El Paso voters will decide two local district court races and a statewide appeals court race in November 2026. The 120th District Court features a Republican incumbent seeking re-election against a Democrat challenger. The 168th District Court seat is vacant. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals will hold its first election since creation in 2023.
$$193,000 for base salary for district court judge
Ben Ivey, Republican incumbent, 120th District Court judge; Chris Anchondo, Democrat challenger for 120th District Court; Gov. Greg Abbott, appointed current Fifteenth Court of Appeals justices
Democrat James Talarico appeared at a CNN town hall in Fort Worth on Wednesday, where he answered questions from Texas voters on abortion, energy, immigration, voter ID, and other issues. Republican opponent Ken Paxton was invited but did not respond to CNN's invitation.
James Talarico, Democratic Texas Senate candidate; Ken Paxton, Republican Texas Senate candidate; Paul Begala, Democratic strategist and 1 more
Democrat Gina Hinojosa appeared at the Governor's Mansion to challenge Governor Abbott to a debate. She brought podiums and sent terms to Abbott for the impromptu debate.
Elon Musk donated approximately $158 million to $190 million to Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP's main super PAC, which funneled money into Texas PAC to fund advertising supporting Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico. The donations were disclosed in Federal Election Commission filings released in mid-October.
$$75 million for donation to Senate Leadership Fund
Elon Musk, donor; founder of Tesla and SpaceX; Ken Paxton, Republican U.S. Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and 3 more
Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico spoke to a Jewish voter about deaths in Gaza, stating he directs criticism toward Netanyahu, not the Israeli people.
James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Texas, raised $64 million in the third quarter, the largest fundraising total for a U.S. Senate candidate in any state for that period. His Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, raised $18 million in the same period.
$$64 million for third-quarter campaign fundraising
James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Texas, Austin state representative; Ken Paxton, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Texas, Attorney General
A Marist poll released Wednesday showed Democrat James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton 48% to 44% among registered voters in the Texas U.S. Senate race. Among likely voters, Talarico's lead narrowed to 2 points.
James Talarico, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, state representative; Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Texas Attorney General; Marist, Poll conductor
Early voting for Texas's Nov. 3 general election begins Oct. 19 and ends Oct. 30. The ballot includes statewide races for U.S. Senate, governor, and other offices, along with U.S. House, Texas House and Senate, municipal, and referendum races.
$$12 million for ad buy by Abbott campaign
Ken Paxton, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate; James Talarico, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, state representative; Greg Abbott, Republican governor seeking fourth term and 1 more
Republican and Democratic candidates for Texas House Districts 77 and 71 discussed education funding, data centers, and housing policy ahead of the November 3 midterm election.
Humberto Perez, Republican candidate for Texas House District 77; Vince Perez, Democrat and incumbent District 77 state representative; Diana Luna, Democrat candidate for Texas House District 71 and 1 more
Kristian Carranza, a Democrat, and Jorge Borrego, a Republican, are competing for an open Texas House seat in District 118 in southern Bexar County. The candidates sharply disagree over the state's school voucher program.
Kristian Carranza, Democratic nominee for Texas House District 118; Jorge Borrego, Republican candidate for Texas House District 118; John Lujan, Former Republican state representative for District 118
In Texas midterm elections, Republicans highlighted an old interview where Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico said his statehouse campaign was going vegan. Talarico has since publicly eaten barbecue to counter claims his dietary choices mean he is not a real Texan.
James Talarico, Democratic Senate nominee; Republicans, Political opponents
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick brought his re-election campaign to Tyler on Wednesday, the final stop of his Rural Texas Bus Tour. Patrick is seeking re-election while being challenged by Democratic State Rep. Vicki Goodwin in the lieutenant governor's race.
Dan Patrick, Texas Lieutenant Governor, re-election campaign participant; Vicki Goodwin, Democratic State Representative, challenging Patrick for lieutenant governor
Vice President JD Vance held a rally in Tyler on October 13, where he spoke in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and criticized Democratic opponent James Talarico. Multiple state and federal officials attended and spoke at the event hosted by Trump 47 Committee Inc.
JD Vance, Vice President; Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and 10 more
More than $500 million has been spent on advertising in the 2026 U.S. Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to CNN reporting cited by Texas Standard. The spending includes advertising already purchased and reserved across primaries, runoff and general election.
$over $500 million for advertising spending
James Talarico, Democratic state representative and U.S. Senate candidate; Ken Paxton, Republican Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate; Brendan Glavin, Director of insights at OpenSecrets and 1 more
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was absent from the campaign trail for nearly two weeks in late September and early October. He said he had the flu. His campaign released security camera footage it said showed him at his home in Austin during the absence.
James Talarico, Democratic Texas Senate candidate; Ken Paxton, Republican Texas Senate candidate; Spencer Pratt, Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate and 4 more
Voting rights groups filed a lawsuit in Bexar County asking a state district judge to enforce a 2021 settlement requiring Texas to maintain a functioning online voter registration system through the Department of Public Safety. The suit alleges more than 500,000 voter registration applications submitted through DPS' web portal were never processed due to a software update error dating back to October 2025.
League of Women Voters of Texas, Plaintiff in lawsuit; MOVE Texas Civic Fund, Plaintiff in lawsuit; Texas Department of Public Safety, Defendant in lawsuit and 1 more
A University of Texas at Austin poll conducted September 25 to October 5 found Democrats holding narrow leads in most Texas statewide races, within the margin of error. The poll was released October 14.
University of Texas at Austin/Texas Politics Project, conducted poll; James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee; Ken Paxton, Republican U.S. Senate candidate and 9 more
A leaked audio recording from September 24 captured Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee, telling donors that Governor Greg Abbott is "struggling" in his reelection campaign against Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Paxton also said Republicans will probably lose some seats in the Texas Legislature.
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and Republican U.S. Senate nominee; Greg Abbott, Texas Governor; Gina Hinojosa, Democrat and Abbott's opponent in governor's race and 1 more
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton announced an 18-day "Come and Take It" bus tour with over 30 stops across Texas, starting Saturday in Rockwall two days before early voting begins, and ending at the Alamo on November 2, the eve of Election Day.
$$11.5 million for super PAC donation
Ken Paxton, Republican U.S. Senate nominee; James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee; Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder who donated to super PAC supporting Talarico and 2 more
Democrat James Talarico appeared at a CNN town hall Wednesday in Fort Worth, addressing questions from Texas Democrats, independents and Republicans on issues including abortion, energy and immigration. His opponent, Republican Ken Paxton, was invited by CNN but did not respond.
James Talarico, Democratic state representative running for U.S. Senate; Ken Paxton, Republican Attorney General running for U.S. Senate; CNN, Host of town hall and 4 more