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The candidate shuffle has already begun.
Starting Saturday, thousands of candidates throughout Texas will begin officially filing paperwork to get on the ballot for the 2026 elections. The filing period runs through Dec. 8.
But some candidates are already resetting their sights on different offices than they originally wanted. On Thursday morning, retired Houston astronaut Terry Virts announced he was dropping his Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate and will instead run for the U.S. House to represent part of Houston in the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District.
Republicans Briscoe Cain, of Deer Park, and Alexandra del Moral Mealer, of Houston, have already said they’re running in that race, too. Virts jumping in now means there are at least 10 candidates who have said they want to run for that seat, though all but Virts are Republicans.
We will also soon know the plans of members of Congress affected by a summer redistricting plan. U.S. Reps. Al Green, D-Houston; Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas; Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; and Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, all must finally decide if they are seeking re-election in their newly redrawn districts, in different districts or for something else entirely.
Green has been weighing whether to run for a 12th term in Congress, but in the 18th Congressional District because his current 9th Congressional District was gerrymandered into a Republican-leaning one. But jumping into the 18th could mean taking on Harris County attorney Christian Menefee or former city council member Amanda Edwards, two Democrats battling in a special election to see who will temporarily fill out the remaining term of Sylvester Turner, who died in March. Both Menefee and Edwards are expected to file to run for the reconfigured 18th, too.
Other statewide contests will be worth watching, too. Four big-name Republicans and three Democrats have all said they are running for Texas Attorney General. Starting Saturday, we’ll know if all of them are sticking in what is fast becoming one of the most-watched races in the state.
Historically, this is when big surprises happen, like in 2018 when several members of Congress announced they would not seek re-election, triggering a bevy of last-minute filings.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Food Stamp Recipients.
Benefits must continue to flow. A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to find the money to fully fund SNAP benefits for November. The ruling by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. gave President Donald Trump's administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, though it's unlikely the 42 million Americans will see the money on the debit cards they use for groceries that quickly.
Down: Dick Cheney.
After more than 30 years in elective office, including deep ties to Texas, one would think the former vice president’s death would have drawn a lot of attention in Texas and beyond among Republicans. Not so. After news of his death broke on Tuesday, Texas Republicans in Congress largely stayed silent, mirroring the response of President Donald Trump, whom Cheney famously derided as a "threat to our republic."
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