Texas has an unusually large slate of competitive races for the state Legislature and U.S. House this year. Here’s our list of contests to watch.
Gabby Birenbaum
Gabby Birenbaum is the Washington Correspondent for the Texas Tribune. She covers the Texas congressional delegation and the impact of federal policy on Texas. Gabby previously covered Washington for The Nevada Independent, where she wrote the weekly D.C. Download newsletter and covered the 2024 presidential election and competitive Senate race. Prior to The Nevada Independent, Gabby worked at The Washington Monthly and Vox. Gabby graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and political science. She is a native of Arlington, Virginia and is based in Washington, DC. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, watching movies and being a long-suffering fan of DC sports teams. Her work is supported by a partnership with Report for America.
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2026 Texas Elections
Law enforcement Democrat, GOP Air Force vet upend partisan script in race for new San Antonio U.S. House district
The 35th Congressional District was redrawn to elect a Republican, but Latino voters’ brewing leftward shift has put the seat in play for Democrat Johnny Garcia, who faces Trump-backed Carlos De La Cruz.
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Politics
Ken Paxton raises personal-best $18 million in third quarter for Texas’ U.S. Senate race
The attorney general more than doubled his second-quarter haul, but still is well short of past totals posted by Democrat James Talarico, who has yet to announce his July-to-September fundraising.
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2026 Texas Elections
Trump to visit San Antonio next week for rally with Paxton, De La Cruz
The campaign trip will be Trump’s third to Texas in a month, underscoring the state’s importance in the fight for control of both chambers of Congress.
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2026 Texas Elections
Senate GOP smashing political spending records in Texas with ad-buying binge for Ken Paxton
With the Senate GOP majority hinging on a red Texas, Republicans spent an eye-popping $122 million in September to support nominee Ken Paxton. But the polls have hardly budged.
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2026 Texas Elections
In private remarks, Ken Paxton said Trump’s midterm convention hurt his Senate campaign
The attorney general said the Trump-led GOP gathering in Dallas “dropped our numbers,” according to a recent audio recording published by The New York Times.
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2026 Texas Elections
Texas congressional races 2026: Who is running and what to know about key U.S. House seats
The state’s six most competitive U.S. House contests include four redrawn seats Republicans hope to flip and two where they are playing defense. All are majority Hispanic.
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Congress
U.S. Senate passes Ted Cruz’s college sports bill that seeks to rein in NCAA “chaos”
The bill, which would regulate NIL deals and athlete revenue among other sweeping changes, now needs to clear the House. The lower chamber is out until after the midterms.
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2026 Texas Elections
Paxton, Talarico spar over gas tax suspension amid rising prices
Talarico, who criticized the Iran war, has called for months for a gas tax holiday. Paxton now says the tax should be permanently ended.
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The 2026 Texas Tribune Festival
“MAGA is dead”: Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Trump supporters liars and hypocrites
The former U.S. representative from Georgia sits down with New York Times domestic correspondent Robert Draper at 6 p.m. Thursday.
