Why Primaries Matter

Quick – when did early voting begin for the Texas primaries? And when was Primary Election Day?

Did you know, or did you take a minute to grab your phone? Or do you not care because you don’t intend to vote?

Over the past few election cycles, the concept of primaries has undergone a radicalization that we ignore at our peril. Once simply a low-profile method of choosing a party’s candidate for the general election, often with a pathetically low voter turnout, primaries now are being recognized as powerful weapons as well as a means of disenfranchising large numbers of a state’s voters.

The weaponization of the primary has been popularized by our own Governor Greg Abbott, who turned the word into a verb as he threatened to find, and bankroll, candidates to oppose renegade politicians who refused to do his bidding. “I will primary you” became the modern form of arm-twisting, and he makes no effort to hide it.

What enables him to get away with this tactic has been the turnout problem, which allows a small percentage of strongly motivated voters to elect their chosen candidates by simply showing up at the polls. When 20% is considered a high turnout, the Governor can give his loyalists their marching orders and they can easily dwarf the turnout for candidates who do not have the funding and the shock troops to win the battle.

These days, a different aspect of the primary system is getting attention: the open primary as a way to influence the other party’s slate of candidates for the general election.

Put simply, in an open primary, it doesn’t matter if you are a registered member of a particular political party; you can vote in either party’s primary by requesting the ballot for that party when you arrive at the polls. You will not be asked your party affiliation, and your choice of ballot doesn’t bind you to join that party or vote for their candidate in the general election. The only way you are bound is, if the primary goes to a runoff, you may only vote in the runoff for the party you originally chose. But in the general election you can vote for whoever you want.

Only sixteen states use closed primaries, which are seen as unfairly limiting the expression of voters’ preferences. (You know it’s controversial because the Republican party has decided it wants to close the Texas primaries.) In closed primaries, only voters registered with a party can vote in that party’s primary, so for states that are dominated by one political party, like Texas, independent and Democratic voters may often have no candidate running for office who represents their views.

Especially in this year’s elections, there’s an interesting dilemma for voters. The MAGA wing of the GOP has been seriously weakened by Trump’s many failures to live up to his campaign promises, especially for transparency of the Epstein files, and even the diehard loyalists are losing patience with his shameless self-promotion when a shred of decency would have been welcomed. As a result, the usual competition about who can be the farthest right-leaning Republican candidate is more nuanced (though “farthest right” and “nuanced” may not belong in the same sentence).

If you’re a Texas Republican voter, you may no longer be interested in supporting the most extreme right-wing candidates, if you ever were. Of course you don’t want to vote for a Democrat, but this year’s midterm elections may offer you a chance to elect a more stable, pragmatic representative or senator, IF SUCH A CANDIDATE CAN MAKE IT THROUGH THE PRIMARY. This year, a knee-jerk vote for Abbott’s or Trump’s designated hitter may not be as easy or desirable as it used to be, and more Republicans may do some research about the candidates and get themselves to the polls instead of just allowing the extremists to call the shots.

For Democrats and Independents, 2026 will be an election cycle in which, far from having no choice in confronting the GOP juggernaut, there will be several choices to make regarding the primaries. There are two excellent candidates running for the US Senate seat now held by Republican John Cornyn: State Rep. James Talarico and US Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Either one would likely be a good candidate against the Republican nominee, though the San Antonio Express-News has endorsed Crockett for her deeper and broader experience. So you could choose a Democratic ballot in the primary to help decide which of them moves on to the general election in November.

On the other hand, you could choose a Republican ballot in the primary. Then you would have to decide where your vote could have the most positive outcome. You could support Cornyn, who has been attacked for not being extreme enough, even though he has shrunk into a rubber stamp for Trump compared to his moderate, bipartisan past. Your support could help him make it to the general election, where he’d be the lesser of GOP evils.

Or you could support one of the other two Republicans in the primary, Wesley Hunt and Ken Paxton, elevating a weaker (more extreme) candidate who is more likely to suffer from Trump’s growing unpopularity. Since there is a high likelihood of a runoff with three candidates in the race, you would have one more opportunity to exert influence in the runoff in June.

All strategizing aside, one crucial point remains: VOTE IN THE PRIMARY! Don’t allow a small slice of our electorate to make lousy choices that we have to live with, just because we’re too lazy to drive into town. Don’t say you didn’t know it mattered.

Early voting began Tuesday, February 17 and runs through Friday, February 27, with Election Day on Tuesday, March 3.

Susan Hull is a retired clinical psychologist, a horse trainer, and an Independent voter. She hasn’t decided on her strategy yet, but her favorite color is purple.