AUSTIN, Texas — There are four weeks until the November general election. All 150 state House seats and 15 state Senate seats are up for grabs, but many are uncontested.

What You Need To Know

  • All 150 state House seats and 15 state Senate seats are up for grabs, but many are uncontested

  • In the upper chamber, only 15 senators are up for reelection. The five unopposed candidates are all Democrats

  • The majority of the uncontested races in the state Legislature are Democrats, but that isn’t expected to reflect in the makeup of the body where Republicans are in the majority in both chambers

  • The next redistricting process won’t take place until 2031

Republican Rep. Gary VanDeaver had an extremely contentious primary election. Gov. Greg Abbott campaigned heavily against VanDeaver for not supporting a school voucher bill, but VanDeaver defeated his opponent during the primary runoff election with 53% of the vote.

But now he is without a Democratic opponent in November, giving him a clear path to his sixth term.

“I’m confident that this legislative session, our schools are going to receive significant funding. But also, again, you know, I have hospitals closing in my district,” said Vandeaver.

VanDeaver is one of 22 House Republicans in an uncontested race compared to the 38 House Democrats.

“Every election night is that that same feeling of pressure, but also a lot of pride,” said Rep. James Talarico, an Austin-area Democratic representative.

With no opponent in November, Talarico will enter his fourth term.

“My job is to represent all 200,000 constituents in this district, regardless of their political affiliation,” said Talarico.

Political analysts attribute Talarico’s and other uncontested races in part to the way the states district maps are drawn.

“Ultimately, what you end up with are a lot of races that are not competitive,” said Democratic political analyst Ed Espinoza.

In the upper chamber, only 15 senators are up for reelection. The five unopposed candidates are all Democrats. The majority of the uncontested races in the state Legislature are Democrats, but that isn’t expected to reflect in the makeup of the body, where Republicans are in the majority in both chambers.

“Some of these races are won by more than 90% of the voters. And so the lines are drawn in a way that just makes them not competitive for one party or the other,” said Brendan Steinhauser, partner with Steinhauser Strategies.

Party strategists add that the lack of competitive races allows candidates to focus on their future political power.

“They’re getting ready for potential primary challengers in their next primary election. They’re campaigning for their colleagues that they support to try and build political capital within the body,” said Steinhauser.

With only a handful of competitive legislative races this November, some call the states map a disservice to voters.

“It’s an example of politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians,” said Espinoza.

The next redistricting process won’t take place until 2031.