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Texas Early Voting Surges as Ken Paxton Faces James Talarico in Senate Race
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Record early voting reached about 7.4 million Texans, near 2018 pace. First 11 days saw roughly 6 million in-person votes, above 2022 totals.
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6 outlets told this the same way.
Early voting surges
Texas Republicans entered the final stretch of a closely watched midterm with early voting turnout already far above prior non-presidential records, as more than 6.4 million ballots were cast through the end of the day Thursday. The Texas Secretary of State’s office said Texans should be confident in the state’s election process, and the office’s news release quoted election official Robert Howden saying, "Every election in Texas goes through a proven audit process and election officials across the state are working to help make sure every eligible vote is counted." AUSTIN-based reporting also tied the turnout surge to a Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, with Friday described as the last day of the early-voting period before Tuesday’s Election Day.
The Dallas News account said Texas has more than 19 million registered voters after an increase of 3 million registered voters since 2018, and it said the data does not include mail-in ballots. KSAT later put the statewide early-voting total at 7.4 million ballots, saying preliminary records showed turnout at about 39% and that the in-person early voting period ended Friday.
Tight Senate race
The Texas Tribune framed the Senate race as a contest with national consequences, saying the 37-year-old Austin Democrat James Talarico was running neck-and-neck with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the most expensive U.S. Senate race in the country.
The Texas Tribune also quoted Manny Garcia, a former executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, saying, "The whole world changes when you break through and win a statewide race in Texas."
The same reporting described Republicans as anxious about the possibility of Texas going blue, while it said both parties were weighing ripple effects that would stretch for years beyond Tuesday depending on the outcome.
The Washington Post’s Texas-focused reporting centered on low turnout concerns, describing longtime Trump supporter Stefan Burns as someone Republican leaders worry about because he said he’s not voting.
KSAT added that the election features high-stakes contests including state Rep. Gina Hinojosa challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for a historic fourth term, and it said Election Day is Tuesday.
Turnout, money, and stakes
Dallas News said more than $560 million has been spent on combined ad spending and reservations across the primary, runoff and general elections, and it described the Senate race as the most expensive in history. The same article quoted political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus saying, "There’s no doubt that competition drives turnout, and we’ve seen this is the most competitive race in a decade, if not longer," and it said he could see as many as 10 million ballots cast in the midterm elections. FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth reported that statewide and local turnout already exceeded total early voting numbers from the 2022 midterm elections, and it said across Texas about 6 million people cast a ballot in person during the first 11 days of early voting.
FOX 4 also quoted Collin County Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux comparing the current turnout to 2018, saying, "we are very, very much on track to pull off what we did back in 2018," and it said polls remain tight for major races. As Election Day approached, KSAT described a last-minute surge and quoted Democratic strategist Matt Angle saying, "That doesn’t mean Democrats are going to win, Republicans are going to lose," while it said turnout data posted Saturday is not final and can be incomplete.