DALLAS — Gov. Greg Abbott will face a large field of challengers in the Republican Party primary this March, the first time the two-time governor has seen strong competition come from within his own party since he took office.

What You Need To Know

  • The candidates’ filing date to run for 2022 races was Monday, Dec. 13

  • The GOP primaries for statewide races have shaped up to be more competitive than in recent years for the incumbents

  • The Texas primaries will be on March 1 and the general election Nov. 8, 2022

Early polling and analysis from political pundits predict Abbott going into the March primary with a strong lead over his competitors, which includes former state Sen. Donald Huffines and former Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West. 

But the fact that these two candidates have criticized Abbott for not being conservative enough and perhaps inspired the current governor to take a sharp right turn in his agenda this year reveals what could be the incumbent's fear of losing members of his party’s more conservative arm when it comes to the primary. 

Abbott will need to win the primary with a wide enough margin heading into the November general election to assure Republicans that he is the leader of the state’s GOP. He’ll have a huge coffer of campaign cash — close to $55 million — to spend to achieve that goal. 

Abbott is likely to face off in November with the Texas Democrats’ strongest asset on the statewide stage, former Congressman and El Paso native Beto O’Rourke, who launched his campaign last month after months of nervous chatter about who will lead the Democrats in the 2022 election.  

O’Rourke will face his own challenge in the Democratic primary. Three people have registered to challenge his run to unseat Abbott. O’Rourke, who inspired Democrats across the country with his close race against Republican Senator Ted Cruz in 2018, has the advantage of having name recognition in the state and of being a strong fundraiser for the Democratic party.

Meanwhile, in the rest of Texas

Monday was the final day for candidates to register their campaigns for the 2022 local, state and county races, as well as the midterm elections for Texas’ 38 seats in the U.S. House. Texas will add two new seats in Congress in 2022 as a result of the 2020 U.S. Census. 

The party primaries for all races will be on March 1, with a runoff date of March 24. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2022. 

While the governor's race will be the top-of-the-ticket race on most people’s watch lists, other statewide races may prove to be the big headliners during the March primaries as several incumbents also face more challenges than they have in the past GOP primaries, and at least one, Attorney General Ken Paxton, is seen as potentially vulnerable.  

Paxton is facing legal problems, including a 2015 indictment for securities fraud. In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating allegations of corruption by former staffers.

Paxton will be challenged by Land Commissioner George P. Bush, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert in what might be the most-watched race of the election season. On the Democrat side, the primary has five candidates hoping to get their party's nomination and unseat Paxton. 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is favored to win the March primary against three opponents. On the opposite side of the aisle in that race, Patrick is likely to face off with Democrat Mike Collier, a Houston accountant and his party’s 2018 nominee for the same race. Collier will first have to beat his opponents in the Democratic primary: former Texas Democratic Party vice chairwoman Carla Brailey and state Representative Michelle Beckley of Carrollton. An early candidate in the Democratic primary, Matthew Dowd, dropped out of the race after only a few weeks.

In addition to the statewide races, 2022 will include local races for county judge seats, the state board of education, as well as seats in both chambers of the Texas Legislature. Here’s a list of the top of the ballot races and all their candidates:

Governor

Democratic primary (in alphabetic order):

  • Inocencio Barrientez
  • Michael Cooper
  • Joy Diaz
  • Jack Daniel Foster Jr. 
  • Deirdre Gilbert
  • R. Star Locke
  • Beto O’Rourke
  • Rich Wakeland

Republican primary:

  • Greg Abbott (incumbent)
  • Paul Belew
  • Danny Harrison
  • Kandy Kaye Horne
  • Don Huffines
  • Allen B. West

 

Lieutenant Governor

Democratic primary:

  • Michelle Beckley
  • Cara Brailey
  • Mike Collier

Republican primary:

  • Trayce Bradford
  • Daniel Miller
  • Dan Patrick (incumbent)
  • Aaron Sorrells

Attorney General

Democratic primary:

  • Mike Fields
  • Rochelle Mercedes Garza
  • Joe Jaworski
  • Lee Merritt
  • S. T-Bone Raynor

Republican primary:

  • George P. Bush
  • Louie Gohmert
  • Eva Guzman
  • Ken Paxton (incumbent)

Land Commissioner

Democratic primary:

  • Jay Kleberg
  • Michael Lange
  • Sandragrace Martinez
  • Jinny Suh

Republican primary:

  • Ben Armenta
  • Dawn Buckingham
  • Rufus Lopez
  • Weston Martinez
  • Don W. Minton
  • Jon Spiers

Commissioner of Agriculture

Democratic primary:

  • Susan Hays
  • Ed Ireson

Republican primary:

  • Carey Counsil
  • Sid Miller (incumbent)
  • James White

Railroad Commissioner, 2

Democratic primary:

  • Luke Warford

Republican primary:

  • Wayne Christian
  • Tom Slocum Jr.