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National Dems Slap Bullseyes on 12 Races
for Texas House Seats that GOP Has Now
GOP Leaders Who Shunned French for Racist
Posts Want Him to Regulate Oil and Gas Now
Capitol Inside
June 4, 2026
The Democratic Legislative Leadership Committee announced on Thursday that it's targeting 15 Texas House races for the 2026 midterm elections including a dozen that the GOP currently controls in districts that the party thinks it has a decent chance to flip this fall.
The DLCC also plans to come to Democratic State Senator Taylor Rehmet's defense in a race for a Tarrant County seat that he seized from the GOP in January in a special election runoff that he won against a Republican who'd been widely viewed as an all-but prohibitive favorite.
While the Texas Senate majority is not in reach during the current election cycle, Democrats could take the state House back with a net gain of 14 seats in the general election. The Washington D.C.-based DLCC plans to be involved in races for three seats that the party controls now in the Texas Legislature's lower chamber as well.
The campaign arm for Democratic legislators and candidates in all 50 states, the DLCC said it's "providing the roadmap for building Democratic power across red, blue, and purple states in 2026 and beyond, including in Texas.
"2026 is a historic opportunity to build power in red states all across the country, including gaining significant ground in Texas," the national party affiliate committee added. "Gaining seats in the House in this year’s favorable environment could help put this chamber in play in future cycles as more voters turn away from the failing GOP agenda."
The DLCC's Texas targets include the 10 contests that Capitol Inside has had ranked as the most competitive House races in the general election this year. Eight of the House races that are rated among the top 10 feature incumbent Republicans fighting to stave off challenges from Democrats. The House members in targeted seats began with a pair of South Texas Republicans - State Reps. Denise Villalobos of Corpus Christi and Janie Lopez of San Benito - in districts on the Gulf Coast where they won seats that were redrawn for the GOP during the redistricting process in 2021.
House District 34 where Villalobos is seeking a second term and the seat that Lopez claimed in 2022 in House District 37 are ranked first and third on the Capitol Inside Texas Races to Watch for the state House. An open fight in House District 118 in the San Antonio area is sandwiched in between as the second highest-ranked contest on the west wing battlefield this year.
Lopez and Villalobos faces challenges from Democrats Ozzie Ocha Jr. and Stephanie Guerrero Saenz respectively this fall. Democrat Kristian Carranza is taking on Republican Jorge Borrego in a HD 118 battle that's ranked as the second hottest House race in 2026 based on the potential for partisan turnover.
The list of incumbent Republicans in races that the DLCC is targeting includes State Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland, Marc LaHood of San Antonio, Morgan Meyer of Dallas, Mano DeAyala of Houston, Lacey Hull of Houston and Caroline Harris Davila of Round Rock. Republican Cheryl Bean is doing battle in the fall with Democrat Katie O'Brien Duzan in a House District 94 race that's ranked 10th on the fall watch list.
The DLCC also has designated races for seats that GOP State Reps. Keresa Richardson of McKinney and Jeff Leach of Allen are seeking again as battleground contests here this fall. The national party organization listed two seats that Democrats currently control in House districts on the border and a third in the suburbs of north Dallas County. The target list has House District 74 where Democratic State Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass is dueling the GOP's Robert Garza in a rematch and an open contest in House District 41 that has Democrat Julio Salinas pit against Republican Gary Groves in the general election. The DLCC also designated House District 70 where State Rep. Mihaela Plesa of Dallas is running again as a battlegound target here.
more to come ...
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