AUSTIN, Texas — Texas will hold its 2022 primary elections March 1. Here are all of the candidates who have filed for the Democratic and Republican primary elections, according to the Secretary of State.
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Each party will choose its candidate for seven statewide seats — governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, comptroller, and one of three seats on the Railroad Commission.
Republicans and Democrats will also choose their candidates to face off in November for district-based congressional and legislative offices, the State Board of Education, and judicial seats.
Texas has redrawn its political districts. Our map page shows which district your home is within.
Early voting begins Feb. 14. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff on May 24. Texas is an open primary state, so voters can decide every two years whether to pick Republican or Democratic nominees (or hold out and go to third-party conventions).
Of note: Whatever primary you decide to vote in, you can vote only in that same party’s runoff. You can vote for either party's candidate in the general election.
Elections in Texas are run by 254 different counties, and each county determines the order of candidate names on ballots printed there. To see the ballot order for the primary in each county, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s site.
You can see the complete ballot list on The Texas Tribune website.
Governor
The governor is the chief executive of Texas. The seat has not been held by a Democrat since 1995, and Republican Greg Abbott is seeking a third term. His primary challengers include former state Sen. Don Huffines and former Texas GOP chairman Allen West. On the Democratic ticket, former El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke has statewide name recognition after his 2018 U.S. Senate and 2020 presidential runs.
Lieutenant Governor
The lieutenant governor, the second-highest executive in the state, presides over the state Senate and heavily influences the state budget. Republican Dan Patrick is seeking a third term. Mike Collier is running against him and was the Democratic nominee in 2018.
Attorney General
The attorney general is the top lawyer in Texas, representing the state in mostly civil litigation. Ken Paxton is seeking a third term, and his tenure has been clouded by a high-profile securities fraud indictment and FBI investigation into claims of malfeasance in office. He has attracted three primary foes who are well known in Texas politics.
Land Commissioner
The land commissioner manages mineral rights for public lands in Texas and oversees the Alamo. The race is wide open as incumbent George P. Bush is running for attorney general.
Agriculture Commissioner
The agriculture department supports farmers, regulates fuel pumps, and administers school lunch programs. Sid Miller is seeking a third term.
Comptroller
The comptroller is the state official responsible for collecting taxes, overseeing the state treasury, and forecasting the amount of money that’s available for the state’s two-year budget. Republican Glenn Hegar is running for a third term.
U.S. House
Texas has a new 38-district congressional map that incorporates two new House seats the state gained due to population growth. U.S. representatives serve two-year terms, and 31 sitting members are running again. The state’s current delegation consists of 23 Republicans and 13 Democrats. The new map increases the number of districts that hypothetically would have voted for Donald Trump in 2020 from 22 to 25.
Railroad Commissioner
In Texas, the Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry. Members of the three-person board are elected statewide. One seat is up for election in 2022.
Supreme Court of Texas
Three of the nine seats on the Supreme Court are up for election in 2022. Justices are elected statewide, and Republicans currently hold all the seats.
Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state's highest criminal court. The nine members are elected statewide and are currently all Republican. Three seats are up for election this year.
State Board Of Education
There are 15 districts within the State Board of Education. Nine are held by Republicans, and six are held by Democrats.
Texas Senate
Every seat in the 31-member Texas Senate is up for election this year because the districts were redrawn by current legislators. Sixteen Republican incumbents were drawn into safe districts for reelection, and two additional Senate seats being vacated by Republicans would almost certainly go to new GOP candidates over Democrats next year based on the percentage of voters in the district who voted for Donald Trump over Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. Senators serve four-year terms.
Texas House
There are 150 members of the Texas state House. Each state representative serves a two-year term. The election takes place under a new map drawn by current legislators which creates 85 districts that would have favored Trump in 2020 and 65 that would have voted for Biden. The current partisan breakdown of the House is 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats, though Trump won only 76 of the current districts in 2020.
Disclosure: The Texas Secretary of State, Terry Canales, Senfronia Thompson, Brooks Landgraf, Vikki Goodwin, Todd Hunter and Freda Heald have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This story comes from our KHOU 11 News partners at The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.