Democratic participation ticked up in Bandera County’s March 3 primary election, mirroring a statewide trend that saw Democratic voters slightly outpace Republicans in Texas for the first time since 2020.
Bandera County recorded 6,248 ballots cast out of 19,299 registered voters, resulting in a turnout of 32.37%, according to unofficial election results.
That figure represents a slight increase compared with the county’s 2022 primary turnout of 30.27%, though it remains below the 34.08% participation seen in the 2024 presidential primary.
While Bandera County continues to lean heavily Republican in primary participation, Democratic voters accounted for a noticeable share of ballots cast locally. In the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, 1,004 votes were recorded countywide.
Republican voters, meanwhile, cast 5,134 ballots in their Senate contest.
Despite the local Republican advantage, the statewide picture looked different. Nearly 4.5 million Texans voted in the Democratic and Republican primaries combined, according to The Texas Tribune. Of those ballots, about 2.3 million were cast in the Democratic primary and roughly 2.2 million in the Republican primary, marking the first time Democratic turnout exceeded Republican turnout in a Texas primary since 2020.
In Bandera County’s Democratic Senate race, state Rep. James Talarico led the field with about 59% of the vote, while U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett received roughly 40%.
Republican voters in the county favored Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who received about 48.7% of the local vote in the GOP Senate primary.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn followed with about 36.3%, while U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt finished third with roughly 10.9%.
Because no Republican candidate received a majority statewide, Paxton and Cornyn will advance to a runoff election to determine the party’s nominee for the November general election.
Several other statewide contests will also be decided in runoff elections scheduled for May 26, with early voting running May 18 through May 22. Under Texas election law, voters who participated in the March primary must remain in the same party’s runoff, while voters who did not cast a primary ballot may choose either party’s runoff.
The March turnout reflects growing political engagement across Texas. According to the Texas Tribune, about 24% of the state’s 18.7 million registered voters participated in the 2026 primaries, the highest rate seen in recent midterm election cycles.
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