to seek reelection.
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In the 31-member Texas Senate, only 15 seats are up for election in 2024.
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There are 150 members of the Texas House. Each state representative serves a two-year term.
This election year, Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking revenge against Republicans who voted to impeach him by endorsing their primary challengers. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is also working to unseat the House Republicans who voted against school vouchers, one of Abbott’s top legislative priorities in 2023.
Disclosure: The Texas secretary of state, Theresa Boisseau, Santos Limon, Sylvia R. Garcia, Stuart Whitlow, Julie Johnson, Dayna Steele, Jan McDowell, Katherine Culbert, Pam Little, Merrie Fox, Gary VanDeaver, Jill Dutton, Kyle Biedermann, Erin Shank, Michelle Beckley, Walter Coppage, Stan Lambert, Norma Chávez, Yvonne Davis, Donna Howard, Terry Canales, Senfronia Thompson, Brooks Landgraf, Vikki Goodwin and Todd Hunter have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Illustrations by Emily Albracht and Reagan Hicks.
