Waco, Texas sample ballot 2026

Rick Tullis is a Baylor-trained mechanical engineer who founded and led Capstone Mechanical, an HVAC engineering and contracting firm, retiring in 2023 after more than 30 years in business, per his campaign site. He has served as a Midway ISD trustee since 2013 and chairs the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce's Public Policy Committee, per his campaign site.

Jeremy Davis is a Waco ISD Board of Trustees member, elected in 2021, who works in workforce development after previously serving as a Waco ISD behavior specialist, per his campaign site. He founded Mentor Waco, a youth mentorship nonprofit serving McLennan County, per his campaign site.

Perry Felton, who was raised in McLennan County, is running for the Precinct 4 seat on the Commissioners Court being vacated by Commissioner Ben Perry, per KWTX. No campaign website was found as of September 6, 2026.

Eubank enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at 17 and later served about a decade as a McLennan County deputy before becoming assistant court administrator for the 414th District Court, per the campaign site. She holds degrees in criminal justice, per the campaign site.

Josh Tetens is the incumbent McLennan County Criminal District Attorney, first elected in 2022 after working as a defense attorney, per KXXV. No campaign website was found as of September 6, 2026.

Long is a civil litigator with Harrison Davis Morrison Jones P.C. and previously served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney, per the campaign site. Long also teaches criminal law as an adjunct professor at Baylor University, per the campaign site.

Ryan Luna is the incumbent judge of McLennan County's 414th District Court, appointed by Governor Greg Abbott in December 2023 after previously serving as judge of County Court at Law No. 3, per KWTX. He holds a B.B.A. and law degree from Baylor and was previously in private practice, per the county's page about him.

Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, winning the nomination over incumbent John Cornyn in the state's marquee 2026 primary fight. Texas's attorney general since 2015, he built a national profile suing the federal government and pressing election-integrity cases. His campaign theme is unshakable, unbroken, unafraid.

James Talarico is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, an eighth-generation Texan, former middle school teacher, Presbyterian seminarian, and state representative. His campaign against corruption has drawn record grassroots support, raising more than $40 million with two-thirds from donors giving under $200, in one of the country's most watched Senate races.

Ted Brown is a retired independent insurance adjuster from Austin and a longtime Libertarian Party officer who serves as his state party's candidate coordinator, per his campaign site. His 2024 run for this seat drew a record vote total for a Libertarian Senate candidate in Texas, per Houston Public Media.

Greg Abbott is Texas's incumbent governor and the Republican nominee for a fourth term, which would make him the state's longest-serving governor. A former attorney general and state supreme court justice, he launched his re-election bid with a property tax reform plan, and his tenure is defined by border security through Operation Lone Star, school choice legislation, and economic development.

Gina Hinojosa is the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, a state representative from Austin, attorney, and former Austin school board president. Her populist campaign argues tax dollars are being spent to pad the pockets of the well-connected, with priorities focused on affordability, public education, and health care access.

Dixon is the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor of Texas; he has held several executive-level positions in private industry, non-profit, and political organizations, has worked with the Texas legislature since 2004, and is an engineer and business owner through DPAS-INC, per the campaign site.

Dan Patrick is Texas's incumbent lieutenant governor and the Republican nominee for a fourth term. A former radio host and state senator, he has presided over the Texas Senate since 2015, driving conservative priorities on border security, property taxes, and school choice.

Vikki Goodwin is the Democratic nominee for Texas lieutenant governor, a state representative from Austin and real estate broker. Her campaign theme is a good win for Texas, promising a Senate leader who collaborates rather than dictates, with priorities on public schools, clean water and energy, housing affordability, and health care.

McCormick holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center and has most recently worked as a high school math teacher in San Antonio, per the campaign site. He previously ran for Congress in Texas's 24th District as a Green Party candidate in 2016 and now lives in the Lindale area of east Texas, per the campaign site.

High school English and debate teacher Anthony Cristo is a military veteran who resides in Cibolo, Texas, per his campaign site. He is the Libertarian Party candidate for Texas Lieutenant Governor. Anthony Cristo appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Lieutenant Governor, per the Texas Secretary of State's certified candidate list.

Mayes Middleton is the Republican nominee for Texas attorney general in the open race created by Ken Paxton's Senate run. A seventh-generation Texan, oil company president, attorney, and state senator who chaired the Texas House Freedom Caucus, he authored the Save Women's Sports Act, and his platform emphasizes the border, election integrity, and a DOGE-style attack on government waste.

Nathan Johnson is the Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general, a state senator from Dallas and attorney. His campaign argues the office has been corrupted and abused for personal and partisan ends, and points to his Senate record reforming the state insurance marketplace, fortifying the power grid after Winter Storm Uri, and leading on Medicaid expansion.

Don Huffines is the Republican nominee for Texas comptroller and, as of July 2026, the appointed incumbent after Governor Abbott installed him in the office he had already won the nomination for. A fifth-generation Texan, real estate developer, and former state senator, his platform is to DOGE Texas government: eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse and demand honest, transparent budgets.

Sarah Eckhardt is the Democratic nominee for Texas comptroller, a state senator from Austin, attorney, and former Travis County judge. Her campaign promises to tell Texans honestly where their money is going, targeting no-bid contracts, the private school voucher program, and corporate tax breaks.

Faizi is a graphic designer with a career in advertising and marketing journalism who was raised in Karachi, Pakistan, and moved to Texas in 2012, per the campaign site. She became politically active after 2016 and volunteered for the Green Party's 2024 presidential campaign before running for comptroller, per the campaign site.

Sheets is a candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner and an agriculture entrepreneur and beekeeper who built a large branded honey business from a backyard operation; he is also a U.S. Navy Reserves veteran, per the campaign site.

Tucker is a candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner and a farmer and rancher who operates a family farm near Lampasas raising cattle, goats, and donkeys; he previously served as Secretary of the Texas Farmers Union and worked as a water researcher and teacher, per the campaign site.

Kelly holds a Ph.D. in ecology and founded ARK Ecological Consulting; he is running for Texas Agriculture Commissioner and describes himself as a scientist rather than a career politician, per the campaign site.

Dawn Buckingham is Texas's sitting land commissioner, per the Secretary of State's statewide officials roster, elected in 2022 as the first woman to hold the office. An eye surgeon and former state senator, she was the first Republican elected to the Texas Senate from Travis County, per her campaign site.

Benjamin Flores announced in 2026 that he had been diagnosed with leukemia, stayed in the race, and later announced he was in remission, per the Texas Tribune; he remains an active candidate. A Bay City councilman with a background in cybersecurity and compliance, he won a two way Democratic primary and was endorsed by the Austin American-Statesman in that round, per the San Antonio Report.

Neill Snider is the Libertarian candidate for Texas Land Commissioner. He has worked as a mechanical contractor for nearly four decades and operates a small cattle ranch, with experience as an oil and gas investor in East Texas, per his campaign site.

Bo French is a former chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party, an energy trader and rancher who has owned businesses providing security for energy companies, per the San Antonio Report. He won the May 26 runoff over sitting commissioner Jim Wright, per the Texas Tribune.

Jon Rosenthal is a four term Texas House member from Houston who spent 25 years in oil and gas as an engineer and project manager, per his campaign site.

Arthur DiBianca is a longtime Libertarian activist from Austin who has testified before the Texas Legislature, per his campaign site.

Jimmy Blacklock is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, appointed to the court in 2018 and named the 28th Chief Justice in January 2025, per the court's official biography. He previously served as General Counsel to Gov. Greg Abbott.

Maggie Ellis is a justice on the Texas Third Court of Appeals, elected to that court in 2024, per the court's official biography. Before joining the bench she practiced law representing individuals and is Board Certified in Juvenile Law, per the same source.

James P. Sullivan is the incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in January 2025, per the court's official biography. He previously served as the Governor's General Counsel and as an Assistant Solicitor General, and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Kristen Hawkins is the judge of the 11th District Court in Harris County, elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020, per her campaign site. She holds board certifications in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Law.

Kyle D. Hawkins is the incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in October 2025, per the court's official biography. He previously served as Texas Solicitor General.

Brett Busby is the incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed in 2019 and elected in 2020, per the court's official biography. He previously served six years as a justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston.

Holly Taylor is a criminal defense attorney who spent more than 17 years as a prosecutor, per the San Antonio Report.

Jerry Zimmerer previously served as an elected justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston for six years, per his campaign site.

Tom Baker is a U.S. Navy JAG Corps veteran who previously served as an elected justice on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin from 2019 to 2024, per his campaign site.

Marc M. Meyer is a retired Houston Fire Department captain and paramedic with 20 years of service who now practices law defending health care providers, per his campaign site.