Tarrant County, Texas

After Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French posted a screengrab mocking UT Austin's South Asian student section following the Longhorns' win over Ohio State, calling it a problem "far worse than anyone imagined," the post drew bipartisan condemnation from figures including Sen. John Cornyn, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Karl Rove. Records show UT staff closely monitored the backlash, media inquiries and donor complaints for 36 hours before President Jim Davis issued any response, initially instructing spokespeople to withhold comment and emphasize low international-student enrollment figures.

Davis eventually echoed a UT System statement defending "all Longhorns" without directly condemning French's language. Students and faculty say the episode, alongside other campus speech controversies, reflects a broader institutional shift toward avoiding direct criticism of racism amid rising political pressure on Texas universities.

Early voting is underway in Texas's midterms through Oct. 30, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Gov. Greg Abbott faces Democrat Gina Hinojosa, while in one of the most expensive nonpresidential races on record, Republican Ken Paxton battles Democrat James Talarico for U.S. Senate, with ad spending topping $442 million and Republicans outspending Democrats roughly three to one. Polls, including recent FOX News and New York Times/Siena surveys, have shown Talarico consistently ahead since September, raising the possibility Texas could elect a Democrat statewide for the first time since 1994. Trump made three campaign visits backing Paxton, who faces past fraud indictments and an impeachment acquittal. Prominent Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who had previously backed Paxton with a $600,000 super PAC donation, has now endorsed Talarico after meeting with him, a notable crossover in the closely watched contest.

Early voting began in Tarrant County, Texas, on Oct. 19, drawing 50,409 voters on the first day — up 73% from the 2022 midterm but short of the 58,587 who turned out on Day One of the 2024 presidential race. Wait times at several of the county's 47 polling sites, down from 50 in 2022, stretched past 45 minutes, with one voter reporting a two-hour wait; officials said the online wait-time map lagged behind actual conditions and pledged more frequent updates.

Top races driving turnout include the U.S. Senate contest between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, and the governor's race between incumbent Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Early voting continues through Oct. 30 ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

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.