Colin Allred (D), James Talarico (D), and three other candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas on March 3, 2026. As of October 2025, Allred and Talarico led the candidate field in polling, fundraising, and media attention. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025.

Axios‘ Stephen Neukam described the primary as having “quickly turned into one of the most intriguing Democratic contests on the map next year.” Summarizing an interview with Democratic strategist Matt Angle, WFAA‘s Michael McCardel said, “Allred has more name recognition and Talarico is considered an underdog. But Talarico has a massive social media following Angle thinks will be important for fundraising and raising his profile. And Talarico’s faith could also help attract some voters.”

Allred is a former member of the U.S. House who was the Democratic nominee for Senate in 2024, losing the general election to Ted Cruz (R). That year, Allred won the Democratic primary with 58.9% of the vote. A former professional football player and civil rights attorney, Allred says he is running for Senate “to lower costs and stop corrupt politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton from rigging the economy against hard working Texans.”

Talarico was elected to the state House in 2018. He describes himself as “an eighth-generation Texan, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian.” Talarico says that “the biggest divide in this country is not left vs. right. It’s top vs. bottom. Billionaires want us looking left and right at each other instead of looking up at them. ” Writing in Politico, Adam Wren said Talarico’s candidacy “sets up among the sharpest nationwide tests of whether a red-state candidate can run against the national party’s brand.”

Also running in the primary are Emily Morgul (D), Michael Swanson (D), and Terry Virts (D).

As of October 2025, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the general election Likely Republican. In the 2024 election, incumbent Ted Cruz (R) defeated Allred 53%–45%. In 2020, incumbent John Cornyn (R) defeated M.J. Hegar (D) 54%–44%. According to Politico, “Democrats see a politically damaged potential Republican nominee in scandal-ridden Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading primary polls against incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn.”