AUSTIN – Political hopefuls from across Texas start their races for the 2026 election season in earnest on Monday, as the window for filing their candidacies for public office draws to a close.

Up for grabs in the March primaries and November general election next year are 150 seats in the Texas House and 16 in the state Senate, as well as one U.S. Senate seat and all 38 U.S. Congressional districts.

The primaries, run by the Republican and Democrat parties, will be held March 3, 2026. Early voting opens Tuesday, Feb. 17. The general election is Nov. 3.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will be defending his position for a fourth term and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is running for re-election in what would be his fifth term. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, completing his fourth six-year term in Washington, faces a heavy attack for his post from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a fellow Republican, and a few high-profile Democrats.

Notably, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett is expected to announce today she will run for Cornyn’s Senate seat. Her expected entry into the race prompted Colin Allred, who ran for Senate in 2024 against incumbent Ted Cruz, to withdraw from the Senate contest and set his sights on the House instead. State Rep. James Talarico remains Crockett’s strongest foe in the upcoming primary.

Paxton’s exit from the AGs office leaves a field of candidates vying for his post, along with four other statewide officials, four members of the Texas Supreme Court, three members of the Criminal Court of Appeals, and eight members of the Texas Board of Education.

The Congressional races will be influenced by a newly drawn district map after the Texas Legislature redrew the lines this summer to send additional Republicans to Washington to support President Donald Trump. Democrat districts in Dallas, Houston and South Texas were redrawn to shift to Republican, a plan that has touched off court battles but has so far held up under legal scrutiny.

The new map gathers Republican voters into districts that will help their candidates, but the statewide offices — all of which have been controlled by the GOP for more than 20 years – are still vulnerable to the demographic and political shifts that have hinted at a more blue Texas in recent cycles.

Paxton, who was impeached by the GOP-dominated Texas House in 2023 but acquitted of the charges in a trial by the Texas Senate, has drawn criticism from the left over the years for his involvement in scandals that included felony indictment for securities fraud. He has escaped the legal tangles but remains a favorite target for Democrats who say he embodies the very political corruption his controlling party has vowed to abolish.

“Republican leadership has abused the power, neglected the operations, and left unfulfilled the

obligations of the Attorney General’s Office,” said state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, who is running for the post. “They have maliciously and recklessly used it as a right-wing headline machine, taking their orders from D.C. power mongers and megadonor ideologues.”

Rather than distance themselves from Paxton, Republican candidates for his office are leaning on their willingness to support public safety, although the AG’s office doesn’t do criminal prosecutions.

“You want someone who is going to defend your freedom, who’s going to defend your rights, but will also aggressively prosecute and go after those who want to harm you, your families or your communities,” said state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican and former prosecutor vying for the spot.

Tom Hicks, the Texas businessman and philanthropist who owned two Dallas-area professional sports franchises and an English Premier League soccer team, died Saturday. He was 79.

Spokesperson Lisa LeMaster said in statement that Hicks died peacefully in Dallas surrounded by family.

Hicks owned the NHL’s Dallas Stars from 1995–2011, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. He also owned baseball’s Texas Rangers from 1998–2010, leading them to three American West Division titles and a World Series appearance. In 2007, he acquired a 50% stake in Liverpool.

“Being shoulder to shoulder with him was always about more than ballparks and stadiums, though,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “It was about personal respect, trust and friendship. We shared a lot of miles together, and I’ll miss him greatly. My heart goes out to his family.”

Hicks co-founded Hicks & Haas in 1984 and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst in 1989, helping reshape private equity and investing strategy.

“Tom Hicks was an innovative businessman and a pioneer in private equity,” fellow Texas businessman Ross Perot Jr. said in a statement. “He combined his commitment to business and sports through his ownership of the Stars and the Rangers.”

Hicks served as paratrooper in the Army Reserves and was Commissioner of the American Battle Monuments Commission. He served on the University of Texas’s Board of Regents from 1994 to 1999.

Hicks is survived by his wife of 35 years, Cinda Cree Hicks, and his six children — Thomas Ollis Hicks Jr., Mack Hardin Hicks, John Alexander Hicks, Robert Bradley Hicks, William Cree Hicks and Catherine Forgrave Hicks.

His children released a joint statement, saying:

“Of everything he accomplished in his remarkable life, Tom Hicks’s most cherished title was, ‘Dad.’ No matter the trials and tribulations he faced in life, he was constant in his generosity and love for his family. He remains a guiding force for our family, and we are deeply honored to continue expanding his legacy. Although we are devastated by this loss, we are profoundly grateful to have been his children.”

Liverpool superstar Mo Salah continues to be a prominent goal scorer in the Premier League. Here are five things to know about the star forward.

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Saturday’s conference championship slate has left the very slim possibility open for the Texas Longhorns to slide into the College Football Playoff.

The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference championship games are now complete, with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Georgia Bulldogs expected to clinch byes and rest ahead of their playoff games.

At 9-3, Texas is on the outside looking in, and seems more than likely to stay there. But, here is what those two results may mean for a Longhorn team that still has a chance to earn the favorability of the CFP committee:

BYU falls to Texas Tech

Entering Saturday, the BYU Cougars’ sole loss of the season had come to Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Cougars suffered a beatdown at the hands of the Red Raiders on Nov. 8, failing to score until over halfway through the fourth quarter.

In the Big 12 Championship game, it was a very similar story. BYU entered AT&T Stadium controlling their own destiny, with “win and in” expectations on the line. The Cougars got on the board first behind a 14-play, 90-yard drive in the first quarter. But after that, they were held silent.

Texas Tech scored 34 unanswered points and forced four turnovers off the BYU offense to emerge with an emphatic victory. For BYU, this likely means that its postseason chances have run their course. Against the only playoff-caliber opponent it has faced this season, BYU fell in lopsided fashion not once, but twice.

The question remains, “How much does the conference championship slate impact the playoff seeding?” Still, for a Cougars team that was on the bubble before Saturday, its second loss to the Red Raiders means other teams awaiting their playoff fate seem to have the upper hand.

Alabama falls to Georgia

With the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 28-7 loss to the Bulldogs, there is a conversation to be had about who should be the fifth SEC team in the playoff. Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Oklahoma are locked into spots.

Alabama now sits with the same amount of losses as Texas. Does that change anything for the committee? Again, can Alabama be penalized — meaning lose its place in the playoff — due to a conference championship loss?

The Crimson Tide’s top win on its resume entering Saturday was over Georgia. After the SEC Championship defeat, Alabama has fallen to the Bulldogs and Oklahoma. The season-opening loss to Florida State continues to stand out even more.

If Alabama is to be removed, the committee may see Texas as a worthy replacement, considering its victories over three top 10 teams. Miami and Notre Dame currently sit above Texas in the CFP rankings. The committee will likely look at all three of the Longhorns, Hurricanes and Fighting Irish in comparison to the Crimson Tide after the Bulldogs reversed the course of the previous matchup.

The games that remain

The Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference Championships are about to get underway.

Texas still holds the closest margin of defeat to the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes from the season-opening meeting in Columbus. If the Buckeyes run away with the Big Ten Championship, does that do anything for the Longhorns’ chances? If Duke beats Virginia, meaning that the ACC champion may not get into the field, does that cause the committee to view Miami differently?

Following Saturday night’s results, the committee has a lot to take into account and make what seem like impossible decisions between various qualified teams. Yet, one truth holds: the Longhorns may, somehow, still have a slim chance.