More Democratic ballots cast than Republican in Texas primaries
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
More Texas voters are turning out to cast ballots in the Democratic primary than the Republican primary during early voting.
Why it matters: Primaries tend to attract the most dedicated voters. High Democratic turnout in March could signal greater Democratic turnout in the November midterm election.
- Typically, Republican turnout exceeds Democratic turnout in Texas. A Democrat last won statewide office in Texas in 1994, the longest statewide Democratic election drought in the nation.
The big picture: More than 1.2 million Texans had cast ballots in person or via mail as of Monday — setting a pace that could surpass turnout during the last gubernatorial primary in 2022.
- Through the first eight days of early voting, Democratic turnout is nearing the party's total turnout during the 2024 presidential primary.
Catch up quick: The primaries determine the Republican and Democratic candidates for November's election for U.S. Senate, all 38 members of the U.S. House, governor, Texas attorney general, and other statewide positions, including the judiciary.
- The marquee matchups are for U.S. Senate. On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston). On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) is facing state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin).
By the numbers: Almost 34,000 more Texans are registered to vote during the primaries than were registered during the 2024 presidential election.
- More than 638,000 Texans have voted in the Democratic primary.
- Nearly 594,000 voters have cast ballots in the Republican primary.
Zoom in: In the four most populous North Texas counties, 192,486 people had voted in the Democratic primary in person or by mail-in ballot as of Monday — over 70,000 more than had voted in the Republican primary.
The intrigue: In typically red Collin County, only a couple hundred votes separate turnout in the Republican and Democratic primaries.
- In Tarrant County, where Democrats recently flipped a Republican state Senate seat, 22,600 more ballots have been cast in the Democratic primary than in the GOP primary.
Zoom out: The Democratic primary turnout in Bexar, Harris and Travis counties is more than twice as much as in the GOP primary.
What's next: Friday is the last day to vote early.
- Election day is March 3.