Campaign season is officially underway ahead of the 2026 midterm primary election and midterm General Election.
While voters will not be deciding a presidential race next year ― a fact that is likely to keep turnout low ― Texas voters will be weighing in on important races for U.S. Senate, governor and lieutenant governor. Locally, El Paso voters will elect members to the Texas House of Representatives, as well as the El Paso County Commissioners Court and El Paso City Council.
Here are some of the key races to watch, as well as important dates and voting information.
Important 2026 election dates
Following is a breakdown of important dates related to the March 2026 primary:
Voting information
Following is a breakdown of important voting information, including how to register to vote or cast a mail-in ballot and what forms of identification are needed to cast a ballot:
Key races
El Paso voters will face a long ballot in both the March and November elections. For a full list of the races to be decided next year, visit the El Paso County Elections Department website.
Contested partisan races will be whittled down to only two candidates in the March primary, while all other races will be determined in the November General Election. An official list of candidates in each race will not be available until the filing deadline on Nov. 8.
A running list of Democrats who have entered various races is available at the El Paso County Democratic Party’s website. The El Paso County Republican Party did not respond to a request for information on candidates who have already entered the race.
Following is a breakdown of some of next year’s key races:
U.S. Senate, Texas
U.S. House of Representatives, District 16
U.S House of Representatives, District 23
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Texas House of Representatives, District 74
Texas House of Representatives, District 75
Texas House of Representatives, District 77
Texas House of Representatives, District 78
Texas House of Representatives, District 79
El Paso County Judge
El Paso County Commissioner 1
El Paso County Commissioner 2
El Paso County Commissioner 4
El Paso City Council, District 1 (nonpartisan)
El Paso City Council, District 5 (nonpartisan)
El Paso City Council, District 6 (nonpartisan)
El Paso City Council, District 8 (nonpartisan)
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso 2026 primary election guide: What to know as campaigns kick off
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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