United States Senate election in Texas, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)

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U.S. Senate, Texas
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: December 8, 2025
	Primary: March 3, 2026; General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Texas
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Likely Republican; DDHQ and The Hill: Pending; Inside Elections: Likely Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
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Texas 2026 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • All local elections by county • How to run for office

Colin Allred (D), Emily Morgul (D), Michael Swanson (D), and James Talarico (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas on March 3, 2026. As of November 2025, Allred and Talarico led the candidate field in polling, fundraising, and media attention.^[1]^[2]^[3] The filing deadline is December 8, 2025.

Axios' Stephen Neukam described the primary as having "quickly turned into one of the most intriguing Democratic contests on the map next year."^[4] Summarizing an interview with Democratic strategist Matt Angle, WFAA's Michael McCardel said, "Allred has more name recognition and Talarico is considered an underdog. But Talarico has a massive social media following Angle thinks will be important for fundraising and raising his profile. And Talarico’s faith could also help attract some voters."^[3]

Allred is a former member of the U.S. House who was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024, losing the general election to Ted Cruz (R). That year, Allred won the Democratic primary with 58.9% of the vote. A former professional football player and civil rights attorney, Allred says he is running for Senate "to lower costs and stop corrupt politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton from rigging the economy against hard working Texans."^[5]

Talarico was elected to the state House in 2018. Talarico worked as a middle school teacher before entering elected politics.^[6] Writing in Politico, Adam Wren said Talarico's candidacy "sets up among the sharpest nationwide tests of whether a red-state candidate can run against the national party’s brand."^[7]

As of November 2025, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Likely Republican.

In the 2024 election, incumbent Ted Cruz (R) defeated Allred 53%–45%. In 2020, incumbent John Cornyn (R) defeated M.J. Hegar (D) 54%–44%.

This page focuses on Texas' United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Recent updates

This section includes a timeline of events leading up to the election, such as debates, polls, and noteworthy endorsements. Know of something we missed? Let us know.

August 15, 2025
Emerson College published results from a poll it had conducted of 370 registered voters between August 11 and August 12, 2025. The poll was conducted before Talarico entered the race.^[12]
August 19, 2025
Texas Southern University published results from a poll it had conducted of 1,500 likely voters between August 6 and August 12, 2025. The poll asked voters who they would support in hypothetical matchups between Allred and Talarico, Allred and Beto O'Rourke (D), and Allred and Joaquin Castro (D). The poll was conducted before Talarico entered the race.^[10]^[11]
October 9, 2025
The University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs published results from a poll it had conducted of 478 registered voters between September 19 and October 1, 2025. The poll asked voters who they would support in a hypothetical matchup between Allred, Talarico, Jasmine Crockett (D), and Beto O'Rourke (D).^[8]^[9]

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Texas

Colin Allred, Emily Morgul, Michael Swanson, James Talarico, and Paula Williams are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Texas on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Colin Allred
		Emily Morgul
		Michael Swanson
		James Talarico
	Submit photo	Paula Williams

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Terry Virts (D)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Texas

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Colin Allred

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

U.S. House, Texas District 32 (2019–2025)

Biography: Allred obtained a bachelor's degree from Baylor University, where he played on the football team. After playing in the National Football League, Allred obtained a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and began practicing as a civil rights attorney. Allred worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama (D).

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Allred said he was running because "Washington is broken and the system is rigged – and Texas families are paying the price. Folks who play by the rules and keep the faith just can’t seem to get ahead. But the folks who cut corners and cut deals – they’re doing just fine."

Allred said he had delivered results during his time in the U.S. House, including support for opening three new VA facilities in Texas. Allred said he "was repeatedly recognized as the most bipartisan member of the Texas delegation and a consensus builder who was willing to work with anyone who shared his dedication to helping hardworking families gain the same opportunities he had to chase his version of the American dream."

Allred said that while in Congress, "I never took a dime of corporate PAC money, never traded a single stock, never had a hint of scandal...you deserve someone who will fight for you. I get it. Real change might seem impossible. But I'm not giving up."

Show sources

Sources: Colin Allred campaign website, "Home page," accessed October 14, 2025; YouTube, "Allred for Texas - Not Giving Up," July 1, 2025; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "ALLRED, Colin," accessed October 14, 2025; Colin Allred campaign website, "Home page," accessed October 14, 2025

James Talarico

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Texas House of Representatives (Assumed office: 2018)

Biography: Talarico obtained a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's degree in education from Harvard University. Before entering elected politics, Talarico taught middle school language arts at a public school in San Antonio.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Talarico said that "the biggest divide in this country is not left vs. right. It’s top vs. bottom. Billionaires want us looking left and right at each other instead of looking up at them. The people at the top work so hard to keep us angry and divided because our unity is a threat to their wealth and power...It’s the oldest strategy in the world: divide and conquer."

Talarico said he had "passed major legislation to fund our neighborhood schools, expand job opportunities for young adults, and lower the cost of child care, housing, and prescription drugs," and that he was "the only member of the Texas Legislature who has never taken corporate PAC money."

Referencing his Christian faith, Talarico said, "2,000 years ago, when the powerful few rigged the system, that barefoot rabbi walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice. To those who love our country, to those who love our neighbors: It’s time to start flipping tables"

Show sources

Sources: James Talarico campaign website, "Why I'm Running," accessed October 14, 2025; James Talarico campaign website, "Meet James Talarico," accessed October 14, 2025; James Talarico campaign website, "Meet James Talarico," accessed October 14, 2025; Facebook, "James Talarico on Facebook," accessed October 14, 2025

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

Campaign ads

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Colin Allred

"Not Giving Up" – Allred campaign ad, released July 1, 2025

View more ads here:

YouTube

James Talarico

"I'm running for the U.S. Senate" – Talarico campaign ad, released September 9, 2025

View more ads here:

YouTube

Debates and forums

If you are aware of any debates, candidate forums, or other similar events where multiple candidates in this race participated, please email us.

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

Democratic primary endorsements
Endorser	John Cornyn	Colin Allred	James Talarico	Wesley Hunt	Ken Paxton
Government officials
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R) ^source	✔
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R) ^source				✔
U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey (R) ^source	✔
U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman (R) ^source	✔
U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (R) ^source					✔
U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R) ^source					✔
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D) ^source		✔
State Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers (D) ^source		✔
State Rep. Sheryl Cole (D) ^source			✔
State Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons (D) ^source			✔
State Board of Education member Staci Childs (D) ^source			✔
Organizations
American Israel Public Affairs Committee ^source	✔
Gun Owners of America ^source					✔
National Border Patrol Council ^source	✔
Republican Jewish Coalition-Political Action Committee (RJC-PAC) ^source	✔

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.^[13] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."^[14] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.

U.S. Senate Democratic primary in Texas, 2026 polls
Poll	Dates	Allred	Morgul	Swanson	Talarico	Virts	Other	Undecided	Sample size	Margin of error	Sponsor
University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs Note Hypothetical four-way matchup between Allred, Talarico, Jasmine Crockett (D), and Beto O'Rourke (D). "Other" includes results for Crockett (31%) and O'Rourke (25%).	Sept. 19, 2025–Oct. 1, 2025	13	--	--	25	--	56	6	478 RV	± 4.5%	N/A
Emerson College	Aug. 11, 2025–Aug. 12, 2025	58	4	3	--	1	--	34	370 RV	± 5.1%	N/A
Texas Southern University (includes Castro) Note Hypothetical matchup between Allred and Joaquin Castro (D). "Other" includes results for Castro.	Aug. 6, 2025–Aug. 12, 2025	52	--	--	--	--	41	7	1,500 LV	± 2.5%	N/A
Texas Southern University (includes O'Rourke) Note Hypothetical matchup between Allred and Beto O'Rourke (D). "Other" includes results for O'Rourke.	Aug. 6, 2025–Aug. 12, 2025	38	--	--	--	--	58	4	1,500 LV	± 2.5%	N/A
Texas Southern University (includes Talarico) Note Hypothetical two-way matchup between Allred and Talarico.	Aug. 6, 2025–Aug. 12, 2025	50	--	--	43	--	--	7	1,500 LV	± 2.5%	N/A
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[15]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Texas, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	12/2/2025	11/25/2025	11/18/2025	11/11/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Campaign finance

Candidate spending

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Colin Allred	Democratic Party	$4,933,179	$3,142,537	$1,790,641	As of September 30, 2025
Emily Morgul	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Michael Swanson	Democratic Party	$6,991	$6,991	$0	As of September 30, 2025
James Talarico	Democratic Party	$6,268,610	$1,309,971	$4,958,638	As of September 30, 2025
Paula Williams	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[19]^[20]^[21]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Colin Allred Emily Morgul Michael Swanson James Talarico Terry Virts	OpenSecrets Federal Election Commission

Texas U.S. Senate election history

2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Texas

Incumbent Ted Cruz defeated Colin Allred, Ted Brown, Analisa Roche, and Tracy Andrus in the general election for U.S. Senate Texas on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ted Cruz (R)	53.1	5,990,741
	Colin Allred (D)	44.6	5,031,249
	Ted Brown (L)	2.4	267,039
	Analisa Roche (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	1,906
	Tracy Andrus (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	919

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,291,854
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Dan McQueen (Independent)
Mason Cysewski (G)