The May 28 Texas primary runoff elections are finally here.
In several key races, Democratic and Republican voters will decide which candidates will represent their party in the November general election.
The joint primary runoff election features contests for offices in which no candidate received more than 50% of the votes in the March 5 primary elections. Only a small number of races are being decided, and only the two highest vote-earning candidates will be listed for each of the remaining races.
Election results:Get real-time Texas primary runoff election results for key Austin area races
Follow for live updates as polls close Tuesday.
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
Real-time election results across Texas
- Texas runoff election results:See live results here
- Travis County election results:See live results here
- Bastrop County election results:See live results here
- Hays County election results:See live results here
- Williamson County election results:See live results here
Final update: Are school vouchers likely to pass in 2025? Abbott says yes
Gov. Greg Abbott declared victory Tuesday night after four of the six Texas House candidates he financially backed in the GOP primary runoff elections ousted the Republican incumbents, paving a clearer path for a school voucher program to potentially advance during next year’s legislative session.
“We will ensure the best future for our children,” Abbott said in a statement.
Abbott declared war last year against House Republicans who turned down his signature issue — a school voucher program, which would use public education funding to pay for children’s private school tuition.
Katrina Pierson, a former campaign aide to former President Donald Trump, defeated Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall with 56.4% of the vote, according to the complete but unofficial election results.
Helen Kerwin beat incumbent Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne, with 57.5% support. Alan Schoolcraft bested Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, with 55.5% of the vote.
With 53.5% of the vote, incumbent Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, survived a challenge from Chris Spencer.
In two seats left vacant by GOP House members whom decided against reelection, one of two Abbott-backed candidates won.
In District 12, Trey Wharton claimed victory over Ben Bius with 73.4% of the vote. In District 29, Alex Kamkar — who had Abbott’s financial support — lost to Jeffrey Barry, who got 58.5% of the vote.
12:30 a.m. update: Texas State Board of Education incumbents eke out primary runoff wins
Two incumbent Texas State Board of Education members seeking reelection eked out victories in the GOP primary runoffs Tuesday night over challengers who had promised to deliver more staunchly conservative approaches to the board's agenda.
Tom Maynard, a former agriculture science teacher who has served on the board since 2012, defeated Mary Bone with 51.8% of the vote in District 10, according to the complete but unofficial results. The district includes Williamson County, parts of Central Texas and a swath near Dallas.
Bone is a Round Rock school district board member.
In North Texas, District 12 incumbent Pam Little, a former community college instructor and textbook industry professional, won with just 51% of the vote.
Little defeated Jamie Kohlmann, a real estate agent and former education analyst at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation.
During campaigning, Bone promised to end “the mind-virus of wokeness” and Kohlmann pledged to “remove leftist materials” from classrooms.
Maynard and Little finally clinched the Republican nominations for their seats after a third incumbent, 22-year board veteran Pat Hardy, lost the GOP primary race for the Ft. Worth-area District 11 seat during the March 5 election to Brandon Hall, who has worked in ministry services.
The 15-member education board approves textbooks and other classroom materials for Texas public schools, approves teaching standards and green-lights new charter schools, among other duties.
10:40 p.m. update: 3rdCourt of Appeals incumbent ousted in runoff
Maggie Ellis has defeated incumbent Justice Edward Smith for the Democratic nomination for the Place 2 on the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals, according to the final but unofficial election results from the Texas Secretary of State's Office.
The uncertified results show Ellis, an administrative law judge, prosecutor and attorney in Central Texas, secured nearly 66% of the vote against the incumbent. Ellis will advance to the general election and face off in November against Republican John Messinger, with the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney.
Ellis maintained a sizable lead against Smith throughout early voting and an election day, earning 16,673 of the 25,343 total ballots cast during the runoff.
Of the 24-county region served by the court, Ellis garnered sizable vote margins in the largest counties to defeat Smith, including Bastrop, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.
10 p.m. update: After Dade Phelan victory in District 21, Ken Paxton threatens Texas House members against supporting speaker
After an unsuccessful campaign to oust House Speaker Dade Phelan from office Tuesday night, Attorney General Ken Paxton is threatening members of the lower chamber against returning the incumbent to the speakership post next year.
Paxton, still fuming over Phelan's chamber overwhelmingly voting a year ago to impeach the attorney general, had supported David Covey for the House District 21 seat. Covey also won endorsem*nts from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former President Donald Trump. In the end, Phelan defeated Covey 52.3% to 47.3%, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office's unofficial vote totals.
"My message to Austin is clear: to those considering supporting Dade Phelan as Speaker in 2025, ask your 15 colleagues who lost re-election how they feel about their decision now. You will not return if you vote for Dade Phelan again," Paxton said, referencing Phelan-friendly Republicans who were defeated in the March 5 GOP primary.
In a statement shorty after Phelan declared victory and The Associated Press called the race around 9:40 p.m., Paxton made an unfounded accusation claiming Phelan had stolen the election by eliciting Democratic support.
Paxton's letter, which followed a similar message from the Covey campaign, charged that "at least 1,442 Democrats who voted early in Jefferson County, making up 20% of Jefferson County's early vote numbers. Without Democrats, Dade never would have won."
In Texas, voters of both major political parties are allowed to vote in either party's primary election, although the voter must also vote in that same party's runoff election if they cast a runoff ballot.
In the aftermath of Tuesday's result, Paxton called to end that ability and to close the primaries to only voters registered to that party.
Phelan, in a statement declaring victory Tuesday night, said he will now look forward to support Republican colleagues during the November election and gear up for the upcoming legislative session.
"I am immensely grateful to the voters of Southeast Texas, who have spoken loud and clear: in Southeast Texas, we set our own course—our community is not for sale, and our values are not up for auction," Phelan said.
9:30 p.m. update: Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan survives challenge in nail-biter
Embattled Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who has spent the 2024 election cycle in the crosshairs of former President Donald Trump and two of the state's most powerful statewide officeholders, survived his GOP primary runoff election Tuesday in House District 21.
Phelan, in his second term as speaker and his fourth term as a state representative, defeated newcomer David Covey 52.3% to 47.3%, according to unofficial vote totals by the Texas Secretary of State's Office.
More:Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan survives challenge in District 21 GOP runoff election
The victory for Phelan is a setback for L.t Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who campaigned vigorously for Covey and have been calling for Phelan's ouster.
With no Democrat on the November ballot, Phelan's reelection to the House is assured. Whether he can win a third term at the helm of the lower chamber remains uncertain.
8:40 p.m. update: Goldman projected to win North Texas congressional seat
Former state Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, is projected to defeat John O'Shea in the Republican primary runoff in Texas' 12th Congressional District, according to The Associated Press.
With 64% of the vote reported, the AP called the race for Goldman at 8:30 p.m. Goldman, who received 10,434 of 16,169 at the time of the projected victory, had received congratulations from Gov. Greg Abbott roughly an hour before the AP made the call.
The seat in North Texas had been held by U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, the longest serving member of the Texas congressional delegation and chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee at the time of her retirement in March.
8:10 p.m. update: Early returns in Texas House District 21 show Phelan with 1,000-vote lead
With early returns from all three counties in Texas House District 21, Speaker Dade Phelan is leading challenger David Covey by about 1,000 votes.
The smallest county in the district went big for Covey, nearly 71% to 29%. There were fewer that 3,000 votes in the early-return dump.
8 p.m. update: 3rdCourt of Appeals Incumbent trailing early
Maggie Ellis, an administrative law judge, prosecutor and attorney in Central Texas, has taken an early lead against incumbent Justice Edward Smith in the Democratic primary runoff race for the Place 2 seat on the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals, according to early voting results.
Of the 14,731 ballots cast during the early voting and mail in period, Ellis leads Smith with 64% support.
Sizable margins in favor of Ellis in Bastrop, Bell, Burnet and Williamson counties buoyed her to the top against Smith, who was first elected to the judicial post in 2018.
However, initial results in Travis County were tighter, with Ellis receiving 4,864 votes to Smith's 4,149.
In the March primary election, Ellis came out ahead of Smith by about 9% of the vote. The winner in November will face GOP candidate John Messinger, who works in the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney.
7:45 p.m. update: Simmons leads Thierry after early vote count
Texas incumbent Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, is trailing her Democratic Party primary challenger Lauren Simmons by 800 votes, with Simmons winning 60% of early votes reported thus far and Thierry taking just under 40%. Roughly 38% of the votes have been reported so far.
Thierry attracted a challenger after breaking with Democrats last year to vote for Republican-priority billsbanning books with sexually explicit materialandprohibiting certain gender-affirming care for trans minors.
7:40 p.m. update: Gov. Abbott-backed Texas House candidates take early leads
In four GOP primary runoff races for the Texas House in which Gov. Greg Abbott openly campaigned against the Republican incumbents, three challengers have taken early leads after early vote totals were reported.
In Fort Worth-area House District 58, Helen Kerwin is leading with 56.2% of the vote against incumbent Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne, according to incomplete and unofficial results.
Katrina Pierson took a sizable 66.7% lead in early vote counts against incumbent Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall.
Alan Schoolcraft also led the early vote with a 55.1% against incumbent Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin.
With 55.3%, Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, was leading challenger Chris Spencer after the early vote count, according to incomplete and unofficial results.
After the House killed Abbott's signature school voucher issue in November, the governor vowed to go to war at the ballot box against Republicans who voted against a package that would have used public education funds to help pay for private school tuition. Burns, Holland, Kuempel and VanDeaver were among the Republicans House members who opposed "school choice" proposals.
7:35 p.m. update: Dade Phelan takes early lead in his part of House District 21
With early votes on the Texas Secretary of State's website so far reporting only results from Jefferson County, embattled House Speaker Dade Phelan holds a 69-31 percent lead, according to the unofficial returns.Jefferson is Phelan's home county. In Orange, the largest county in House District 21, challenger David Covey was leading Phelan 53.5% to 44.6%.So far overall, Phelan is leading 57.4% to 42.6% in unofficial returns. Election day ballots are still being counted. No results from Jasper County, the smallest one in the district, have yet been reported.
7:30 p.m. update: In Houston-area Texas Senate runoff, Johnson takes early lead over Cook
State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, takes initial lead against Molly Cook in the Democratic Party primary runoff race for the District 15 Texas Senate, according to early voting totals.
With election day votes not yet being reported, Johnson holds an early lead of roughly 3% of the vote with 10,908 ballots cast during the early and mail in voting period.
Earlier this month in a special election to fill the remainder of the term left vacant by Sen. John Whitmire, who represented Houston in the Texas Senate for nearly four decades before being elected mayor of that city last year, Cook defeated Johnson to serve in the position through the rest of the year. The winner of Tuesday's runoff will likely win the Senate seat in the general election in November.
7:25 p.m. update: Early GOP primary runoff results in for State Board of Education
Texas Board of Education incumbent Tom Maynard has taken an early lead over challenger Mary Bone in the the Republican Party primary runoff race for District 10, which includes Williamson County. Maynard leads with almost 53% after the early vote was tallied against Bone, a Round Rock school board trustee.
In the GOP primary runoff for District 12 in North Texas, incumbent Pam Little is neck-and-neck with Jamie Kohlmann,a real estate agent and former education analyst at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. Little carried 51.7% of the early vote, according to the latest count. Election day votes are still being tallied.
7:20 p.m. update: Rep. Tony Gonzales takes early lead against Brandon Herrera
With 26% of votes reported, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, has emerged with a nearly 60-40% lead overhis GOP primary runoff opponent Brandon Herrera,a gun-toting YouTuber and North Carolina transplant known as “The AK Guy" who attacked Gonzales for his support ofa bipartisan gun safety billpassed in the wake of the mass school shooting in Uvalde. Election day results have not yet been tallied.
6:50 p.m. update: Stormy election day in Phelan, Covey runoff
Election day in state House District 21 in Southeast Texas, where Speaker Dade Phelan is fighting for political survival against challenger David Covey, washammered by wind and rain.
Tens of thousands of electricity customers reported outages, according toBeaumont TV station KFDM. The outages, however, did not affect voting,the Beaumont Enterprise reportedin a story updated about an hour before polls close at 7 p.m.
The district runs south from the East Texas town of Jasper to Port Arthur and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.
What time do polls open and close on May 28?
Polls will be open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. May 28.
If you are still standing in line to vote at 7 p.m., stay in line. You will be allowed to vote even if you haven’t been admitted inside a polling place as long as you’re in line.
More:Texas primary races will be settled soon. A look at the Democratic, Republican runoffs.
Polling locations near me
If you're a Travis County resident, you canfind a list of polling places hereor by using the map below.
Click on the links to find polling locations forBastrop,WilliamsonandHayscounties as well.
Who's on the May 28 ballot?
Travis County
- Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District, Place 2 (Democratic runoff)
- Edward Smith
- Maggie Ellis
- United States Representative, District 35 (Republican runoff)
- Michael Rodriguez
- Steven Wright
Bastrop County
- Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District, Place 2 (Democratic runoff)
- Edward Smith
- Maggie Ellis
- County Commissioner, Precinct No. 1 (Republican runoff)
- Dominica McGinnis
- Butch Carmack
- Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 2 - Unexpired Term (Republican runoff)
- Ty McDonald
- Zachary Carter
Hays County
- United States Representative, District 35 (Republican runoff)
- Michael Rodriguez
- Steven Wright
Williamson County
- Member, State Board of Education, District 10 (Republican runoff)
- Tom Maynard
- Mary Bone
- United States Representative, District 31 (Democratic runoff)
- Stuart Whitlow
- Brian Walbridge
- Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District, Place 2 (Democratic runoff)
- Edward Smith
- Maggie Ellis
What do I need to vote on May 28?
Voters must present one of seven acceptable forms of identification at the polls, according to Texas law. The seven acceptable forms include:
- Texas driver license
- Texas election ID certificate
- Texas personal ID card
- Texas handgun license
- U.S. citizenship certificate with photo
- U.S. military ID card
- U.S. passport
Those who are unable to present one of the forms of ID listed above may fill out aReasonable Impediment Declarationat the polls and present an alternative form of ID. That could be a utility bill, bank statement, government check or voter registration certificate.
