Texas typically does not have a large voter turnout during the March primaries, but this election appears to be one of the exceptions, with more than a million Texans casting ballots in person or via mail as of Monday, according to Secretary of State Jane Nelson.
This primary election, almost 34,000 more Texans are registered to vote during the primaries than were registered during the 2024 presidential election.
The primaries will 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.
Locally, Hockley County elections administrator Jody Rose reported that voter turnout in the county is surpassing the 2022 midterm primary.
“Looking at an equal comparison to three days remaining in early voting in 2022, we had 592 Republican voters and 26 Democrat voters for a total of 618,” said Rose. “This year, we had 803 Republican voters and 122 Democrat voters for a total of 925, which is almost 7% of the registered voters.”
Rose encouraged all registered to get out and vote on election day on March 3. Lubbock County elections office reported 15,000 people casting votes in the first seven days of early voting, a 62% increase from 2024.
Thus far, reports are that more Democratic primary voters are casting ballots than Republicans in the large cities across the state. Primaries tend to attract the most dedicated voters which could signal a greater turnout in the November midterm election and pose serious challenges to GOP incumbents and candidates.
Statewide, early voting has seen more than 638,000 Democrats have voting, as opposed to nearly 594,000 Republicans. Typically, Republican turnout exceeds Democratic turnout in Texas. A Democrat last won statewide office in Texas in 1994.