General Discussion

RandySF

(85,075 posts) Thu Apr 16, 2026, 04:26 AM Thursday

TX-23: When will Gov. Abbott call a special election for Texas' 23rd Congressional District?

The timing of when Abbott sets the special election matters. He could set the date as early as May 2, the next uniform election day, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website. Or Abbott could delay the election to Nov. 3, which is the date of the midterm general election. Abbott could also declare an emergency and set another date.

The later the special election, the longer the 23rd District remains without representation in Congress, and the longer the Republican majority is without a vote from a GOP-leaning district.

However, the Democratic nominee for the 23rd district, Katy Padilla Stout, has other ideas.

“We are demanding the Governor Abbott immediately call a special election,” she told Texas Public Radio.

https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2026-04-15/when-will-gov-abbott-call-a-special-election-for-texas-23rd-congressional-district

3 replies

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TX-23: When will Gov. Abbott call a special election for Texas' 23rd Congressional District? (Original Post) RandySF Thursday OP

I don't think it's possible for him to hold an election on May 2. Early voting begins on Monday! LeftInTX Thursday #1

Wow. That's going to take an enormous amount of work! karynnj Thursday #2

March primary is done LeftInTX Thursday #3

LeftInTX

(34,547 posts)

1. I don't think it's possible for him to hold an election on May 2. Early voting begins on Monday!

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Thu Apr 16, 2026, 09:23 AM

Thursday

Candidates need to file and ballots need to be printed. And I believe the law states 35 days to prepare

A special election is going to be a mess because of the redistricting. Only Bexar County (the blue county) and few counties with tiny populations were impacted by redistricting. However, a special election will mean it will use the maps before redistricting, which is gonna confuse the heck out of voters. "Hey you need to go back in time". The SOS database is a mess.

karynnj

(61,022 posts)

2. Wow. That's going to take an enormous amount of work!

Reply to LeftInTX (Reply #1)

Thu Apr 16, 2026, 11:09 AM

Thursday

Am I understanding from your excellent post that they need to set up an election using the old district with a primary and general election. I assume the recent primary was with the new district, so they can't just skip the primary. Not to mention, given the primary, I assume the voter rolls are already set up with the new district. So, they need to go back to the old,then for November get them back to the new?

So some people will now have a new primary and general election because they are in the old district to elect someone to serve until January, 2027. Everyone will also have a November election in their new district.

Is this a red district that became bluer to make other (blue) districts redder? Could that hurt us if the November candidate wins the special election in the older redder district?

Could they legally use the new district, even though that would mean that some people would have 2 representatives who they voted for or against and some, who after the vote, will have not had a chance to have voted for any.

LeftInTX

(34,547 posts)

3. March primary is done

Reply to karynnj (Reply #2)

Thu Apr 16, 2026, 02:59 PM

Thursday

It's a red leaning district, but the Democratic candidate is great. It's a huge district. From San Antonio to El Paso! The GOP candidate is not from Texas. The is one of those districts where it really helps to be from. It's very rural. It straddles the border for 500 miles. Includes Big Bend National Park. Water issues are a big issue. But Abbott can rig the runoff mainly by timing it. Also it doesn't help that San Antonio is the part that was redistricted. The rural areas were not changed.

I'm one of those that was redistricted from this to another district .

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