Texas state legislative special elections, 2026

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As of November, one special election has been called to fill a vacant seat in the Texas State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Texas


If there is a vacancy in the Texas State Legislature, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat.[1] A governor's proclamation to hold a special election must be delivered to county judges in the legislative district no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.[2]

The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.[3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Texas Elec. Code § 203.001 et. seq.


About the legislature

The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of Texas. The legislature meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. In Texas, the legislature is considered "the dominant branch of state government," according to the Texas State Historical Association.[4] It is composed of the upper chamber, the Texas State Senate, and the lower chamber, the Texas House of Representatives.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2026. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Texas State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 12 11
     Republican Party 19 20
Total 31 31


Texas House of Representatives
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 63 62
     Republican Party 86 88
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 150 150

Special elections

Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

May 2, 2026

Historical data

There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. Texas held 41 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Texas took place in 2019 when six special elections were held.

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2026

As of November 2025, 16 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in 10 states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2026 special elections

In 2026, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 4 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 10 due to resignation
  • 2 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

As of November 11th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.36% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.6%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 829 1,119 6 19
State houses 2,391 2,970 20 32
Total: 3,220

4,089

26

51


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2026. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that have been held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2026)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 6 0
     Republican Party 10 0
     Independent 0 0
Total 16 0

Flipped seats

In 2026, as of November, no seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3))
  2. ↑ Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3)(b)-(c))
  3. ↑ Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 2.055)
  4. ↑ TSHA, "Texas Legislature," accessed October 12, 2018
  5. ↑ Governor Greg Abbott, ""Proclamation by the Governor of the State of Texas,"" October 16, 2025
  6. ↑ Fox 44 News, "State senator resigns to take new job," accessed October 6, 2025
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