Texas Primary Runoff Preview

Monday, May 20 marked the beginning of early voting for the Texas primary runoff election. It runs until Friday, May 24, with Election Day being held on Tuesday, May 28.

??The big picture …

What we’re watching: Incumbents have historically performed poorly in runoffs.

• The picture is even bleaker where the incumbent was not the top vote-getter.

Key Themes: The same themes that marked the March primaries continued to shine through in the lead-up to the run-off.

• The run-off elections continued to see significant resources from PACs, making both incumbents and challengers well-financed.
• Governor Abbott continued to provide financial assistance and hit the campaign trail in support/opposition to those candidates who supported/opposed his school choice plan.

Key Takeaway: The Texas House is likely to see extremely high turnover for an election not immediately following redistricting.

• Nine GOP incumbents lost their primary races during the March primary, while another eight were forced into runoff elections. A Democrat incumbent was also forced to a runoff.

Note to reader: want to dive deeper into the Texas primary runoff election, including who's on the ballot plus analysis on the most hotly contested and closely watched races, including endorsements, political significance of the outcomes, and more? Subscribe to our newsletter!