On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Texans cast their ballots in an election that includes races for U.S. Senate, governor and many other races. According to the Associated Press, at 10:30 p.m. UTC or 5:30 p.m. Central time, it was awaiting poll closing in the Senate race and the first vote reporting.
The following article provides a guide to the ballot and when the results can be expected. Note that there won't be any predictions on the result, which would become outdated the moment the votes are counted.
Polling hours in Texas took place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, which means 8 p.m. Eastern time, in most parts of the state. However, in El Paso, which uses Mountain time, the polls close at 7 p.m. Mountain, 9 p.m. Eastern.
Voters waiting in line at the closing hour will be able to vote. According to PBS NewsHour's primer on primaries, the AP makes no calls on races at the state level until all polls are closed. As of November 2025, there are around 18.5 million registered voters in the state.
Texas Tribune stated that over 7.7 million Texans cast their ballot early either in person or via mail, thus breaking the record for the highest early turnout in a midterm in Texas' modern history.
However, high turnout doesn't automatically imply an advantage for one of the parties.
This race is between the Republican Ken Paxton, who is the state attorney general, and James Talarico, who is a state representative for the Democratic Party.
Paxton won the Republican primary runoff, thus no incumbent will contest in this race. The race is considered a tossup by public polls, where Talarico leads, albeit with results falling within the margin of error according to Tribune and CBS Texas.
The race holds implications at both national and state levels. The Texas Tribune observed that a win for the Democratic Party will mark the first time that the party wins a senatorial seat in Texas since 1988, and will mark the first time since 1994 that Democrats have won a statewide election of any sort.
The party needs to make four more wins in order to secure the majority in the Senate; therefore, the result of this race may impact the party’s chances of controlling the upper chamber.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott is seeking a record fourth term against Democratic state Representative Gina Hinojosa. Abbott has won all seven of his previous statewide elections, and his closest race was the 2022 contest, which he won by 10.9 percentage points.
Recent polling suggests a closer race this year, and a handful of public surveys showed Hinojosa ahead earlier in the fall. Forecasters at Cook, Sabato's Crystal Ball and Pluribus News rated the race as Likely Republican, according to MultiState's consensus.
A Hinojosa win would make her the state's first Latina governor and the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards.
The ballot contains other races as well:
- Lieutenant governor: The incumbent Republican Dan Patrick runs against Democrat Vikki Goodwin.
- Attorney general:Democrat Nathan Johnson is running in the race to replace Paxton.
- Texas State Senate District 9:There is one very competitive state Senate race, in northern Tarrant County, where the incumbent Democrat runs in the district that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2024. In total, 16 out of 31 state Senate districts are up for re-election, and Republicans have the majority now.
- Down-ballot races: Comptroller, agriculture commissioner, railroad commissioner, state courts and Texas House of Representatives.
The AP makes race calls and gives out vote counts, but there are other sources of information, including news media and the Texas Secretary of State's website, which publish their race projections.
Early votes and mail ballots are announced first in most counties, while Election Day votes follow, so the results may change before all the precincts report their numbers. In close
In the coming days following the election, counties will tally the remaining votes and conduct their canvassing process. Results will be deemed official after the state certification of the elections.
If there is a slim margin between candidates, a recount may ensue. While the Senate election will be followed across the nation to measure the balance of power in Washington, the gubernatorial election will dictate how Texas develops policies concerning education, property taxes, and other important areas.
