Travis County Primary Guide: Early Voting Opens Monday With Crowded Fields for Congress and Statewide Office

Texas primary season is underway, and voters across the state will decide who carries the Republican and Democratic banners into the November general election. Early voting begins Monday, Feb. 14, and runs through Friday, Feb. 25. Election Day is Tuesday, March 1.

If no candidate in a race wins a majority of at least 50% of the vote, the top finishers can advance to a runoff. Districts that do not appear in the Travis County guide are not on the ballot in 2022. Voters in neighboring Williamson and Hays counties have separate guides.

Congressional lines have shifted this year. Texas has 38 seats in the U.S. House, two more than before, after gaining them in the 2020 census. In District 35, which includes East Austin and Manor, Rep. Lloyd Doggett is not seeking reelection. He is instead running in the new District 37, which covers nearly all of western Austin and part of northeast Austin. Former Austin City Council member Greg Casar and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez are among four Democrats running in District 35, alongside ten Republicans. District 37 has four Democrats, including Doggett, and three Republicans.

Other incumbents face primaries of varying size. Republican Michael McCaul, who has held District 10 since 2005, faces no listed primary challenger, and Democrat Linda Nuno is also running. In District 17, Pete Sessions is one of four Republicans in the field. In District 21, Chip Roy, in office since 2018, is among four Republicans, and six Democrats are competing for their party's nomination.

At the top of the statewide ballot, Gov. Greg Abbott, first elected in 2014, is seeking a third term. He faces seven Republican challengers, including former state Sen. Don Huffines and former Texas GOP chair Allen West. One challenger is a man named Rick Perry, who is not the former governor. Five Democrats are running, among them former El Paso congressman Beto O'Rourke, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 and for president in 2020.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, in office since 2015, is also seeking a third term and has five Republican challengers. Three Democrats are running, including Mike Collier, the party's 2018 nominee for the office.

Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican seeking a third term, faces three primary opponents: Land Commissioner George P. Bush, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. Paxton was indicted in 2015 on three felony counts tied to securities fraud and has yet to go to trial. He is also under FBI investigation after former aides accused him of accepting bribes, and his challengers have raised both matters. Five Democrats are also running.

With Bush leaving the Land Office to run for attorney general, eight Republicans and four Democrats are competing for land commissioner. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller faces two Republican challengers, and two Democrats are running. Comptroller Glenn Hegar is seeking a third term and has one Republican challenger, with three Democrats in the race.

One Railroad Commission seat is on the ballot, and the commission oversees the state's oil and gas industries. Republican incumbent Wayne Christian is seeking a second term. Candidate Marvin "Sarge" Summers of Lubbock died in a car crash in early February, but his name will remain on the ballot. Democrat Luke Warford is unopposed for his party's nomination.

Local races are also on the ballot, including Texas House districts 19 and 46 through 51, state Senate districts 14, 21 and 25, a State Board of Education seat and four Travis County criminal district judgeships.