The 2026 March primary election is upon us. Today, voters will determine which candidates will move forward to the general midterm election in November. If you’re casting your vote tomorrow, here are a few things you need to know.
Who’s on the Ballot
On the ballot across the state are primary races for governor, lieutenant governor, United States Senator and more. All 38 U.S. House congressional seats in Texas and all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives are up for election. In these races, Republicans are looking to keep a majority in the Senate and the Texas House, while Democrats are looking to flip seats.
Numerous local city and town elections are happening as well. In the county you’re registered to vote in, visit their website for a sample ballot to view a full list of candidates.
Where can I vote?
Dallas County voters can expect a big voting location change for Election Day. For this year’s primary, each voter is assigned to one voting center based on the assigned precinct. If you do not visit your assigned voting location, you cannot cast your vote.
Unlike the early voting period, where there were 74 voting centers available according to the Dallas County Elections Department, voters can only visit one voting location on March 3. The assignment is based on voters’ home precincts, but the specific voting center locations within that precinct may have changed from previous elections.
The change comes after the Dallas County Republican Party requested a separate election. Which means in some cases, Democrats and Republicans may need to report to different voting centers in their precinct.
To find your polling location, visit the Dallas County Votes website and find “Vote Centers” under the “Voters” tab. The Hughes-Trigg Student Center will not be a voting location for the primary.
Anticipate longer lines and confusion at voting centers as a result of these changes. Confirm your assigned voting center, plan to arrive early and map out travel. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. statewide.
What do I need to bring?
Voters will need one of the acceptable forms of ID listed on the Vote Texas website. Common forms of ID include a valid Texas driver’s license, election identification certificate or personal identification card, issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Secondary forms of identification, including current utility bills or an original bank statement, can be used if a voter does not have an acceptable photo ID.
Inside Texas’ highly publicized U.S. Senate primary race
For the Republican Party, incumbent and longtime U.S. Senator John Cornyn is seeking a fifth term, facing off against two strong challengers: current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt, a U.S. House member representing Texas’s 38th District.
Cornyn has never lost a race in his 35 years as an elected official. This year, he’s campaigning on “compassionate conservatism,” meaning Cornyn is emphasizing personal responsibility, compassion for others and supporting family values. He believes the government must provide a “hand-up” for citizens, not merely a “hand-out.” Cornyn also wants to find a better alternative to Obamacare and protect our right to bear arms.
Paxton is a hardcore Trump ally who’s campaigning on just that. Using rhetoric centered on MAGA-loyalty and conservative values, he’s aiming to consolidate support from Trump-aligned voters across Texas. Paxton has advocated for stricter border enforcement, a foreign policy rooted in an “America First” approach, and cutting taxes and what he calls wasteful government spending. However, Paxton has faced a multitude of controversies. He was indicted for securities fraud during his first term and has also faced allegations of abuse of office, bribery, infidelity and other misconduct—including a 2023 impeachment, though the Texas Senate ultimately acquitted him of the charges.
Hunt is branding himself as “a younger Paxton without the baggage,” highlighting his close alliance with President Trump and arguing that he’s better positioned than his older opponents to carry that agenda into the future. He’s leaned heavily into that connection, even featuring a carousel of photos with Trump on his website. Hunt is campaigning on a wide range of issues, from defending Israel and “unleashing” American oil and gas energy, to what he calls “fighting the woke left’s agenda.”
Trump, who has publicly described all three candidates as friends, has so far stayed neutral in the race. The Texas Senate primary stands out as one of the only high-profile contests this cycle where the president has declined to offer an endorsement, leaving voters without a clear signal from him on the GOP side. Paxton has led in most polling, and holds a 39% to 36% advantage over Cornyn in the 270toWin average. Hunt is averaging 18%. As the Texas Tribune describes it, this race is a “battle of conservative titans.”
For the Democratic Party, Jasmine Crockett, a U.S. Representative for Texas’s 30th Congressional District, is running against James Talarico, a teacher and member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing House District 50.
Affordability is at the center of Crockett’s campaign. She supports expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, raising wages for working Texans and opposing tax increases on individuals earning less than $400,000 a year. Crockett has also emphasized that “owning your own home is a cornerstone of the American Dream.” Her housing plan includes lowering the cost of obtaining a mortgage, offering annual tax credits for first-time homebuyers during their first five years, and repealing Trump-era tariffs to reduce the price of building materials.
At the same time, some Republican groups are reportedly spending heavily to boost Crockett in the primary, operating under the belief that she would be easier to defeat in a general election than Talarico.
Meanwhile, Talarico has positioned himself as the candidate who can win over moderates and even current or former MAGA voters. He argues that the biggest divide in the country isn’t left versus right, but top versus bottom, framing his campaign around government instability rather than party labels. Talarico has said that unity among working people threatens elite wealth and power, which is why he avoids speaking to just one political side—reflected in his black-and-white campaign branding.
Talarico also emphasizes that he has never taken corporate PAC money, frequently speaking about corruption in politics and the need to reduce the influence of money in democracy. On economic policy, he says billionaires, large corporations and companies engaging in stock buybacks should pay their fair share in taxes to better support working Texans.
The Daily Campus will bring you updated coverage on the Texas primaries and what the results mean as the November midterms approach. For more voting information, visit VoteTexas.gov.
