Happy Merry Filing Deadline Eve!

A look at the filings, the factions, and the future of Texas Democrats

Yesterday, I spent hours tracking down every candidate’s website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and stray campaign website I could find. (Note to candidates: if you’re already on the ballot, please launch a website soon, so I can stop looking.) The updated lists:

• Who Will Be On The 2026 State Ballot?

• Who Will Be On The 2026 Federal Ballot?

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And speaking of things that take too much time… the Secretary of State’s website. Lord. Have. Mercy.

Because Jane Nelson is apparently running the SOS from a potato, I’ve had to rely on county party filings to figure out who’s actually on the ballot. Big shoutout to Tarrant, Dallas, and Bexar Dems for having their lists up. Y’all are doing the Lord’s work.

The process goes like this, once a county party accepts a candidate’s application, they’re officially on the ballot, and then the county has about a week to send that information to the SOS.

But apparently, the SOS website is updating the information from the counties slowly, so we might have more candidates quietly materializing next week, not because they’re new, but because the SOS website is slow, outdated, and run by someone who should not be anywhere near a state-level job.

I blame the Secretary of State Jane Nelson and her ongoing demonstration of what bureaucratic incompetence looks like. I blame Greg Abbott for appointing someone who couldn’t manage a lemonade stand, let alone a statewide election system. And mostly, I blame Republicans for breaking every institutional thing they touch.

What’s the count (so far)?

I know, everyone is dying to see if we’ll get there. Will we have every seat filled?

There are still several filings we expect tomorrow, and some may have been filed but aren’t showing up on the SOS website yet. But the deadline is 12/08/2025 at 6:00 pm, and here is where we are:

• Congress:

  • Democrats are on 38 out of 38 seats

  • Republicans are on 36 out of 38 seats (so far)

• SBOE

  • Democrats are on 8 out of 8 seats

  • Republicans are on 8 out of 8 seats

• State Senate

  • Democrats are on 15 out of 15 seats

  • Republicans are on 12 out of 15 seats (so far)

• State House

  • Democrats are on 145 out of 150 seats (so far)

  • Republicans are on 114 out of the 150 seats (so far)

I expect at least a dozen Texas House Democrats to win their seats by default tomorrow without primary or Republican challengers. But there will be primaries, oh yes, there will be primaries.

Without getting too much into them now, because we’ll have four months to cover them all. I want to give you a quick count of how many primary races there will be (besides the statewide races):

• Congressional races: 25

• SBOE: 4

• Texas Senate: 2

• Texas House: 26

Mind you, this is all subject to change tomorrow by the filing deadline. But Texas Democrats are in for an exciting primary season. I hope it doesn’t get too ugly.

Several incumbent Democrats are being challenged, and the question I have for their primary challengers is, “Why?”

That’s something they all should be prepared to answer. Too often on the Republican side, primary challenges arise because the challenger is grifting or seeking career advancement. But we’re not like them. I want to hear specifics. They are disappointed with the incumbent’s voting record. The incumbent hasn’t shown up for the community. And so forth.

Here are the Democratic incumbents (so far) who do have primary challengers:

• Congressman Henry Cuellar

• Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia

• Congressman Vicente Gonzalez

• SBOE13 Member Tiffany Clark

• Senator Judith Zaffirini

• Representative Suleman Lalani

• Representative Chris Turner

• Representative Philip Cortez

• Representative Liz Campos

• Representative Barbara Gervin Hawkins

• Representative Charelene Ward Johnson

• Representative Harold Johnson

• Representative Mary Ann Perez

• Representative Hubert Vo

Some on this list are obvious. We all know why Henry Cuellar and Philip Cortez have primary challengers, and why they deserve primary challengers. But there are others on this list, like Sylvia Garcia and Chris Turner, who have a progressive voting record and a history of showing up for their communities. So, the question becomes, “Why?”

Junior Ezeonu, a young, vibrant, progressive City Council Member in Grand Prairie, is challenging Turner. This also happens to be my district, so I’m paying attention to it. Ezeonu is running on the same platform as Turner and hasn’t been forthcoming on his reason for challenging this long-time incumbent.

Maybe it is because Turner is older and Ezeonu is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Or perhaps it’s because this district (HD101) is only 26% Anglo, and sometimes things like that can overshadow a policy record.

But this is part of a bigger conversation.

HD101 overlaps with TX30 (Jasmine Crockett’s district) and SD23 (Royce West’s District).

Last election, I know for a fact that Junior Ezeonu, a young, vibrant progressive, was approached about primarying Senator West, a 70+ year old Conservative Democrat. Royce West has a long, respected history on civil rights, but he has also cast votes that progressives have strongly disagreed with, particularly on issues affecting women, LGBTQ Texans, and the working class. Ezeonu turned that offer down.

In our society, in America, especially in Texas, our systems were built with white supremacy at the foundation, and today they’re reinforced by the patriarchy, oligarchy, and the rise of Christian nationalism. Together, those forces shape the political environment we’re fighting in.

And when you look strictly at the record, Chris Turner has consistently voted with the Black community, with the LGBTQ community, with women, and with the working class. But Texas Democrats also have a long-running issue. Conservative Democrats have been holding on to seats for a long time. We’ll talk about the El Paso situation later, because it’s a textbook example of that problem. And this tension, between representation, ideology, generational change, and community loyalty, is precisely why some of these primary challenges are happening now.

Then there is this website that just popped up yesterday:

https://drafthaynesforcongress.com/

Here’s the screenshot in case it goes away:

If you aren’t in the Dallas area or are unaware, Dr. Fredie Haynes is the pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, one of the largest Black churches in Dallas. It’s interesting because it’s also Jasmine Crockett’s and Royce West’s church. This would be TX30 (Jasmine Crockett’s district).

We’ll find out for sure what Crockett plans on doing tomorrow.

But what does the rumor mill say?

At first, I heard that Crockett convinced Allred to switch to a statewide race, but then I heard he won’t because he’s already raised millions, and it isn’t transferable from federal to state. Joaquin Castro plans to file for his same Congressional seat tomorrow. But then there was this:

CNN published this today, if you missed it, “Jasmine Crockett scrambles Democrats as she weighs a last-minute Texas Senate run.“ They said she still hasn’t decided what seat she’ll run for and has the cashier’s checks for both. She said she believes her profile and combative style could energize Democratic voters, especially Black and Latino voters who often sit out statewide elections. Supporters see her as the kind of fundraiser and “fighter” who could shake up a long-shot race.

But critics fear she could trigger the classic Texas Democratic pattern of self-inflicted chaos. They worry that her more controversial comments (like calling Abbott “Gov. Hot Wheels” or confusing a donor with the wrong Jeffrey Epstein) could supercharge Republican turnout and jeopardize down-ballot Democrats. Some argue she would be the least competitive general election candidate, even if she has a strong shot at winning the primary.

Despite concerns, Crockett insists her deliberation is strategic, not reckless.

I’ve already heard concerns from multiple people that Crockett may run a negative campaign against Talarico. I hope that’s not true, because that would only hurt us down-ballot. Regardless, we have to do everything we can.

Greg Abbott’s top strategist, Dave Carney, said a big reason Texas Democrats keep losing is that they obsess over the top of the ticket and neglect the down-ballot races.

He’s absolutely right, you know.

El Paso’s progressive community needs to regroup and re-engage.

I would say this also applies to some other counties, but there was a big hoopla last year about the four El Paso Democrats who didn’t break quorum. They lost endorsements, they were reprimanded, they lost donations, and yet all four refiled, and not a single one had a primary challenger.

Guess what? Every single Democrat that didn’t break quorum, except for Philp Cortez, doesn’t have a primary challenger. You know what else? They all have multiple Republican challengers.

Which goes to show that moving right won’t stop the Republican incursion. And maybe those seats will turn red next year. We shouldn’t be surprised if they do, because the Democrats in those districts, and the parties in those counties, haven’t been showing up for voters.

There’s a growing sentiment among progressives that a more structured effort is needed to challenge conservative Democrats who frequently vote with Republicans. Whether that takes the form of a PAC or another coordinated strategy remains to be seen.

So tomorrow we’ll finally know who’s in, who’s out, and who’s about to light a match in a room full of gasoline. And honestly? Fine. Let the cards fall.

But the rest of us? We have to keep our eyes on the real enemy.

It’s not James Talarico or Jasmine Crockett. It’s not Turner or Ezeonu. It’s not the messy primaries or the rumor mill.

It’s the Republican machine, white supremacy, backed by billionaire money, and hell-bent on breaking this state all the way down.

We can’t win Texas if we spend more time fighting each other than fighting them. We can’t win Texas if we ignore the down-ballot races that shape people’s lives. We can’t win Texas if whole counties forget to show up.

Tomorrow will end the speculation. But it’s only the beginning of the work.

Let’s get organized. Let’s get loud. Let’s get everywhere. Because 2026 is coming, and the stakes could not be higher.

• Who Will Be On The 2026 State Ballot?

• Who Will Be On The 2026 Federal Ballot?

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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