More ballots have been cast in Texas through the first seven days of early voting for the 2026 midterm elections than in any recent midterm or presidential election year, according to unofficial data from the Texas Secretary of State. The surge in participation is largely driven by a record-breaking Democratic primary turnout.
Through Monday, February 23, 665,664 votes were cast in the Democratic primary, exceeding the 593,692 ballots cast in the Republican primary during the same period. The total of 1,259,356 votes surpasses early voting totals from both the 2024 and 2020 primary elections, despite presidential election years typically seeing higher engagement.
The high Democratic turnout is fueling optimism within the party, which has not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. “I would tell Democrats that they have every reason to feel optimistic, but that optimism should be interpreted as just meaning that they have a chance,” said Jeffrey Engle, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. “Anyone who thinks that Democrats have a cakewalk to a blue wave is deluding themselves.”
Democratic Party officials have highlighted particularly strong turnout in Harris County, the state’s most populous, and Tarrant County, a traditionally purple county. In Tarrant County, Democrat Taylor Rehmet recently secured a 14-point victory in a Senate District 9 special election runoff, a district President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024. Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, noted that Tarrant County historically experiences low voter participation among urban counties, creating significant potential for growth. “The fact that Tarrant County voters are waking up day after day and … putting up bigger numbers than Republicans … absolutely leads us into November with a really strong turnout and engagement,” Campolo said.
The 2026 primary has drawn unusual attention due to the competitive Democratic race between state Rep. James Talarico, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Early voting continues through Friday, February 27, with Election Day scheduled for Tuesday, March 3.
