The last day for candidates to file for a place on the ballot for 2016 elections was December 14. With this deadline now behind us, a clearer picture of the Democratic and Republican primary election landscape is now available.
The lists below detail some of the races that will be taking shape as the campaign season progresses. The information below has been taken from various sources. Please keep in mind that some details may not be complete or available until all filings have been reported to the Secretary of State. Since some filings can occur at a county level while others require state filing it can take up to a couple of weeks for every potential candidate to surface.
March 1st is when the Texas’ primaries will be held with early voting from Feb. 16-26. Runoff elections will be on May 24, with early voting from May 16-20. Races that have multiple candidates running for a single seat could impact a candidate's ability to cross the 50 percent threshold and win the nomination outright during the March 1 Primary. If that should occur, a May 24 runoff can be expected for that seat.
Federal
The 2016 ballot features races for president but Texas doesn’t have a U.S. Senate seat open this year. However, all 36 seats for the U.S. House are up for re-election. Two U.S. House members will be leaving open seats: Randy Neugebauer (R-Lubbock) & Ruben Hinojosa (D-Edinburg). Most of Texas' House incumbents have challengers in their primaries.
Statewide
An open race for the Texas Railroad Commission, Commissioner David Porter dropped his re-election bid, and six seats on the state’s two high courts will be at the top of the state ballot.
SBOE
State Board of Education (SBOE) members serve four year terms and 8 of those 15 seats will be on the ballot in 2016. There are three incumbents that have filed general opponents (Donna Bahorich, Tom Maynard, and Ken Mercer). Martha Dominguez and Thomas Ratliff have not filed to run for their seats, leaving two seats open on the SBOE. The unopposed incumbents include: Barbara Cargill, Sue Melton Malone, and Marty Rowley.
Texas Legislature
Special Elections
HD 139 – Since Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) was elected as Houston's next mayor, he will be unable to complete his current House term, forcing a special election at a future date.
HD 118 – A Special Election runoff Jan. 26 will be between John Lujan III (R) who received 28% of the vote and Tomas Uresti (D) who received 22% of the vote in the special election.
Primary and General Elections
Only two of the state’s 31 senators — Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler (SD 1), and Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay (SD 24) — said they were not seeking re-election. Sixteen of the Senate seats will be on the ballot in 2016, while the other 15 will be on the 2018 ballot. There will be a rematch for one of those seats in the primaries – Sen. José Menéndez, who won a special election earlier this year against Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, will be facing Martinez Fischer again in next year's Democratic primary.
State House members serve two-year terms, and all 150 of those seats will be on the 2016 ballot. Those not seeking relection account for just 10 percent of those seats. List of incumbents not returning and incumbents with primary challengers are below.
Incumbents Not Returning
House Districts
HD 5 Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)
HD 7 David Simpson (R-Longview)
HD 18 John Otto (R-Dayton) – Chair – Appropriations
HD 33 Scott Turner (R-Frisco)
HD 49 Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin)
HD 54 Jimmie Don Aycock (R-Killeen) – Chair – Public Educations
HD 60 Jim Keffer (R-Eastland) – Chair – Natural Resource
HD 64 Myra Crownover (R-Lake Dallas) – Chair – Public Health
HD 71 Susan King (R-Abilene) – Chair – Defense & Veterans’ Affairs
HD 77 Marisa Marquez (D-El Paso)
HD 116 Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio)
HD 118 Joe Farias (D-San Antonio)
HD 120 Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio) – Chair – Rules & Resolutions
HD 126 Patricia Harless (R-Spring)
HD 130 Allen Fletcher (R-Tomball) – Chair – Emerging Issues in Texas Law Enforcement
HD 139 Sylvester Turner (D-Houston)
Senate Districts
SD 1 Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) – Chair – Business & Commerce; Select Committee on Government Facilities
SD 24 Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) – Chair – Natural Resources & Economic Development
Incumbents With Primary Challengers
House Districts
HD 1 Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston)
HD 2 Dan Flynn (R-Van)
HD 4 Stuart Spitzer (R-Kaufman)
HD 8 Byron Cook (R-Corsicana)
HD 11 Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches)
HD 12 Kyle Kacal (R-College Station)
HD 14 John Raney (R-College Station)
HD 17 John Cyrier (R-Lockhart)
HD 20 Marcia Farney (R-Georgetown)
HD 27 Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City)
HD 36 Sergio Munoz, Jr. (D-Edinburg)
HD 47 Paul Workman (R-Austin)
HD 55 Molly White (R-Belton)
HD 58 DeWayne Burns (R-Cleburne)
HD 59 JD Sheffield (R-Gatesville)
HD 65 Ron Simmons (R-Lewisville)
HD 73 Doug Miller (R-New Braunfels)
HD 75 Mary Gonzalez (D-Clint)
HD 81 Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa)
HD 84 John Frullo (R-Lubbock)
HD 89 Jodie Laubenberg (R-Wylie)
HD 92 Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford)
HD 94 Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington)
HD 96 Bill Zedler (R-Arlington)
HD 99 Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth)
HD 106 Pat Fallon (R-Frisco)
HD 110 Toni Rose (D-Dallas)
HD 112 Ange Chen Button (R-Garland)
HD 113 Cindy Burkett (R-Mesquite)
HD 114 Jason Villalba (R-Dallas)
HD 115 Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving)
HD 121 Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio)
HD 124 Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio)
HD 127 Dan Huberty (R-Humble)
HD 128 Wayne Smith (R-Baytown)
HD 131 Alma Allen (D-Houston)
HD 134 Sarah Davis (R-Houston)
HD 137 Gene Wu (D-Houston)
HD 149 Hubert Vo (D-Houston)
HD 150 Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball)
Senate Districts
SD 19 Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio)
SD 26 Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio)
SD 27 Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville)
House Members Seeking Senate Seats
Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) running for SD 1 (Sen. Eltife open seat)
David Simpson (R-Longview) running for SD 1 (Sen. Eltife open seat)
Susan King (R-Abilene) running for SD 24 (Sen. Fraser open seat)
Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) running for SD 26 (challenging Sen. Menendez)
Former Legislators Running Again for Legislative Seats
George Lavender (R-Texarkana) House Member 82nd-83rd Sessions
- Running against Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston)
Lance Gooden (R-Terrell) House Member 82nd-83rd Sessions
- Running against Rep. Stuart Spitzer (R-Kaufman)
Lloyd Criss (D-La Marque) House Member 66th-71st Sessions
- Running against Rep. Wayne Faircloth (R-Dickinson)
Hugh Shine (R-Temple) House Member 69th-71st Sessions
- Running against Rep. Molly White (R-Belton)
Chente Quintanilla (D-Tornillo) House Member 78th-82nd Sessions
- Running against Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D-Clint)
Jim Landtroop (R-Lubbock) House Member 82nd Session
- Running against Rep. John Frullo (R-Lubbock)
Bennett Ratliff (R-Coppell) House Member 83rd Session
- Running against Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving)
Philip Cortez (D-San Antonio) House Member 83rd Session
- Running against Rep. Rick Galindo (R-San Antonio)
Mary Ann Perez (D-Houston) House Member 83rd Session
- Running against Rep. Gilbert Pena (R-Pasadena)