Early voting for the March 1 Texas primary races began on Monday, February 14.
Across North Texas, the option for early voting will continue through February 25. Voting locations will be open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, the hours will expand from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The ballots for all voters across the state will have the races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Voters will also decide the primary winner for local congressional and state legislative seats.
A change in this year’s round of voting in Dallas County is that for the first time, Republicans and Democrats will vote in the same location, in a joint primary. Dallas County GOP Chair Jennifer Stoddard Hajdu told NBC 5 that voting in person should go smoother.
“It’s going to look a lot like a general election,” Stoddard Hajdu said. “We think it’s going to streamline things and make it faster to vote.”
In the primary, voters for each party pick who they want to represent them in the November general election. Voters can only vote for one party’s primary races. They cannot pick and choose candidates from both parties.
If no primary candidate in a particular race receives at least 50% of the vote, then the top two vote-getters will face off in a runoff election to determine who will get to compete in November. Any runoff election this year, if needed, will be held on May 24.
One statewide race that polls are showing has a chance to end up in a runoff is the Republican primary for Attorney General. Land Commissioner George P. Bush, U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert, and former State Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman are challenging incumbent Ken Paxton for the AG role. Multiple recent polls have shown Paxton receiving below the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff, though they are split as to who his opponent would be.
Polls also show that the finalists for the governor’s race in November will very likely be incumbent Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.
A local seat in the U.S. Congress will, in all likelihood, go to the Democratic primary winner. The race for U.S. House District 30, which is located within Dallas County, is widely considered a lock for Democrats regardless of who wins the Republican primary.
Current HD30 Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is retiring, leaving the seat up for grabs between nine candidates in the Democratic primary. Texas State Rep. Jasmine Crockett is among the candidates, whom Johnson hand-picked as her successor. Crockett’s primary challenger for the seat is expected to be Jane Hamilton. The latter has picked up an endorsement from current U.S. congressman Marc Veasey of Fort Worth. This race could very possibly end in a runoff.
For Republicans, one local race that has attracted attention is the Tarrant County judge primary race. Former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price is facing off against Tim O’Hare, who has picked up the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at SMU, says the race will provide a glimpse into how much, if any, the Republican voting bloc in Tarrant County has shifted.
“That’s kind of a local manifestation of that battle within the Republican Party between the more traditional Republican and the more sort of insurgent populist Republican,” Wilson said.
Voters can find their polling place and check out sample ballots on the Texas Secretary of State website.