What's on the primary election ballot in Central Texas? A look at the races and candidates

Early voting is underway for the Republican and Democratic primary elections in Texas, with voters casting ballots to nominate candidates for several federal, state and local offices.

Early voting began Tuesday and runs through March 1. Election day is March 5.

Once the Republican and Democratic nominees are settled, Texans in November will vote for president, a U.S. senator, the state's representatives in the U.S. House, the whole Texas House membership and 15 state Senate seats, in addition to local contests.

Here's a look at the races in Central Texas for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and both chambers of the Legislature:

More: Texas elections: Deadlines and other key dates to know

Race for the U.S. Senate

While incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is expected to sail to victory to the GOP nomination, a field of Democratic primary challengers have been campaigning for months seeking the chance to try to oust Texas' junior senator.

At the top of the Democratic ticket, which has nine candidates in the running, are U.S. Rep. Collin Allred, D-Dallas, and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio. One of the two is expected to face Cruz in the November general election.

Taking to the debate stage in Austin last month, Allred, Gutierrez and state Rep. Carl Sherman, D-De Soto, a third candidate who was invited to participate in the forum, discussed their similarities and differences on legislating on border policy, international affairs, abortion and gun rights.

After the Democratic primary debate, hosted by the AFL-CIO in January, the labor union gave its endorsement to Allred. A recent poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas showed Allred with a strong lead in the primary to advance to challenge Cruz.

More: Border, abortion and guns dominate debate among Democrats seeking to topple Ted Cruz

Congressional races in Central Texas

Congressional District 10: Representing a district stretching from western Travis County east to Bastrop and Bryan-College Station, incumbent U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, R-Austin, is seeking reelection to an 11th term in the U.S. House. Serving as chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, McCaul faces a GOP primary challenge from Jared Lovelace, an Army veteran from La Grange making his political campaign debut. Two Democrats in Austin, Keith McPhail, a media industry account executive, and Theresa Boisseau, a real estate broker and former teacher, are seeking their party's nomination.

CD 11: First elected in 2020, U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, is seeking reelection as the lone candidate on the ballot for Texas' 11th Congressional District, which runs west through parts of the Hill Country to Midland. Earlier this month, Pfluger was appointed as a House manager for the Senate impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Pfluger, in a statement, said he looks forward to representing the interests of Texas in addressing "the national security crisis he (Mayorkas) has created at our border."

More: Rep. Michael McCaul falsely claims Mayorkas is “personally responsible” for fentanyl crisis

CD 17: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Waco, is seeking the Republican nomination for Congressional District 17, hoping to secure a 14th term in Congress with the support of voters in northeastern Travis County and eastern Williamson County. Briefly contending to serve as U.S. House speaker after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed from the position last year, Sessions' road to reelection faces minimal resistance.

CD 21: An incumbent and the only Republican on the primary ballot for the district, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin — a GOP firebrand and an active operative of the House's ultra-conservative flank — is running for reelection in a House district that touches parts of Austin and San Antonio before moving west into the Hill Country. On the Democratic side, there also is only one candidate in the running — Kristin Hook, who previously served as a policy fellow in the office of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

CD 27: After first securing the seat in a 2018 special election, U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Victoria, is seeking reelection amid a host of Republican challengers in District 27, which stretches from southern Bastrop County to the Texas coast. Cloud, who serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, has touted his support of hard-line Republican border security initiatives and decried President Joe Biden in campaigning ahead of facing three GOP challengers. Two Democrats — Tanya Lloyd and Anthony J. Tristan — are running for their party's nomination.

CD 31: There are five GOP candidates seeking to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, in the primary. Three Democrats are vying for their party's nomination. Carter, who serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, was first elected in 2002.

More: Roy, Casar, Doggett land in same column on tax bill vote — for different reasons | Grumet

CD 35: Representing East Austin and a sliver of the Interstate 35 corridor running south through San Marcos and into San Antonio, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, will not face a primary opponent. Five Republicans and one Libertarian are seeking to unseat the former Austin City Council member who is running for a second term in Congress. Last week, Casar announced the Connect the Grid Act, an effort to force the Electric Reliability Council of Texas — which manages 90% of the state's power grid — to connect to major national electricity systems.

CD 37: In a Democratic stronghold encompassing downtown Austin, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is running to maintain his seat in the district that was created after the 2020 census. Doggett has served in Congress since 1995 and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Doggett is facing two challengers in the primary: Eduardo Romero and Chris McNerney. The Democratic nominee, favored to be Doggett, in November will face the lone Republican in the race, Jenny Garcia Sharon, who has challenged Doggett in the previous two election cycles.

Texas Senate races on the primary ballot

A somewhat antiquated and quirky process occurring once a decade after the redistricting process has directly influenced which Senate seats are up for grabs this year.

Early last year at the beginning of the regular legislative session, senators were required to choose envelopes holding a number between 1-31, one for each member, with those drawing odd numbers set to serve a four-year term and those with even numbers serving two-year terms.

The 15 senators who drew two-year terms are up for reelection this year, while senators who drew four-year terms will serve until 2026 before having to run again.

Four state senators representing the Austin area received four-year terms and are not on this year's ballot: Sens. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown; Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham; Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton; and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

More: The Texas Senate has its first female dean. What Sen. Judith Zaffirini hopes to accomplish

Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, drew a two-year term before she began the bulk of her 2023 legislative year, which was marked by her efforts to fight Republican proposals to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors in Texas, deescalate border legislation meant to allow for the arrest and deportation of migrants and support the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Eckhardt will retain her post as she is uncontested in the primary and no Republican signed up to run for the seat.

Fellow incumbent Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, an emergency room physician who authored and was a leading proponent for clamping down on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and certain surgeries for minors experiencing gender dysphoria, a condition in which a person’s gender identity doesn’t match their sex at birth — is uncontested in the GOP primary, but she will face a Democratic opponent, Merrie Fox, in November.

Texas House races

House District 17: Incumbent Rep. Stan Gerdes, a Republican from Smithville, is seeking a second term representing Bastrop, Burleson, Caldwell, Lee and Milam counties east of Austin. Gerdes, who has been endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, faces a second consecutive challenge from Tom Glass, an ultra-conservative Republican who has been endorsed by Paxton.

HD 19: Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, faces a GOP challenge from Kyle Biederman. Thirteen House Republican women have signed on to a letter supporting Troxclair in the election after a video, which was posted Feb. 8, shows Biederman commenting on the situation that led to the House expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton last year after an investigating committee determined he had sex with a 19-year-old intern working in his office.

"Was he convicted, what was his crime?" Biederman says in the video, making a distinction that the sexual encounter took place at a private residence and not the Capitol. "Is it a crime to have sex with a 19-year-old woman?"

The investigating committee's report, based on the independent findings of a former criminal court judge from Houston, also showed that on three occasions Slaton provided alcohol to an underaged person and that he tried to intimidate the aide against discussing their encounter with others. Slaton did not deny having sex with the woman and offered no remorse for his actions, the report said.

More: Why Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas AG Ken Paxton are seeking to influence voters in Bastrop

HD 20: Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Marble Falls, faces a GOP primary challenge from Janine Chapa. Wilson was first elected in 2016 after ousting an incumbent. On the Democratic side, Stephen M. Wyman is uncontested for the nomination.

HD 45: Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, is seeking reelection to a fourth term representing parts of Hays County. She is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Chevo Pastrano, who was urged to join the House race last year by Sandra Tenorio, a well-respected political operative in Hays County who passed away last summer. Tennyson Moreno is the lone Republican in the running.

HD 46: Rep. Sheryl Cole, D-Austin, did not draw a primary challenge to represent northeastern Travis County, but Republican Nikki Kosich will be on the ballot to challenge her in November.

HD 47: Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, is running unopposed in the primary election ahead of facing a Republican challenge from Scott Firsing in November for the central Travis County seat.

HD 48: Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, is uncontested in the primary for her seat representing central Travis County. No Republican signed up to run.

HD 49: Likewise, Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, will face no opponent for her seat representing central Travis County.

HD 50: Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, was a vocal opponent and a leading Democrat against Abbott's school voucher push in the House last year. Talarico faces a primary challenge from Nathan Boynton for the seat in northern Travis County. No Republican is in the running.

HD 51: Rep. Maria Luisa "Lulu" Flores, D-Austin, will face no opponent for her seat representing southeastern Travis County.

HD 52: After her freshman legislative session, Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, R-Round Rock, will face no primary opponent for the district representing eastern Williamson County. Two Democrats — Jennie Birkholz and Angel Carroll — will face off in the primary to advance to the general election.

HD 53: Held by outgoing Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, this Hill Country district will have new representation next year after Murr announced he would be retiring from the Legislature. The announcement comes after Murr led the impeachment inquiry against Paxton last year.

HD 73: Rep. Carrie Issac, R-Dripping Springs, will not face a primary opponent ahead of the general election, in which Democrat Sally Duval will be on the ballot to compete for the Hays County seat.

HD 136: Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, is unopposed in the primary election, but will have a Republican challenger, Amin Salahuddin, in November for the northern Travis County seat.

If any candidate does not receive more than 50% support in either the Republican or Democratic primaries, the top two vote-getters will face off in a runoff election May 28 for their party's nomination.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What's on my ballot? Races, candidates in primary election in Austin