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 are currently being 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]
District partisanship
2024 Presidential data by Senate district:
Trump
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
Harris
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
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]
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]
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]
Results summary
Summary of the November 3, 2026 Texas Senate election results
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]
Incumbent Republican Bob Hall is running for re-election.[29] He will face Republican Jason Eddington in the primary, the Republican nominee will face Democrat Keenen Colbert.
Incumbent Republican Robert Nichols is retiring.[30] Nichols was one of only two Republicans to vote to convict attorney generalKen 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, is running to replace him. He is seen as the more moderate of the two Republicans in the race, not having received an endorsement from hardline conservative lieutenant governorDan Patrick, although he has not endorsed Ashby's opponent, Rhonda Ward, either.[28]
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]
Incumbent Republican Charles Schwertner is running for re-election.[32] Schwertner faces two primary challengers and 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]
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, 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.[17] 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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