Texas 24th Congressional District: 2026 House Race

Twelve U.S. House seats covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area are on the Nov. 3 midterm ballot, with early voting running Oct. 19-30. Most races feature Republican incumbents—Keith Self, Pat Fallon, Lance Gooden, Jake Ellzey, Craig Goldman, Ronny Jackson, Beth Van Duyne and Roger Williams—facing Democratic challengers, plus a Libertarian in District 26. Three open seats stand out: District 30, vacated by Jasmine Crockett after her Senate run; and Districts 32 and 33, left open by Julie Johnson and Marc Veasey, respectively, after mid-decade redistricting reshaped them from Democratic-leaning to Republican-favored territory. In District 33, Colin Allred faces Patrick David Gillespie. Results are expected after 7 p.m. on Election Day.

A Republican gathering in Dallas drew heavy television coverage, with Bloomberg's Texas Edition examining how the event played out on screen and what it signals for state and national politics. Coverage touched on prominent Republican figures including Doug Burgum, Ken Paxton, and Jim Jordan, alongside broader themes tying Texas's economy — energy, data centers, artificial intelligence, and finance — to the political moment.

The reporting also noted Texas Democrats such as James Talarico, Wendy Davis, and Beto O'Rourke, framing the convention within the state's competitive political landscape ahead of upcoming House and Senate races. For prediction markets, the coverage underscores continued attention on Texas as a battleground for control of Congress and on how Republican messaging around energy and technology could shape voter sentiment in a state central to national election forecasting.

Texas Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R) accused Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico of holding views that "would kill Texas," calling him "pretty much a complete DSA candidate" during a Sunday interview, despite Talarico never having been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Van Duyne cited his focus on transgender youth protections and claimed he supports putting "all the means of production" under government control — a characterization Talarico's actual platform, which includes higher taxes on the wealthy, a $15 federal minimum wage, and corporate PAC restrictions, does not support. Talarico, a Presbyterian minister, has campaigned on Christian faith while opposing efforts to impose religion on others, and has criticized the state's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

The exchange comes as the race against GOP nominee and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has tightened, with Decision Desk HQ giving Talarico roughly even odds and Cook Political Report recently moving the contest from "Lean Republican" to "Toss Up."

Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, is voicing support for the Trump administration's proposal to impose a $100,000 filing fee on H-1B visa petitions, framing it as a necessary check on what she describes as widespread abuse of the program. She argues that weak oversight has allowed employers to sideline qualified American workers in favor of foreign labor, exploiting loopholes in a system originally designed to fill specialized skill gaps.

The comments add to ongoing political debate over the future of the H-1B program, which has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides amid concerns about wage suppression and displacement of domestic tech and skilled-labor workers. The proposed fee, if implemented, would mark one of the most significant cost increases to the visa process in years, potentially reshaping how companies approach hiring foreign talent and fueling continued congressional and industry debate over immigration and labor policy.

Incumbent Republican Dawn Buckingham faces Democrat Benjamin Flores and Libertarian Neill Snider in the 2026 race for Texas Land Commissioner, the elected official who oversees the General Land Office (GLO). The agency manages 13 million acres of state land, the Permanent School Fund that helps fund K-12 schools, disaster relief distribution, veterans' land and home loan programs, and the Alamo.

Buckingham, unopposed in the GOP primary, has emphasized oil and gas development, border enforcement efforts including the Jocelyn Initiative, and defense of the Alamo against "woke" reinterpretations; she has drawn endorsements from President Trump and numerous state legislators. Flores, who switched from the governor's race, opposes using GLO resources for immigration enforcement, opposes school vouchers, and has proposed land swaps for affordable housing and faster disaster-response contracting. Snider favors reducing taxes by maximizing or selling state land profits and increasing GLO transparency. The office remains under scrutiny following past discrimination findings tied to Hurricane Harvey relief, later reversed by federal reviewers, and a controversy over the Alamo Trust's Indigenous Peoples' Day social media post.

One year after Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas's mid-decade "One Big Beautiful Map," redrawing five congressional districts at President Trump's urging, polling suggests Republicans may not be reaping the gains they expected. The redistricting combined Black-majority districts in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth and paired two Austin Democrats, while shifting South Texas seats to favor the GOP, aiming for a net five-seat pickup for Republicans nationally.

Recent Texas Southern University polling shows Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar leading in District 28 and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez ahead in District 34, despite both districts being redrawn to favor Trump. In District 15, Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz trails Tejano musician Bobby Pulido despite a district redrawn heavily in Trump's favor. District 35, created by merging two Austin Democratic incumbents' territory, remains a contested open seat where House Speaker Mike Johnson recently campaigned for Republican Carlos De La Cruz against Democrat Johnny Garcia.

The shifting numbers, attributed partly to fallout from immigration enforcement, tariffs and inflation, complicate Republican hopes of using redistricting to offset historic midterm losses for the party controlling the White House.

Texas heads into a Nov. 3 election featuring high-profile statewide races, including Gov. Greg Abbott's contest against Democrat Gina Hinojosa and a U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico. Additional battles for congressional and state legislature seats are also on the ballot.

Voters interviewed at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas offered mixed predictions about the state's political trajectory. Many expressed confidence Texas will remain reliably Republican, while others, pointing to shifts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, suggested the state could be inching toward competitive territory. Several voters said economic concerns, particularly persistent inflation and reduced disposable income, are shaping their views more than party allegiance. Some cited dissatisfaction with the current presidential administration as a driving factor in their outlook.

The races are being watched closely as indicators of whether traditionally red Texas is becoming more competitive, with economic sentiment likely to play a significant role in turnout and outcomes across the state's marquee contests.

Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, sparked bipartisan backlash after posting on social media about Asian American students cheering at a University of Texas football game following a comeback win over Ohio State, calling them "foreigners" and saying they showed how "Americans have been displaced by foreigners." Two students identified in the photo, Dhairya Gupta and Rahul Kodali, said they are U.S. citizens and called the post racist; Gupta said the incident showed racism "isn't looked down upon as much as it used to be." UT Austin enrollment data show international students make up less than 10% of the student body, with Asian students, mostly U.S. citizens or permanent residents, accounting for about 22.4% of enrollment. French has refused to delete the posts, denied regret when asked directly, and said "Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth," using the controversy for fundraising.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn condemned the posts as racist, warning that tolerating such intolerance is "how great political parties self-destruct," and Rep. Dan Crenshaw also criticized French. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and GOP representatives including Jared Patterson, Jeff Leach, Matt Shaheen, and Lacey Hull called on French to delete the posts, while former Speaker Dade Phelan called him "unfit for office." Gov. Greg Abbott said the message wasn't his but stopped short of directly condemning French, instead touting support for freezing H-1B visas at universities; he has since endorsed French, as has Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Attorney General Ken Paxton, facing a Senate primary challenge from Democrat James Talarico, deflected criticism onto Talarico rather than address French's remarks. French previously faced calls to resign as county chair over a poll on Jews versus Muslims.

Texas households received mailers this month branded as a "Texas Trans & LGBTQ+ Student Resource Guide," arriving as early voting began. The materials pointed minors toward hormones, out-of-state medical transition, and legal emancipation from parents. The Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), whose branding appeared throughout, denies producing or approving the pamphlet. Investigators traced it to a Wyoming-registered shell company with a nonexistent return address, prompting a forgery investigation by a local district attorney. No sender has been identified, and TENT is seeking to depose the vendors involved.

While the mailer's origin remains unconfirmed, its content echoes real debates over parental rights, gender-identity policy in schools, and state laws like Texas's bans on youth medical transition and school gender clubs.

Texas' rapidly growing Muslim population, estimated between 300,000 and 500,000 (up from about 140,000 in 1990), has become a flashpoint among Republicans, drawing national attention during the RNC's Midterm Convention in Dallas. GOP officials including Reps. Keith Self, Chip Roy, and Brandon Gill, congressional candidate Brandon Herrera, and state Rep. Brian Harrison are calling for legislative and congressional action against what they describe as Islamism and Sharia law, citing new mosque construction and Islamic development projects across the state.

Specific controversies include the EPIC City development in Josephine, which Attorney General Ken Paxton's office says is linked to alleged securities law violations, prompting Gov. Greg Abbott to halt construction; a McKinney mosque relocation approved by the city council that spurred a recall effort against local officials; and a planned Islamic campus expansion near Camp Bullis military base in San Antonio, which Roy wants federal officials to investigate. Advocacy groups and RNC attendees echoed concerns about assimilation and Western values, while some attendees pushed back, saying local voters should decide the issue.