Texas’s 25th District House Race 2026

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.

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 Republicans are moving to revive Senate Bill 7, a sweeping elections measure that died over the weekend after Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout to deny the House a quorum before a midnight deadline. Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to call a special session to pass the bill and possibly other stalled conservative priorities, including a ban on transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports.

The bill would cut polling hours, empower partisan poll watchers, ban drive-through and 24-hour voting, and includes a contested provision making it easier for judges to void election results over unproven fraud claims. Democrats objected especially to new limits on early Sunday voting, a key day for Black churchgoers, though one GOP negotiator called that provision a drafting error. Abbott has threatened to veto legislative salaries in retaliation and invoked the 2013 Wendy Davis filibuster, which Republicans overturned in a special session. President Biden urged Democrats nationally to intensify voting rights efforts as Congress prepares to debate federal elections legislation.

Texas's 2026 elections feature unexpectedly competitive statewide races, a rarity in a state no Democrat has won statewide since 1994. The marquee contest pits state Rep. James Talarico against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, with control of the chamber and the final two years of President Trump's term potentially at stake. Gov. Greg Abbott faces a tighter-than-expected challenge from state Rep. Gina Hinojosa despite a large fundraising edge. A recent University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll showed Democrat Vikki Goodwin narrowly ahead of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Nathan Johnson slightly leading Mayes Middleton for attorney general, with all surveyed races within the margin of error. Republicans' new congressional redistricting plan will also be tested.

Republican Austin Rogers and Democrat Amanda Green, competing to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn in Florida's 2nd Congressional District, will hold their only Leon County forum Oct. 27 at a Tallahassee business luncheon. Rogers, a former aide to Sen. Rick Scott, has Trump's endorsement, broad business backing and a large fundraising lead. Green, a development-sector operations director, has endorsements from former Rep. Allen Boyd, Blue Dog PAC and the Alliance for Retired Americans, and is courting farmers and independents frustrated with trade policy and rising costs. The GOP has held the seat 14 of the last 16 years; forecasters including Decision Desk HQ and Cook Political Report favor Rogers heavily.

A letters roundup in the Austin American-Statesman reflects public frustration following a shooting by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent involving an unarmed person in Austin. Letter writers criticized Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton for what they described as silence on the incident, framing it as part of a broader pattern of prioritizing political power over public safety ahead of upcoming midterm elections.

Other letters in the same collection touched on separate but related state issues: the University of Texas removing ethnic and gender studies majors amid concerns over academic independence, a proposed data center facing an attorney general probe, and criticism of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's use of AI-generated campaign ads. Writers also referenced Paxton's impeachment, settled securities law case, and whistleblower settlement history. The recurring theme across submissions was distrust of Republican leadership in Texas and a call for voters to hold officials accountable in the midterms.

Texas's largest cities are grappling with widening budget shortfalls driven by inflation, slowing sales tax growth, and stagnant or falling property values. Dallas faces a $51 million gap, Fort Worth $94 million, San Antonio $158 million over two years, and Austin a structural deficit that could exceed $100 million within a decade. Responses vary: Dallas plans layoffs, reduced library hours, and higher non-resident fees at attractions like the zoo; Fort Worth is cutting vacant positions and pay raises while raising its tax rate; Austin raised its rate to the legal maximum without voter approval; and San Antonio is considering its first property tax hike in over 30 years alongside roughly $90 million in cuts.

The squeeze stems partly from a state-imposed 3.5% cap on annual property tax revenue growth without voter approval, with Governor Greg Abbott and legislators pushing further restrictions next session. San Antonio's mayor also wants voters to weigh in on $489 million in public funding for a new downtown Spurs arena, with a council vote on placing the measure on the November ballot pending. Experts point to tax exemptions and restrictive housing policies as compounding factors, urging denser "missing middle" development to broaden tax bases and ease pressure on strained budgets.

A Texas House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight hearing at the Capitol turned tense Wednesday as lawmakers scrutinized Travis County District Attorney José Garza over accusations his office is "soft on crime." Witnesses, including the Central Texas Public Safety Commission's president, cited repeated releases of violent offenders. State Rep. Mitch Little said the legislature should investigate and impeach Garza, and later moved toward subpoenaing him to testify. Garza did not appear, but his office submitted written testimony, delivered by assistant DA Stephanie Gharakhanian, defending case dismissals as following the law and citing recent murder convictions and falling crime rates. Lawmakers, including Richard Peña Raymond, pressed for more transparency on dismissed cases.

The hearing also surfaced a broader legal question: whether the Texas House has constitutional authority to impeach a local district attorney, an idea Gov. Greg Abbott has championed against what he calls "rouge DAs," separate from existing civil removal procedures requiring a jury trial.

KXAN investigators found that Save Austin Now PAC's city of Austin campaign finance filings showed $0 in expenditures through Sept. 24, 2026, despite nearly $755,000 in contributions, conflicting with the PAC's Texas Ethics Commission reports showing roughly $456,000 spent. SAN co-founder Matt Mackowiak and treasurer Leland Bickers said the TEC figures are accurate and attributed the gap to technical problems with the city's filing portal, including a doubled contribution total on one report. The PAC says it is working with the city to correct the records; the city has not yet commented. Save Austin Now sponsored Proposition I, an affordability-review measure on Austin's November ballot, and had more reported financial activity than comparable PACs reviewed.

Interim Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has broadened an audit of Austin Independent School District and three other districts to examine diversity, equity and inclusion practices, foreign worker hiring, and compliance with library book restrictions. The move follows Senate Bill 13, passed last session to let parents challenge school library books and sit on review committees. Critics, including an Austin letter writer, argue officials are targeting districts whose parents have not flagged books as objectionable, calling the effort selective enforcement under the banner of "parent empowerment." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has backed the broader review, intensifying debate over state oversight of local school district policy and curriculum content.