Weekly Brew: December 12, 2025
Texas filing deadline was December 8—here's what we're watching
Texas' candidate filing deadline was earlier this week on Monday, Dec. 8. This was the third statewide filing deadline for the 2026 elections, behind Arkansas and Illinois, and was only for candidates wanting to run in partisan primaries. The filing deadline for independent candidates is June 25.
Texas' statewide primary will be March 3. In primaries where no candidate receives a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a primary runoff on May 26.
Here are some of the noteworthy primaries we're watching:
- U.S. Senate: Sen. John Cornyn faces U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and 13 other candidates in the Republican primary. The Democratic field includes U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Texas Rep. James Talrico, and four other candidates.
- Texas Attorney General: With Paxton running for the U.S. Senate, several candidates are running for the Republican nomination to succeed him: Texas Sen. Joan Huffman, Texas Sen. Mayes Middleton, Paxton's former Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy Aaron Reitz, and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.
- U.S. House: We're keeping an eye on 16 primaries—12 Republican and four Democratic—right now as district lines have shifted between the 2024 and 2026 elections. Click here to check all 16 primaries.
On Dec. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas would be allowed to use the new U.S. House district map that the state passed in August. The Supreme Court’s decision lifts a U.S. district court’s decision in November that struck down the new map. Applying the 2024 presidential election results to the new districts, Republicans are favored in five additional districts.
Michigan voters could decide on four citizen initiatives on elections, voting, and taxes in 2026
Proponents of four citizen initiatives, including three constitutional amendments and one state statute, have filed with the Michigan Board of State Canvassers to collect signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot. Three initiatives address elections or voting, while one addresses tax policy.
Here’s a look at what each initiative would do.
Election-related measures
Citizenship requirement: As we mentioned in our Dec. 5 edition of the Daily Brew, proponents of an amendment that would require citizenship verification for all voters through a statewide program, document submission, or provisional voting are currently gathering signatures.
Ranked-choice voting (RCV): Rank MI Vote submitted an amendment that would require RCV in most congressional, state, and local elections.
Campaign finance: Michiganders for Money Out of Politics submitted a statute that would prohibit certain organizations and individuals—such as regulated electric and gas utilities, contractors with more than $250,000 annually in government contracts, and people and organizations with substantial connections to those utilities or contractors—from making direct or indirect contributions to those who run for office. It would also establish additional regulations on campaign finance.
Tax policy measure
Invest in MI Kids submitted an amendment that would require a 5% tax on annual taxable income of more than $1 million for joint returns (and $500,000 for single returns), with the proceeds allocated to public school districts.
2025 had the most local ballot measures in major cities and state capitals since 2017
In 2025, 322 local measures were on ballots in the 100 most populous U.S. cities and in state capitals. These measures included citywide, countywide, special district, and school district measures.
The 322 local measures appeared in 29 different states on 21 different election dates. That’s the most local measures for any odd-numbered year since we started following measures in the most populous cities in 2018 and state capitals in 2021. Voters approved 258 (80.1%) and defeated 64 (19.9%).
Texas had the most local measures, with 91, or 28.3% of the total. Arizona came in second, with 40 measures, and Louisiana came in third, with 32 measures.
Local referrals are more common than initiatives — in 2025, 12 of the 322 local measures were citizen initiatives. Local legislative bodies put the rest of those measures on the ballot.
Bond measures were the most common issues on local ballots. Other common topics included property tax and zoning, land use, and development.
There were 135 bond measures on the ballot this year in the most populous cities and state capitals. Voters approved 103 and defeated 32. In total, voters approved $14.6 billion in bond issuance.
