On Tuesday, March 6th, 2018, Texas voters go to the polls to vote in the first primary elections of the 2018 midterm elections.
Polls throughout Texas open at 7AM and close at 7PM local time.
Texas voters can find their polling location here.
As of this past Saturday, it's been reported that in Texas's most populous counties, more than 885,000 people had voted early or by mail, which amounts to a 50% spike from 4 years ago.
According to Fox News:
The early numbers also indicate that for the first time since 2008, more Texas Democrats will vote in their primary than Republicans. By Saturday, the Texas Secretary of State’s office noted 465,000 people voted in the Democratic Primary in the state’s 15 largest counties, compared to just about 420,000 Republicans.
This is leading some to see signs of a national blue wave in November.
Voters are going to the polls to choose nominees on both sides of the aisle in a variety of elections including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, U.S. Senator, and members of Congress representing districts throughout the state.
Texas holds an open primary where you don't have to be registered to vote in a certain party to vote in that party's primary, you just have to pledge not to vote in any other party's primary within the same year.
If no one receives 50% of the vote in any given primary election, there will be a run-off ahead of the November 6th primary.
Top tier races include the race for U.S. Senate, in which Senator Ted Cruz is expected to win his Republican primary handily and where Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke is expected to win his party's nomination to challenge Cruz in November.
Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke faces steep odds in challenging Ted Cruz for his Senate seat, but the Democrat is gaining… https://t.co/wuto0HLKn8— CBS News (@CBS News) 1520308545.0
The surge in Democratic turnout received much attention on Twitter from both sides of the aisle:
Texas Republicans: if you don’t like this score you can change it tomorrow. Go vote on Tuesday & take someone else… https://t.co/YsqnqjHpag— Greg Abbott (@Greg Abbott) 1520265438.0
BEAUTIFUL numbers in #TEXAS!! OK Texans, the PRIMARY is🎉 #tomorrow!!🎉#GOTV @lcmoser #TX07 https://t.co/NOLlgbCQUy— Debra Messing (@Debra Messing) 1520295809.0
Texas Republicans are being outvoted by the biggest midterm margin ever https://t.co/5sTDLydW1X— The American Independent (@The American Independent) 1520316905.0
And many candidates running on Tuesday weighed in with Get Out The Vote messages to their voters:
#Texas is reporting a record number of voters this primary. Be a part of history Tuesday. BE A VOTER. Find your vot… https://t.co/TuQvmT6Fpt— Dayna Steele (@Dayna Steele) 1520190499.0
Are you ready to vote? The polls are open from 7 am until 7 pm on Tuesday, March 6th. Find your polling place now a… https://t.co/Ywf0ONjy6R— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1520279810.0
Excited to share that our campaign has been endorsed by the editorial board at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The… https://t.co/DYLQN6clU9— Beto O'Rourke (@Beto O'Rourke) 1520291195.0
TOMORROW is ELECTION DAY! Find your polling place at the link and make a plan to vote George P. Bush for Texas Land… https://t.co/2W0ILnhn6x— George P. Bush (@George P. Bush) 1520254802.0
As well as famous relatives:
Encouraging my fellow Texans to do your civic duty by early voting today. Election Day is next Tuesday the 6th. Whi… https://t.co/ey7fswN99a— George Bush (@George Bush) 1520011233.0