The Dallas Express has compiled what every voter needs to know ahead of the 2024 Texas Primary.
On March 5, Texas voters will help narrow down the field by deciding who they want as their representatives in the U.S. and Texas Houses and more. The following is a rundown of the important dates, the elected offices up for grabs, and other items to expect on the ballot.
Important Dates
- February 5 – Deadline to register to vote
- February 20 – Early voting begins
- February 23 – Deadline for mail-in ballot requests
- March 1 – Early voting ends
- March 5 – Election Day
For more information on voter registration, useful websites by county are as follows:
Overview of Races
Texas primary voters can weigh in on candidates in either the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or in third-party party conventions. The winning candidate for a given party will have received the majority of votes; if necessary, a runoff vote will occur on May 28 between the two candidates with the most votes.
On the national stage, President Joe Biden looks most likely to represent the Democrats in the upcoming presidential election. At the same time, former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead among Republican candidates despite being embroiled in legal drama, as covered by The Dallas Express.
The primary races in Texas have been increasingly shaped by Gov. Greg Abbott’s battle for school choice and Attorney General Ken Paxton’s “revenge tour” against those who supported the failed effort to impeach him last year, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Here are the offices up for election and the number of seats available:
- U.S. President (1)
- U.S. Senator (1)
- U.S. House (38)
- Railroad Commissioner (1)
- State Senators (15)
- State Representatives (150)
- State Board of Education (7)
- Texas Supreme Court (3)
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (3)
Depending on location, races for lower-court judges and local county offices will also be on the ballot. Please refer to your county’s website for more information on local elections.
Republican Propositions
Republican primary voters will have 13 propositions to consider that would shape the party’s legislative priorities, as previously covered by The Dallas Express. A few of these propositions seek to amend the Texas Constitution, while some center on the issue of border security and unlawful migrants. However, they do not include a proposition on secession, despite the Texas Nationalist Movement submitting a filing to put “TEXIT” on the ballot.
Approved by the executive committee of the Republican Party of Texas, here is a brief rundown of the propositions:
- Eliminating property tax
- Creating a Border Protection Unit
- Expanding mandatory use of E-Verify
- Ending the use of taxpayer money for unlawful migrants’ education
- Cutting pathways for unlawful migrants to become lawful
- Prohibiting deployment of the Texas National Guard abroad without Congress first formally declaring war
- Moving toward a Texas gold-backed digital currency
- Curbing mandatory vaccination initiatives
- Restricting Republican primaries to Republicans
- Allowing the Texas Attorney General to prosecute election crimes
- Giving Texas parents and guardians the right to choose schools for their children and providing taxpayer funding for them to do so
- Requiring proof of citizenship from voters
- Banning the sale of land to any individual or organization from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia
Democrats’ Aims
Democratic primary voters will be able to vote for their party candidates in nearly every statewide race. The Texas Democratic Party launched a recruitment and training campaign ahead of the candidate filing deadline called Lone Star Rising. Its aim was to put more candidates in the primary election to challenge Republicans.
“It’s clear that the work Texas Democrats have done to recruit candidates across the state has paid off, and we are poised to hit the ground running ahead of the 2024 election cycle,” said Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa in a news release. “Unlike MAGA Texas Republicans — Democrats represent a diverse coalition of Texas residents and communities.”
The Texas Democratic Party platform outlines several of the goals its candidates will be striving to achieve if elected to office. They include:
- A representative democracy characterized by “every citizen [being] guaranteed the inalienable right to representation by fair and open elections”
- Equal opportunity and freedom for all human beings
- A “smart government” that ensures the economy works to everyone’s benefit through quality public education, and more
- Rights to affordable personal and community healthcare
- Advancing critical veteran issues, such as through more psychiatric residency programs and mental health services specialized in trauma
Races To Watch
While all races are significant for their part in the democratic process, some are definitely worth paying attention to. Here is a rundown of some hot showdowns:
- U.S. President
The ballot for the 2024 presidential election in November is far from set despite former President Donald Trump showing considerable momentum in his campaign, as covered by The Dallas Express. Texas Republicans will be able to have their voices heard by throwing their support behind Trump or former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
For the Democrats, President Joe Biden is favored to win the party’s nomination after a strong showing in New Hampshire. Due to his refusal to campaign, he received 63.9% of votes as a write-in candidate, while Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) came in second place with 19.6% of votes.
At the same time, it is worth noting the results of the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, which suggested that a significant number of Americans want a third candidate in the mix if the presidential race were to come down to Trump and Biden. A whopping 64% of respondents said the country “needs another choice” in the event of a 2020 repeat.
- U.S. Senate
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is facing off against nearly a dozen challengers in his bid to secure a third term. As previously covered by The Dallas Express, two other Republican candidates are vying for the party’s nomination — Holland “Redd” Gibson, a retiree from Houston, and Rufus Lopez, an attorney from San Antonio.
The race for the Democratic nomination is more intense, with nine candidates in the race. This includes Rep. Colin Allred of the 32nd District of Texas, Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), and Rep. Carl Sherman (D-DeSoto). Allred — who leads in fundraising — recently launched his digital ad campaign highlighting his platform of shoring up border security and ending Texas’ abortion ban.
In Texas today, women who get unthinkable news can't get life-saving care because politicians like Ted Cruz think they know better.
I’m running for Senate to end this abortion ban.
Because in Texas, we stand up for our freedom. pic.twitter.com/KkDz32K9Lo
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) January 25, 2024
The freedoms we believe in as Texans are under attack by folks like Ted Cruz.
Together, I know we can change that.
I’m a 4th-generation Texan whose story starts right here. Join our team ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WxLRKaXTPA
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) January 24, 2024
Polling suggests Cruz will achieve a narrow victory over either Allred or Gutierrez.
- Texas House District 21
Another race to keep an eye on is 100% Republican. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s (R-Beaumont) re-election campaign is getting a challenge from fellow Republicans Alicia Davis and David Covey. As the leader of the failed impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton last year, Phelan has been embroiled in controversy.
Polling similarly suggests that Phelan may have an uphill climb to keep his seat, with only 22% of respondents in December saying they approved of him, 31% saying they disapproved, and the rest saying they were not sure or had no opinion.
