From the County Clerk website, the first election of our busy 2026 calendar is now underway.
January 31, 2026 – Special Runoff Election for Congressional District 18
Early Vote Centers will be open from Wednesday, January 21 to Tuesday, January 27 (Mon-Sat: 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Sun: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. )
Vote Centers will accept voters from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, Election Day.
The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is January 20. Click here for the application. Please fill it out, print it, and mail it to our office before the deadline.
January 20 is today, so it’s a little late for that. Voting in person is where it’s at if you don’t already have a mail ballot. Here’s where the vote centers are, those of you in my neck of the woods will be glad to know that West Gray and the SPJST Lodge are among them.
This is the final act of this long-running production, and at the end of it we will finally have a member of Congress again for CD18. My interview with Amanda Edwards is here and my interview with Christian Menefee is here. You have till Tuesday to vote early, and then you have Saturday the 31st. Don’t miss out.
Also happening now, the SD09 runoff.
Texas Senate District 9 covers most of Tarrant County and sees candidates Taylor Rehmet, a Fort Worth Democrat, and Leigh Wambsganss, a Southlake Republican, vying for the seat. Election Day for the runoff is Jan. 31.
Here’s what you need to know.
Early voting is Jan. 21-27 at the following times:
- 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 21-23
- 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 24
- 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 25
- 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 26-27
Early voting locations can be found here.
Tarrant County residents can check if they live in Senate District 9 here. Voter registration status and sample ballots can be found on this page.
On Election Day, voting runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at these locations.
The runoff election was triggered after neither Rehmet nor Wambsganss claimed over 50% of the vote in a three-way November race.
That election saw record-high turnout for an odd-numbered year election — a trend political experts attributed greatly to the Senate race.
Rehmet took the lead and came about 2-percentage points shy of winning outright, while Wambsganss split the GOP vote with her Republican opponent.
The winner on Jan. 31 will serve the remainder of now-acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock’s term, which runs through the end of the year. Candidates have already filed for a prospective rematch for a full four-year term in the Legislature in the March primaries.
It will be at least a minor earthquake in Texas politics if Rehmet wins, just because Democrats are not supposed to win races like that. If you’re in SD09 or know someone who is, make sure you and they vote.
UPDATE: The Chron re-endorsed Christian Menefee for the runoff.