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Turnout Deep Dive

How 2026 primary turnout is stacking up against 2022, by day, by county, and by who showed up.

As of Mar 5, 2026

Total Early Votes

2.3M

+223% vs 2022

Dem Early Votes

1.2M

+347% vs 2022

GOP Early Votes

1.1M

+146% vs 2022

Turnout Rate

12.3%

of registered voters

Early voting alone reached 76% of all 2022 primary votes (early + Election Day combined).

Day-by-Day Trends

Cumulative early voting totals by party through Day 11.

Democrats led early voting by 133K votes (1.2M to 1.1M), a first since at least 2010.

Democrats Republicans· Includes Election Day (100% reporting)
Day-by-day cumulative voting totals for the 2026 Texas primary, including Election Day
DayDateDemocrats (cumulative)Republicans (cumulative)Total
Day 12026-02-1783,828101,757185,585
Day 22026-02-18186,665197,541384,206
Day 32026-02-19293,158296,458589,616
Day 42026-02-20425,258420,762846,020
Day 52026-02-21542,925495,8661,038,791
Day 62026-02-22600,303524,2761,124,579
Day 72026-02-23702,157619,1061,321,263
Day 82026-02-24793,682712,2471,505,929
Day 92026-02-25912,593817,2711,729,864
Day 102026-02-261,062,021937,4331,999,454
Day 112026-02-271,214,6381,081,8782,296,516
Mar 32026-03-032,197,8972,153,3504,351,247

Final Primary Turnout (est.)

Democrats

2.2M

1.21M early + 983K Election Day

Republicans

2.15M

1.08M early + 1.07M Election Day

Total

4.35M

2.3M early + 2.05M Election Day

2018: 2.62M · 2022: 3.03M · 2024: 3.31M · 2026: 4.35M

Source:TX Secretary of State (opens in new tab)·100% precincts reporting, totals estimated from Governor race

Who Voted Early

Age, first-timers, and crossover patterns from 2.3M early voters.

Average Voter Age

Dem primary voters are 8 years younger on average

Democrats

58

Republicans

66

First-Time Primary Voters

Nearly 1 in 4 Dem voters have never voted in a primary before

Democrats

23%

Republicans

10%

Voters Under 30

24,059 Dem and 5,493 GOP voters under 30

Democrats

2%

Republicans

1%

Crossover Voters

Voters who previously participated in the other party's primary

Democrats

6%

Republicans

2%

Primary Turnout History

Total votes cast in Texas primary elections by party. 2026 estimated from 100% precincts reporting.

Democrats Republicans
Primary turnout history: total votes by party per election year
YearDemocratsRepublicans
20181,068,4631,549,573
20221,075,6011,954,172
2024982,0692,323,019
20262,197,8972,153,350

Note: 2018 saw record Democratic primary turnout driven by the Beto O'Rourke Senate campaign. 2024 had the lowest Dem primary turnout in the cycle despite a presidential year.

Early Voting Breakdown

Dem vs. GOP early voting totals, 2.3M votes cast before Election Day (+223% vs. 2022 early voting).

Day 11 of 112,296,516 total votes cast

In Texas, voters choose which party's primary to participate in at the polling location, no party registration required.

Dem vs. GOP Votes

2026 primary, Day 11

Democrats: 1,214,638 votes, 347% change vs 2022. Republicans: 1,081,878 votes, 146% change vs 2022.

Democrats1.21M
+347% vs '22
Republicans1.08M
+146% vs '22
Democrats leading by 133K votes. Republicans led primary turnout in every midterm primary since at least 2010. The competitive Crockett vs. Talarico Senate race is widely credited with driving the Dem surge.

County Turnout Surge

2026 vs. 2022 (top 5 counties)

2022 2026
County turnout surge: 2026 vs. 2022 votes
County20222026
Harris352,138285,715
Dallas215,698183,155
Tarrant205,650169,785
Bexar184,057147,386
Travis156,654130,173

Day-by-Day Trend

Democrats overtook Republicans on Day 4 and led every day after. The gap widened through the final days, ending at 133K votes.

View full day-by-day chart

Dem Early Votes

1.2M

+347%same point 2022

GOP Early Votes

1.1M

+146%same point 2022

Total Turnout

12.3%

+8.3%4.0% at same point 2022

Dem Lead

+133K

County Early Vote Rankings

Counties ranked by early voting totals only.

2026 Texas Primary Early Voting by County
#CountyDemGOPEarly TotalEV % of 2022
1Harris176,952108,763285,71581%
2Dallas135,63547,520183,15585%
3Tarrant100,62069,165169,78583%
4Bexar101,70045,686147,38680%
5Travis108,31021,863130,17383%
6Denton39,75146,94686,69790%
7Fort Bend45,86531,52077,38590%
8Collin35,70536,95272,65762%
9Williamson38,74033,15471,89497%
10Montgomery17,11545,09362,20875%
11Hidalgo48,42910,43558,864112%
12El Paso37,24612,50949,75589%
13Brazoria16,22519,83536,06086%
14Galveston14,93519,17934,11480%
15Hays22,20310,63032,833114%
16Cameron23,0708,78831,858105%

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