Land Commissioner
StatewideDawn Buckingham (R) faces Benjamin Flores (D) for Land Commissioner on November 3, 2026.
Benjamin Flores vs. Dawn BuckinghamOn the November 3 ballot
Democrat: Benjamin Flores
Republican: Dawn Buckingham (incumbent)Also on the ballot: Neill Snider (Libertarian)
Buckingham ran unopposed in the GOP primary. Benjamin Flores won the Democratic nomination with 55.6% over Jose Loya.
Manages Texas's 13 million acres of public land, oversees the Alamo, administers veterans' benefits, and runs coastal erosion programs.
November General Election
Nov 3, 2026No major handicapper rates Texas down-ballot statewide races. Incumbent Dawn Buckingham (R) is defending the seat against Benjamin Flores (D). No Democrat has won any statewide Texas office since 1994. The rating reflects structural lean, not a forecast.
November polling
Scroll across to compare candidates and reported gaps.
| Pollster | Date | Sample | Buckingham | Flores | Undec. | Reported gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Public Opinion ResearchPolitical sponsor · excluded from average | Aug 24, 2026 | 1,000 LV±3.3 MOE | 44% | 40% | — | Buckingham +4 |
Methodology and source notes: Texas Public Opinion Research, Aug 24, 2026TPOR director Luke Warford is a Democratic strategist. Ballot named Libertarian Neill Snider at 2%. Original poll release (opens in new tab) | ||||||
| Texas Southern University | Jul 30, 2026 | 1,200 LV±2.83 MOE | 45% | 40% | — | Buckingham +5 |
Methodology and source notes: Texas Southern University, Jul 30, 2026Three-way ballot incl. Neill Snider (L) 2%; 13% undecided. About four in five likely voters could not rate either candidate. Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center; SMS-to-web, fielded Jul 27-30, coauthored by Rice's Mark P. Jones. Sampling frame and weighting variables are not disclosed in the report. Original poll release (opens in new tab) | ||||||
Each row is one poll, shown as reported. Headline cards separately average eligible independent likely-voter polls; see the methodology page. The reported gap is the difference between candidate percentages, not a finding of a statistically significant lead. An undecided share appears only when explicitly recorded from the source; a dash means it has not been recorded. Independently rounded categories may not sum to 100%. Likely-voter (LV) and registered-voter (RV) samples are not directly comparable.
The November ballot, explained
Texas race coverage by email, only when something changes before Nov 3.
Primary Results
Winner.Dawn Buckingham(i)
Winner.Benjamin Flores
Jose LoyaRepublican nominee
Democratic nominee
Bay City Council Member; cybersecurity professional
Also on the ballot
- Neill SniderLibertarian
Certified for the November 3 ballot by the Texas Secretary of State, August 28, 2026.
Frequently Asked
Who is running for Texas Land Commissioner in 2026?
Dawn Buckingham (R, incumbent) faces Benjamin Flores (D) in the November 3, 2026 general election.
When is the 2026 Texas Land Commissioner election?
The general election is November 3, 2026. The voter registration deadline is October 5, early voting runs October 19 to 30, and mail-ballot applications are due October 23.
Is the 2026 Texas Land Commissioner race competitive?
No major handicapper rates this race. TexPolls lists it as Safe Republican based on Texas's structural partisan lean and recent statewide results, not a forecast. No Democrat has won a statewide Texas office since 1994.
What does the Texas Land Commissioner do?
Manages Texas's 13 million acres of public land, oversees the Alamo, administers veterans' benefits, and runs coastal erosion programs.
How were the 2026 Land Commissioner nominees decided?
Buckingham ran unopposed in the GOP primary. Benjamin Flores won the Democratic nomination with 55.6% over Jose Loya.
Who else is on the ballot for Land Commissioner in 2026?
Beyond the Republican and Democratic nominees, Neill Snider is the Libertarian candidate. The full November 3 ballot was certified by the Texas Secretary of State on August 28, 2026.