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Happy Thursday, and welcome to the first post-primary edition of Texas Elections 2026. We're catching you up on some of the less-covered statewide races that were either decided or extended on Tuesday. Reminder, the runoff election for a number of races is May 26. Have questions? Hit reply, and I'll do my best to get you answers.
The brightest spotlights on election night shined on the attention-hungry Democratic and Republican primaries for U.S. Senate and a handful of congressional races around the state, but the drama didn't end there — and in some cases, the drama didn't end at all.
We're going to set aside the Republican Senate runoff for now. President Donald Trump has said he plans to endorse in the race but hasn't officially tipped his hand as of Thursday afternoon. But both parties are also heading into overtime to settle on their nominees for Texas attorney general.
Two runoffs in the AG race
On the GOP side, state Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston emerged as the top vote-getter Thursday with U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin coming in second. That runoff matchup was expected, but the surprise was that the lesser-known Middleton outpolled the veteran congressman.
Middleton, an independently wealthy oil-and-gas billionaire, spent heavily to present himself as "MAGA Mayes," tying himself closely with the president's signature slogan. Roy, who is as conservative as most Texas Republicans, has demonstrated an independent streak and hasn't been shy about breaking with the president or his party on issues close to his heart.
Republican runoff voters can decide which approach best sells.
On the Democratic side, we have another state senator, Nathan Johnson of Dallas, against another candidate with roots in Galveston. This one is Joe Jaworski, who served a single term as the city's mayor.
Johnson campaigned as a competent lawyer who would run the AG's office like a top-tier law firm without partisan sideshows. Jaworski in campaign ads and social media postings suggested that Johnson was insufficiently partisan for a Democrat.
GOP runoff avoided in comptroller's race
Former state Sen. Don Huffines, who coincidently was ousted from the Senate by Johnson in 2018, won an outright majority in the primary. And in doing so, he defeated Gov. Greg Abbott's hand-picked choice for the job, Kelly Hancock, who last years resigned from the state Senate to become acting comptroller.
Huffines will face Democrat Sarah Eckhardt in the general election. And, in keeping with what seems to be a running theme in this newsletter, Eckhardt is also a state senator. She represents Austin and easily won the Democratic primary.
A shakeup for the Agriculture Commission
Abbott's toe-stub in the comptroller's race was offset in the GOP primary for agriculture commissioner. The governor's endorsed candidate, beekeeper/entrepreneur Nate Sheets, bested three-term incumbent Sid Miller.
Sheets made post-election headlines by saying he plans to purge the agency of Miller cronies, and perhaps others who might in his mind have blurred the line between government work and political horse trading. To be fair, any newly-elected statewide officeholder can be expected to bring in his or her own team to run the things. But it's not unusual for the professionals who do the day-to-day work that keeps a sprawling state agency operating to continue on the job from one administration to the next.
Before Sheets can roll any heads at the ag commission, he'll have to get past Lampasas rancher Clayton Tucker, who won Democratic primary unopposed.
The land commissioner's race
Republicans nominated unopposed incumbent Dawn Buckingham, a former state senator and an eye surgeon in private life, to a second term running the agency.
The Democrats sent up Benjamin Flores, a member of the city council in Bay City. He and his family run a pig-breeding business.
And one more statewide runoff
This one comes on the Republican side for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which doesn't regulate railroads but does have authority over the Texas oil and gas industry. Incumbent Jim Wright, who is seeking his second six-year term, will face former Tarrant County GOP chairman Bo French, who has worked in the energy security industry.
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