2026 Texas Senate election

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Republicans have controlled the Senate since the 1996 election. Republicans gained one seat in the heavily-Hispanic Rio Grande Valley in the 2024 election, increasing their majority to 20 out of 31 seats.^[3]

During the regular session, the legislature passed a number of bills to advance a conservative agenda. Chief among them a school voucher bill, long a priority of the Senate which had historically been stifled in the more moderate House of Representatives.^[4] The bill allocates $1 billion of public funds for children to attend private schools or for their parents to homeschool them, prioritized based on income and disability.^[5] Other conservative hallmarks related to education included requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion policies from public schools, and restricting free speech on college campuses in the wake of Gaza war protests at universities. Other new laws included the tightening of bail, restricting the rights of transgender people, easing access to vaccine exemption, and cutting property taxes.^[6] On a more bipartisan basis, the legislature passed bills to alleviate water supply issues, clarify medical exceptions in the state's abortion ban, and ease the construction of housing in amidst the state's growing housing crisis.^[7][8][9]

Governor Greg Abbott had already planned to call a special session to address legislation that did not pass in time during the regular session or that Abbott vetoed, such as a ban on THC products, as well as to address new issues such as deadly flooding in central Texas. At the request of president Donald Trump, Abbott added congressional redistricting to the agenda with the goal of flipping five Democratic-held U.S. House seats to the Republicans in the 2026 elections.^[10] Senate Democrats staged a walkout before the final vote on the bill, with all but two of them leaving the chamber, but unlike in the House, this was not enough to break quorum and block the bill's passage.^[11] The House walkout forced the chamber to pass the bill in a second special session after their walkout ended, which it did on a party-line vote.^[12]

In the 2024 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump won 21 districts, while Democrat Kamala Harris won 10 districts. Democrats hold 2 districts in which Trump won, although only one is up for election in 2026. Republicans hold no districts won by Harris. Republicans made massive gains across the historically-Democratic Rio Grande Valley region in 2024.^[13]

District	Trump margin of victory in 2024	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Incumbent's previous margin
9th district	R+17.4	Taylor Rehmet	Democratic	2025 (special)	D+14.5
20th district	R+4.3	Juan Hinojosa	Democratic	2002	D+100[a]

1. District 3: Robert Nichols is retiring^[14]
2. District 4: Brandon Creighton resigned early to serve as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System^[15]
3. District 11: Mayes Middleton is retiring to run for Attorney General^[16]
4. District 22: Brian Birdwell is retiring^[17]

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[18]	Safe R	January 22, 2026

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

A special election took place to fill the unexpired term in Texas's 9th Senate district. A special election is scheduled for May 2, 2026, to fill the unexpired term in Texas's 4th Senate district.

Kelly Hancock resigned to become chief clerk of the Texas Comptroller's office in June 2025. A special election to serve the remainder of the term took place on November 4th, 2025.^[19] Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet received the most votes at 47.6%. He was followed by Republicans Leigh Wambsganss, 36%, and John Huffman, 16%.^[20] Rehmet and Wembsganss advanced to a runoff held on January 31, 2026, which Rehmet unexpectedly won by a large margin.^[21]

Senate District 9 special election^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Taylor Rehmet	56,565	47.57%
	Republican	Leigh Wambsganss	42,739	35.94%
	Republican	John Huffman	19,608	16.49%
Total votes			118,912	100.00

Senate District 9 special election runoff^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Taylor Rehmet	54,473	57.27%
	Republican	Leigh Wambsganss	40,648	42.73%
Total votes			95,121	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Brandon Creighton resigned to serve as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.^[15] A special election is scheduled for May 2, 2026. Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon is currently running in the special election as a Republican,^[24] with the endorsement of Lieutenant governor and Senate President Dan Patrick and former senator Creighton.^[25][26]

District 4 special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Ligon
	Democratic	Ron Angeletti
Total votes

Summary of the November 3, 2026 Texas Senate election results

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Republican	13			18	11
	Democratic	16			13	5
	Green	1			0	0
Total					31	16	16	31

† - Incumbent not seeking re-election

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
1st	Bryan Hughes		Rep
2nd	Bob Hall		Rep
3rd	Robert Nichols†		Rep
4th	Vacant		N/A
5th	Charles Schwertner		Rep
9th	Taylor Rehmet		Dem
11th	Mayes Middleton†		Rep
13th	Borris Miles		Dem	Borris Miles		Dem
18th	Lois Kolkhorst		Rep
19th	Roland Gutierrez		Dem
21st	Judith Zaffirini		Dem	Judith Zaffirini		Dem
22nd	Brian Birdwell†		Rep
24th	Pete Flores		Rep
26th	Jose Menendez		Dem
28th	Charles Perry		Rep
31st	Kevin Sparks		Rep

Summarize Timeline Top Qs Fact Check

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 18 • District 19 • District 21 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 31

Incumbent Republican Bryan Hughes is running for re-election despite speculation that he might run for attorney general.^[27] He is expected to easily win re-election against Democrat Laticia Ambroz.^[28]

District 1 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bryan Hughes (incumbent)
	Democratic	Laticia Ambroz
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Bob Hall is running for re-election.^[29] He defeated Jason Eddington in the primary, and will face Democrat Keenen Colbert in the general election.

District 2 Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Hall (incumbent)	62,610	78.71%
	Republican	Jason Eddington	16,936	21.29%
Total votes			79,546	100.0%

District 2 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Hall (incumbent)
	Democratic	Keenen Colbert
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Robert Nichols is retiring.^[30] Nichols was one of only two Republicans to vote to convict attorney general Ken Paxton during his 2023 impeachment trial, and he was the only Senate Republican to vote against school voucher legislation. Trent Ashby, state representative from the 9th district, defeated Rhonda Ward in the Republican primary.

Rhonda Ward, a first-time candidate, received nearly $2 million in campaign funds from businessman James Moyer, one of the largest donations to any legislative candidate this election cycle. The disproportionate size of Moyer's donation compare to the rest of Ward's campaign funds has raised concerns among residents about Moyer's influence over Ward, especially regarding the construction of AI data centers, although Moyer's company is not directly tied to any construction efforts in the district. Ward is considered a hardline conservative, having signed a pledge to call a referendum on Texas's secession from the United States.^[31] In contrast to this, Ashby was seen as the more moderate of the two. Lieutenant governor Dan Patrick did not endorse either candidate in the race.^[28]

Ashby will face Democrat Bobby Tillman in the general election.

District 3 Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Ashby	72,075	62.33%
	Republican	Rhonda Ward	43,566	37.67%
Total votes			115,641	100.0%

District 3 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Ashby
	Democratic	Bobby Tillman
Total votes

Senator Brandon Creighton resigned to serve as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.^[15] The remainder of the unfinished term will be determined by the May 2, 2026 special election. Brett Ligon, who is also a candidate in the special election, defeated Charlie Miller in the Republican primary and will face Democrat Ron Angeletti in the general election.

District 4 Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Ligon	65,939	74.48%
	Republican	Charlie Miller	22,590	25.52%
Total votes			88,529	100.0%

District 4 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Ligon
	Democratic	Ron Angeletti
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Charles Schwertner is running for re-election.^[32] Schwertner has faced multiple scandals during his time in office, including an arrest for driving while intoxicated and allegations of sexual harassment, although no charges were brought against him for either.^[33][34] In light of these scandals, the Austin American-Statesman endorsed challenger Apollo Hernandez in the primary against Schwertner.^[35] Schwertner defeated Hernandez and Larry Nance in the Repulican primary.

Schwertner will face Democrat Paul Thomasson in the general election.

District 5 Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Schwertner (incumbent)	66,931	74.65%
	Republican	Apollo Hernandez	13,357	14.90%
	Republican	Larry Nance	9,373	10.45%
Total votes			89,661	100.0%

District 5 Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Thomasson	31,810	51.27%
	Democratic	Kevin Nelson	30,230	48.73%
Total votes			62,040	100.0%

District 5 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Schwertner (incumbent)
	Democratic	Paul Thomasson
Total votes				100%

Incumbent Democrat Taylor Rehmet was elected in a January special election runoff. He faces a rematch against Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the general election.^[36] District 9 voted heavily for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, leading Republicans to project confidence in their ability to win the district back.^[37]

District 9 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Taylor Rehmet (incumbent)
	Republican	Leigh Wambsganss
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Mayes Middleton is retiring to run for Attorney General.^[16] Republican state representative Dennis Paul is running to succeed Middleton, Paul's campaign was endorsed by lieutenant governor Dan Patrick.^[38] Two Democrats, coordinator Shannon Dicely and systems specialist Cameron Rollwitz, ran for the Democratic nomination, which Dicely won.

Dennis Paul and Dicely will face each other in the general election.

District 11 Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shannon Dicely	46,484	74.75%
	Democratic	Cameron Rollwitz	15,705	25.25%
Total votes			62,189	100.0%

District 11 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Paul
	Democratic	Shannon Dicely
Total votes

Incumbent Democrat Borris Miles is running for re-election unopposed.

District 13 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Borris Miles (incumbent)
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Lois Kolkhorst is running for re-election. She will face Democrat Erica Gillum in the general election.

District 18 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lois Kolkhorst (incumbent)
	Democratic	Erica Gillum
Total votes

Incumbent Democrat Roland Gutierrez is running for re-election. The Republican primary featured candidates Marcus Cardenas, Robert Marks Jr. and Adam Ernest Salyer. No candidate in the Republican primary received over 50% and a runoff election will be held on May 26, 2026 between Cardenas and Marks.

District 19 Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marcus Cardenas	14,646	44.32%
	Republican	Robert Marks Jr.	10,616	32.13%
	Republican	Adam Ernest Salyer	7,783	23.55%
Total votes			33,045	100.0%

District 19 Republican primary runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marcus Cardenas
	Republican	Robert Marks Jr.
Total votes				100%

District 19 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roland Gutierrez (incumbent)
	Republican	TBD
Total votes

Incumbent Democrat Judith Zaffirini is running for re-election. She defeated social worker Cortney Jones in the Democratic primary and is unopposed in the general election.

District 21 Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Judith Zaffirini (incumbent)	67,324	73.16%
	Democratic	Cortney Jones	24,704	26.84%
Total votes			92,028	100.0%

District 21 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Judith Zaffirini (incumbent)
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Brian Birdwell is retiring.^[17] Three Republicans filed for the nomination: State representative David Cook, McLennan County District Clerk Jon Gimble, and Angel Wings Ranch director Rena Schroeder. Cook won the primary and will face Democrat Amy Martinez-Salas in the general election.

District 22 Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Cook	57,804	67.34%
	Republican	Jon Gimble	20,624	24.03%
	Republican	Rena Schroeder	7,409	8.63%
Total votes			85,837	100.0%

District 22 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Cook
	Democratic	Amy Martinez-Salas
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Pete Flores is running for re-election and will face Democrat Joe Herrera in the general election.

District 24 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Flores (incumbent)
	Democratic	Joe Herrera
Total votes

Incumbent Democrat José Menéndez is running for re-election. He will face Julián Villarreal, the Green Party nominee for this seat in 2020.

District 26 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	José Menéndez (incumbent)
	Green	Julián Villarreal
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Charles Perry is running for re-election. He will face Democrat Riley Rodriquez.

District 28 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Perry (incumbent)
	Democratic	Riley Rodriquez
Total votes

Incumbent Republican Kevin Sparks is running for re-election.^[39] He will face Democrat and Amarillo College regent John Betancourt.^[40]

District 31 general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin Sparks (incumbent)
	Democratic	John Betancourt
Total votes