A bunch of races from the March primary in Texas went to runoffs — which means no candidate running for their party’s nomination for elected office got more than 50% of the vote. So now, the top two candidates in those races are on the ballot again this month. These races will determine who runs in the general election in November.
Early voting in the runoffs starts Monday and runs through May 20. Election Day is May 24.
In Texas, you don’t register as a member of a political party, so primaries are open to anyone, regardless of your personal party preference. You can vote in only ONE party’s primary in a year, though. That means if you voted in the Republican primary in March, you have to vote in the Republican runoff.
But less than 20% of Texas voters turned out for the March primaries. So what about all those other voters? Can they still vote in the runoffs?
Yes! If you didn’t vote in a March primary, you can vote in EITHER party’s primary runoff.
(Pro tip: Because runoffs tend to attract even fewer voters than the original election, your vote can have an outsized influence in a runoff. So if you feel strongly about a race, but didn’t vote in March for one reason or another, now’s your chance to make a difference!)
There are some congressional and legislative runoffs that vary depending on where you live, but voters across the state will have at least a few races to make a choice in, depending on which party’s primary they vote in.
Here are the races every Texas voter will see on runoff ballots:
Republican Ballot
- Ken Paxton (incumbent)
- George P. Bush
Land Commissioner
- Dawn Buckingham
- Tim Westley
Railroad Commissioner (oil and gas regulator)
- Wayne Christian (incumbent)
- Sarah Stogner
Democratic Ballot
Texas Attorney General
- Rochelle Garza
- Joe Jaworski
Lieutenant Governor
- Michelle Beckley
- Mike Collier
Land Commissioner
- Jay Kleberg
- Sandragrace Martinez
Comptroller
- Janet T. Dudding
- Angel Luis Vega
