Early results from Texas' 2026 midterm elections began coming in Tuesday night, offering an early look at some of the state's most competitive races in years. The Texas Secretary of State's Office said more than 7.4 million Texans voted during the two-week early voting period. Including mail ballots, more than 7.7 million votes were cast before Election Day, or over 40% of the state's 19 million registered voters. Texas does not register voters by party, so it is not clear how many Republicans or Democrats voted early.
According to Associated Press results as of 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Democrat James Talarico held a lead in the U.S. Senate race with 59% of the vote. Republican Ken Paxton had about 39%, and Libertarian Ted Brown had 1.5%. The winner will replace Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002.
In the governor's race, Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa had just over 57% of the reported vote, compared with about 41% for Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, according to the AP. In the lieutenant governor's race, Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin had nearly 59%, while Republican incumbent Dan Patrick had about 40%. Republicans have won every statewide election in Texas for more than three decades. Democrats are hoping to break that streak this year.