Early Voting Starts On Monday!
Get up off your butt, you have to vote again.
Early voting starts Monday, May 18. Election Day is May 26. And after what I can only describe as the primary season from hell, we are two weeks away from being done with this chapter.
I want to be clear about what these runoffs mean. The people who vote in runoffs are not casual voters. They are the committed ones, the organized ones, the people who showed up in March and are showing up again in May. Turnout drops significantly, which means your vote, and the votes of the people you can get to the polls, carry more weight than they did in the primary. Organization matters more. Relationships matter more. Showing up matters more.
Before we get into the races, here are the key dates one more time:
May 18: First day of early voting
May 22: Last day of early voting
May 26: Election Day
May 15: Last day to apply to vote by mail
May 26: Last day to receive mail ballot
Okay. Let’s talk about the races.
Attorney General: Nathan Johnson vs. Joe Jaworski.
I endorsed Jaworski early in this race, and I stand by that endorsement.
Let me say a little more about why, because when I made that endorsement during the primary, I focused on what I liked about Jaworski without really getting into the contrast between the two. I heard feedback on that, and fair enough. So let me be more direct now.
Joe Jaworski is the more progressive candidate in this race. Full stop. He has been the more aggressive voice on corporate accountability and on what the role of the Texas Attorney General should actually look like in a post-Ken Paxton world. He served as mayor of Galveston, he has been in private practice, and he has spent the last several years making himself into a credible statewide candidate for exactly this race. He knows what this office does and what it should do.
Nathan Johnson is a sitting State Senator, and that has clearly worked in his favor. He pulled in nearly 1.1 million votes in the primary to Jaworski’s 550,000. That’s a substantial gap. And honestly, Jaworski’s campaign going negative probably didn’t help him with a Democratic primary electorate that was already dealing with negativity overload from the US Senate race and half a dozen other contests.
But none of that changes which candidate is more progressive. And in a runoff, where turnout is smaller and the electorate is more politically engaged, I think Jaworski has a real path.
Lt. Governor: Vikki Goodwin vs. Marcos Velez.
I’m not offering any commentary on this race.
TX01: Yolanda Prince vs. Dax Alexander.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to build friendships with organizers and politicos across East Texas, including Tyler, Longview, and that whole corner of the state. For races outside my own backyard, I pay close attention to what people doing the actual work on the ground are saying, because that’s where the real information lives.
Online and across organizational spaces, Dax Alexander has had his face out there. But the local organizers, the voices that matter, have been behind Yolanda Prince. And that’s exactly why she won 44% in the primary to his 21%. This seat probably won’t flip blue this November; TX01 is roughly 63% white, 18% Black, and 14% Hispanic, with 31,000 Democrats voting in March compared to 80,000 Republicans. But we put a Democrat on every ballot in every district, because it mobilizes our base and because the people in East Texas who want representation deserve to have someone to vote for.
TX05: Chelsey Hockett vs. Ruth Torres.
This one is complicated. Half the district is in Dallas County, the Anglo majority is barely over 50%, and turnout is historically low, which means the right candidate with the right resources really could flip this thing in November.
I like both of these women, and I’ve had conversations with both. But Torres had the opportunity to build the grassroots infrastructure to flip this district last cycle and didn’t. Meanwhile, Hockett has been working alongside Keenan Colbert in SD02 (another district we have our eye on), which shows she’s thinking beyond her own race. That kind of candidate builds something durable. My primary endorsement of Hockett stands.
TX14: Richard Davis vs. Thurman Bill Bartie.
These two are both very nice liberal grandpas. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Davis, a retired tax professional from College Station, pulled 22,635 votes. Bartie, the retired former mayor of Port Arthur, pulled 15,961. This district went heavily toward Jasmine Crockett. Without her on the ballot, it’ll be interesting to see how those votes shake out. Either of them would serve this district with care. It is not a flashy race.
TX18: Christian Menefee vs. Al Green.
Y’all already know. I love Al Green. I have sung his praises for years, and his record is something to be proud of. But I am superstitious. The last two representatives who held this seat were Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner. Both beloved. Both had gone before their terms ended. Both times, Houston was left without representation for more than a year. That is not fair to the people of that city. Al Green is 78 years old. I would rather see him retire with dignity than write a sentence that starts with “Houston is once again without representation in Congress.”
Christian Menefee is the former Harris County District Attorney. He is young, sharp, experienced, and ready. My endorsement of Menefee stands.
TX33: Colin Allred vs. Julie Johnson.
Both are pro-AIPAC, both are corporate Democrats, both are pro-oil, and both are establishment-friendly. You are getting the same votes either way. The winner will hold a blue seat and vote with the caucus.
Last time, I said I favored Colin Allred because it’s a majority-minority district. Not everyone was happy about that. Representation matters, though.
Good luck, Dallas.
TX35: Maureen Galindo vs. Johnny Garcia.
Another Dead Blue Armadillo™.
This was a four-way primary, with the results at 29%, 27%, 23%, and 20%. Garcia got a late cash infusion and flooded the airwaves, which is how he wound up in a runoff against Galindo. The person I originally endorsed didn’t make it through. Both losing candidates are coalescing behind Galindo. After that, I threw my support behind her.
However, last week, multiple mainstream media outlets published how Galindo was posting “antisemitic conspiracies.” I went to Galindo’s social media to investigate. She was talking about the difference between the Semetic and the Zionists, but her posts took on a more conspiratorial nature about globalism and antisemitic tropes. It just felt like she fell deep down the rabbit hole.
My advice, San Antonio? As you’re walking into the voting booth, hold up a coin, kiss it up to God. Heads, it’s Galindo. Tails, it’s Garcia. Good luck.
SBOE05: Allison Bush vs. Stephanie Limon Bazan.
This is the one statewide race I haven’t been tracking, and I’d rather be honest about that than fake opinions I don’t have. This is a blue seat and will remain blue. Bush pulled 83,648 votes in the primary; Limon Bazan pulled 49,407. I’ll leave this one to the voters who know it best.
SBOE09: Tiffany Perkinz vs. Debra Drake Ambroise.
This is Julie Pickren’s seat (the January 6 MAGA-nut), and whoever wins this runoff needs to be prepared to take her out in November. Tiffany Perkinz has been putting in the work, showing up at SBOE meetings, local school board meetings, her local clubs, and making TikToks. In a race like this, sustained presence in the community is everything. She pulled 40,096 votes to Drake Ambroise’s 33,505. This seat can be flipped. I believe Perkinz is the one to do it.
HD37: Oziel “Ozzie” Ochoa Jr. vs. Esmeralda “Esmi” Cantu-Castle.
This is Janie Lopez’s district, and it should flip back to blue in November, one of the 14 Texas House seats we need to take back the chamber. Ochoa is the more progressive Democrat in this race. He finished with 6,515 votes to Cantu-Castle’s 4,525. My endorsement of Ochoa stands.
HD41: Julio Salinas vs. Seby Haddad.
My endorsement of Salinas stands, and this race matters beyond the district.
A Salinas win is a genuine foothold for progressives in the Rio Grande Valley, the kind of presence rooted in labor and community that starts to rebuild something durable in a region where the Democratic Party has been taking Latino voters for granted for decades.
Salinas is a union member, an educator, and an authentic progressive. Haddad has been alleged to be an undercover Republican running in a blue district. I don’t throw that around lightly, but it’s been circulating seriously enough that voters in HD41 deserve to know it’s out there.
HD49: Montserrat Garibay vs. Kathie Tovo.
My original pick didn’t make it through. There were eight candidates, and it happened. Garibay is the more progressive of the two finalists. A young labor leader whose candidacy represents the newer generation of Austin progressives thinking seriously about housing, workers’ rights, and the economy.
Tovo has a reputation from her time on the Austin City Council as being NIMBY on housing, which is a significant issue in this district. She reached out to explain how her positions had evolved. We never got to have that conversation. Figure it out, HD49. I believe in you.
HD97: Diane Symons vs. Beth Llewellyn McLaughlin.
My endorsement of Llewellyn McLaughlin stands. There are nuances here that matter, and the voters in this district understand them.
HD100: Venton Jones vs. Amanda Richardson.
This is South Dallas (88% non-Anglo), and the Supreme Court just gutted the Voting Rights Act. What this district needs right now is someone who will fight like hell for it. I’m not getting revolutionary energy from Amanda Richardson. Venton Jones isn’t a firebrand either, but this district is 88% non-Anglo, Jones is Black, and that still matters right now. Representation matters now more than ever because, no matter what anyone tells you, we don’t live in a colorblind society.
HD125: Adrian Reyna vs. Michelle Barrientes Vela.
My endorsement of Reyna stands.
And I want to say something to San Antonio while I have your attention: y’all had the opportunity this primary season to move some moderates out and send some genuine progressives to Austin. In several races, you chose not to. I understand it. But I’m asking, do it for the rest of us. Adrian Reyna is a young educator and a union member. Barrientes Vela was a cop. That is a real and meaningful difference in terms of who these two candidates will fight for. That’s why I’m asking y’all to vote for Adrian Reyna when you go to the polls. 🙏🏻
HD131: Staci Childs vs. Lawrence Allen Jr.
My endorsement of Childs stands, and I am genuinely excited to see her win this. She has real experience on the State Board of Education (SBOE), and she knows how the machinery of Texas education policy works and how to fight within it.
Allen’s main qualification is being a legislator’s son. That is not the same as having done the work yourself. Childs led the primary with 7,224 votes to Allen’s 4,370. The path for Childs is clear. Primary runoff voters just need to get her over the hump.
HD149: Hubert Vo vs. Darlene Breaux.
Nine votes separated these two in the primary. Vo finished with 3,743, Breaux with 3,734. That is as close as it gets. Vo is the long-time incumbent — long enough to become part of the furniture — and having three primary challengers and barely surviving into a runoff tells you something about where he stands with his constituents. Breaux is a former Alief ISD school board president who ran a campaign strong enough to come within nine votes of an incumbent. This one will be decided entirely by who turns out. If you live in HD149, vote, and bring everyone you know.
The runoffs decide who carries the Democratic banner into November.
That means the Texas House, statewide offices, and school board seats that shape what a generation of Texas kids learns about their own history.
What about the Republican primary runoffs? I don’t give a shit, do you? We’ll talk about whichever assholes are left standing afterward, but since we don’t vote for that team, who tf cares.
This primary season was exhausting. We are almost through it. Go vote. Drag someone with you. Drag ten people with you.
In Texas politics, there is always another election right around the corner.
May 18, 2026: First day of early voting (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 22, 2026: Last day of early voting (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 26, 2026: Last day to receive ballot by mail (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 26, 2026: Election day! (Democratic primary runoff elections)
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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Oh CD33. Ugh. Also you missed CD 24, Kevin Burge must win. I heard from one of our young dems, “I will support ‘candidate’ in November, but I don’t have to vote for them in the primary.” That is how I feel about the AG runoff. Dallas County is going to be hard. I fled to Johnson County 3 times this week, that is how hard things have been for me in Dallas with all the Dem on Dem fighting, which frankly won’t be done on May 26, since we will be fighting until June 26 at the Convention (that is when my election will happen). But like I expect every Democrat do, I am running like I am 10 points down (hence the three trips to Johnson). But I was so grateful to our Irving City Council newest member who thanked me for my strategy and emotional support during a bruising election. It never stops. But I love this state too much.