The 2026 Texas Democratic Primaries: Part Two
Your guide to every down-ballot primary that matters.
If you missed it, yesterday we discussed Part One, the top of the ticket. And if you’re keeping score, here are the competitive Democratic primaries we’ll be looking at in March:
US Senate
Governor
Lt. Governor
Attorney General
Comptroller
Land Commissioner
We’ve got so much more to cover. I’m still making my list and checking it twice. If you’re looking for who’s on the ballot, websites, and socials, check here:
My plan for this short three- or four-part (probably four) series is to give you an overview of ALL the Democratic primaries. Then, over the next 80 days, I’ll write articles about each race. I’ll try to get to them all, but absolutely, I’ll get to the safe blue districts and seats we have a shot at flipping. On top of that, we’ll be doing “Meet the Candidate” articles weekly, but I might increase that to twice a week in January. And the podcast comes back in January. The goal is that we’re all going to know about the upcoming March Democratic primaries and the great candidates running across the state.
Let’s get into it.
State Board of Education (SBOE).
We discussed the SBOE races back in October before filing started. By then, I had heard of candidates who planned to run for Congress, the Legislature, or state or local positions, but I hadn’t really heard about any SBOE races, and I was a little nervous. However, I am pleased to report that we have had many solid Democrats step up. Two of these races may even go to a runoff.
SBOE05
This district is in Central Texas and includes Travis and Hays Counties, two blue counties. Needless to say, this will be a safe blue seat for Democrats. That hasn’t stopped Republicans from throwing a candidate up there at the last minute, but a fascist doesn’t have a chance in hell in this district, not in 2026.
There are five Democrats on the ballot. The incumbent, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, did not run for re-election. Since it is still very early, some candidates don’t have their websites up yet, or I couldn’t find them. Please get them up soon. But luckily, in this race, all the candidates appear highly qualified, and I was able to look up their accolades online.
First, you have Kevin Jackson, who is an educational diagnostician. Then, there’s Allison Bush, who’s a teacher, counselor, and administrator. Abigail Gray is a civic education outreach coordinator. Dr. Victor Sampson is an Associate Professor of STEM at UT Austin. Neto Longoria is a bilingual special education teacher and parent support specialist. And Stephanie Limon Bazan is a social impact leader.
Five candidates, at least on the surface, appear to hold all the qualifications we would expect from an SBOE member. Quite the opposite of their Republican counterparts. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to learning more about them.
SBOE07
It’s really important to talk about qualifications when it comes to the State Board of Education, and understand that Republicans vote based on celebrity and who itches their hate buttons the best. Take the SBOE07 incumbent, for example. Julie Pickren. She made her entire personality about being a traitor to America and trying to overthrow the American government on January 6, 2021. And Republicans elected her. They liked her for that. But it was her only qualification for office. They even featured her on CPAC because of it.
Julie Pickren is an embarrassment to Texas. During her stint on the Board, she’s put Christian Nationalism in our school books, erased any mention of climate change, and has been pushing to implement PragerU in Texas public schools. Why? Because she’s never read a history book and has no qualifications to be in the position she’s in.
Julie Pickren is the first (and only, so far) January 6 participant to be elected to state government after January 6. Which is why getting her out and fixing that blunder is so essential. That’s why these primary races matter so much. We find the best, the strongest, the hardest-hitting Democrat to go head-to-head with her in November.
I’m not going to lie and say this will be an easy race for Democrats. Due to gerrymandering, it won’t. But we’re expecting an overperformance this year, and EVERYONE is pissed about the state of education in Texas.
The Democrats on the ballot are Debra Abroise, a retired trustee from Port Arthur; Janell Burse, a business manager; Ben Estrada, an IT analyst; Adam Khan, a teacher; and Tiffany Perkinz, an educator.
This is SBOE07:
There are 80 days until the primary election. My suggestion to any candidate reading this is get up a website and social media STAT, and find other candidates in competitive primaries in the State House or State Senate that overlap this district and start doing some coordinated campaigning with them.
I don’t know if others are talking about it, and if they aren’t, they should be. Yes, the data in SBOE isn’t super-favorable for Republicans, but Julie Pickren is doing serious damage to the young minds of the next generation. We have to fight like hell to take that seat.
SBOE08
The Republican incumbent in this seat is Audrey Young. She’s unremarkable. In fact, she’s dealing with a primary challenge of her own. A Democrat hasn’t run for this seat since the maps were redrawn in 2021. Even so, this seat is drawn 62% non-Anglo. In 2022, Young got fewer votes, in number, than any other SBOE candidate running. This district covers much of the outer ring of Harris County and some counties to the northeast. I believe Young could be vulnerable, but we don’t have any recent comparison numbers.
We have two Democrats running, Shahzeb Meghani, a software engineer, and Dana Van De Walker, an education administrator. I can’t wait to learn more about them.
SBOE13
This is a safe blue seat, with a Democratic incumbent, Tiffany Clark. Clark is being challenged by Kimberly Boswell, on her paperwork, she’s listed as an assistant principal. Unfortunately, that’s all the information I was able to dig up about this race at this time, so it’ll be one we circle back to later.
Texas State Senate.
These will be a little more straightforward.
SD05
This is incumbent Charles Schwertner’s (R) seat, who has several Republican primary opponents of his own. When Republicans drew these maps in 2021, they gave themselves a +18-point advantage, but we haven’t seen a Democrat run here since. This year, there are two, Paul Thommason and Kevin Nelson.
This district would be especially flippable with a large Democratic overperformance in 2026 (10 points+) and a strong statewide Dem at the top of the ticket who spends real money in the suburbs, college towns, and rural communities of color.
The real target in this district has to be young Black and Latino voters if they want a chance at making headway. The district is 24–27% Latino in the voting-age population, but Spanish-surname registration is in the mid-teens. Then, protect and maximize Black turnout in Freestone/Leon/Robertson/Limestone, etc. These voters are often taken for granted and under-resourced, but can be the margin between 42% and 46%.
Since flipping this district would be the long-term project, in the primary, voters should ask, “Who can build the infrastructure we need and grow the vote, even if we don’t win this cycle?”
Do they talk about campus organizing, Latino outreach, church unions, teachers, etc., or just yard signs and social media?
They have 80 days to prove which one will do it.
SD11
Senate District 11 has vacated their billionaire, Mayes Middleton; he’s moving on to ruin other people’s lives. Surprisingly, there’s only one Republican on the ballot here. Two Democrats are running for this seat. Cameron Rollwitz and Shannon Dicely. I recently published a Meet the Candidate article covering Rollwitz, and I’ve been speaking with Dicely; that one is scheduled in a few weeks.
Here’s the thing. This seat won’t be an easy flip, but it isn’t a fantasy either, especially without a billionaire incumbent. The population is majority non-Anglo, heavily working-class, with significant concentrations of Black and Latino voters in Galveston, Texas City, Pasadena, South Houston, and Southeast Houston.
If progressives in Texas treat SD11 like a real opportunity, they can win it. While Republicans fight over who can be the most extreme on banning books and forcing religion into classrooms, families in Galveston, Pasadena, and Pearland are drowning in insurance rates, flood risk, and school underfunding. And those issues will turn out voters in this district.
With an open seat and a district this diverse, Democratic primary voters should be looking for a candidate who can actually build a broad coalition across Galveston, Texas City, Pasadena, South Houston, and Pearland. That means someone rooted in the community, who understands the realities of coastal life, working-class struggle, and the school funding crisis. They should be able to talk to Black church networks, Latino neighborhoods, labor unions, teachers, refinery workers, and suburban families without losing the thread. The strongest candidate will have a clear plan for field organizing, real precinct goals, a multilingual outreach strategy, and a message centered on schools, insurance rates, flood protection, and corruption. In other words, primary voters need to choose the Democrat who isn’t just ready to run in SD11, but ready to run through it.
SD21
This is a safe blue seat, held by long-time Democratic incumbent Judith Zaffirini.
I have made no secret that I believe Zaffirini should be primaried due to her long-standing alliance with Republicans and continuous voting record with the GOP.
Further reading:
Well, Zaffirini has a primary challenger, and her name is Courney Jones, but make no mistake about it, she’s up against a titan. Not only does Zaffirini have the Democratic establishment and the Republican establishment in her corner, but she also has a lot of Democratic voters in her district who “don’t pay attention to politics” and will check off her name because it’s the only name they’ve ever seen in SD21 for the last 50 years. Jones is definitely facing an uphill battle.
We’ll have to check back in on this race in six weeks and see if she’s making a dent. If she is, then she might have a chance.
We’re only at the beginning of this series, and the 2026 Democratic primaries are shaping up to be some of the most consequential we’ve seen in years.
From the State Board of Education to the State Senate, we have real choices to make. Choices that will determine not just who carries our banner in November, but what kind of Democratic Party we want to be in Texas. Qualified educators stepping up for SBOE. Community-rooted contenders in tough districts that Republicans drew for themselves. Longtime incumbents are finally facing accountability. And in places like SD05 and SD11, opportunities to grow our base, build long-term infrastructure, and flip seats the GOP has taken for granted.
We have 80 days to vet every one of these candidates, lift the strongest ones, and make sure Democratic voters across Texas know exactly what’s at stake. Over the next few weeks, we’ll go deeper into these races, district by district, candidate by candidate. Because if we’re serious about turning Texas blue, it starts right here, in these primaries, with the people willing to fight for a better Texas.
Part Three is coming tomorrow, and we’ll start digging into the Congressional primary races. Buckle up.
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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This will definitely be the first time I've voted in a Democratic primary, I can't wait to participate!
I saw this about 3 pm, but couldn't share it on Bsky then. Thank you, Michelle! I just did!!!