The 2026 TexasSenate election will be held concurrently to the 2026 Texas House of Representatives elections on November 3, 2026.[1] Elections will be held in 16 of the 31 Senate districts for four-year terms. The winners of this election will serve in the 90th Texas Legislature. 18 Senate seats are currently held by Republicans, 12 seats are held by Democrats, and one seat, formerly held by a Republican, is vacant. Primary elections will be held on March 3, 2026, with runoffs taking place, if necessary, on May 26, 2026.[2]
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]
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]
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.[18] Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet received the most votes at 47.6%. He was followed by Republicans Leigh Wambsganss, 36%, and John Huffman, 16%.[19] Rehmet and Wembsganss advanced to a runoff held on January 31, 2026, which Rehmet unexpectedly won by a large margin.[20]
Brandon Creighton resigned to serve as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.[14] 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,[23] with the endorsement of Lieutenant governor and Senate President Dan Patrick and former senator Creighton.[24][25]
Results summary
Summary of the November 3, 2026 Texas Senate election results
Incumbent Republican Bob Hall is running for re-election.[27] He will face Republican Jason Eddington in the primary, the Republican nominee will face Democrat Keenen Colbert.
Incumbent Democrat Taylor Rehmet was elected in a January special election runoff. He faces a rematch against Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the general election.[31]
Incumbent Republican Mayes Middleton is retiring to run for Attorney General.[15] Republican state representative Dennis Paul is running to succeed Middleton, Paul's campaign was endorsed by lieutenant governor Dan Patrick.[32] Two Democrats, coordinator Shannon Dicely and systems specialist Cameron Rollwitz, are running for the Democratic nomination.
Incumbent Democrat Roland Gutierrez is running for re-election. Republicans Marcus Cardenas, Robert Marks Jr. and Adam Ernest Salyer are running for the Republican nomination.
Incumbent Democrat Judith Zaffirini is running for re-election. She will face social worker Cortney Jones in the Democratic primary. The winner of the primary will run unopposed in the general election.
Incumbent Republican Brian Birdwell is retiring.[16] Three Republicans have filed for the nomination. State representative David Cook is running for the nomination, he will face McLennan County District Clerk Jon Gimble and Angel Wings Ranch director Rena Schroeder. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Amy Martinez-Salas.
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