Texas
U.S. Senate
Open seat
Forecast as of October 7, 2026. These vote totals equal the sum of the counties below. Not a poll average.
RKen Paxton, RKen Paxton
Republican
DJames Talarico, DJames Talarico
Democratic
Other
Margin
R+1.9
Win probability
65.3%
80% interval
D+4.2 to R+8.0
95% interval
D+7.5 to R+11.2
Market
66%
James Talarico · win probability, not a vote shareRaw data Checking polls.
50,000 draws. The 80% interval is the 10th to the 90th percentile. The 95% interval is the 2.5th to the 97.5th. The thin mark is the 95% interval. The thick mark is the 80%. The hairline is zero. 9,022,476 ballots, equal to the table.
Counties
Every reporting unit in the race. Sort any column. The votes above are this table added up.
| Party | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County | James Talarico | D | D+17.7 | 58.2% | 1,245,048 |
| Dallas County | James Talarico | D | D+34.4 | 66.5% | 679,158 |
| Tarrant County | James Talarico | D | D+4.8 | 51.7% | 658,144 |
| Bexar County | James Talarico | D | D+21.7 | 60.2% | 606,038 |
| Travis County | James Talarico | D | D+50.5 | 74.6% | 464,228 |
| Collin County | Ken Paxton | R | R+1.4 | 50.0% | 412,134 |
| Denton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+3.8 | 51.2% | 358,983 |
| Fort Bend County | James Talarico | D | D+13.6 | 56.1% | 289,807 |
| Williamson County | James Talarico | D | D+6.8 | 52.7% | 246,530 |
| Montgomery County | Ken Paxton | R | R+38.3 | 68.4% | 245,707 |
| El Paso County | James Talarico | D | D+36.2 | 67.4% | 201,097 |
| Hidalgo County | James Talarico | D | D+22.6 | 60.6% | 173,755 |
| Brazoria County | Ken Paxton | R | R+11.6 | 55.1% | 129,560 |
| Galveston County | Ken Paxton | R | R+17.0 | 57.8% | 127,146 |
| Bell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+6.6 | 52.6% | 104,446 |
| Hays County | James Talarico | D | D+16.9 | 57.8% | 100,550 |
| Lubbock County | Ken Paxton | R | R+28.8 | 63.7% | 99,978 |
| Nueces County | James Talarico | D | D+1.5 | 50.1% | 97,291 |
| Cameron County | James Talarico | D | D+16.1 | 57.4% | 92,898 |
| Smith County | Ken Paxton | R | R+36.0 | 67.3% | 83,052 |
| Comal County | Ken Paxton | R | R+37.8 | 68.2% | 82,772 |
| McLennan County | Ken Paxton | R | R+20.6 | 59.6% | 79,592 |
| Ellis County | Ken Paxton | R | R+25.5 | 62.0% | 79,588 |
| Brazos County | Ken Paxton | R | R+12.9 | 55.7% | 73,478 |
| Parker County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.6 | 78.1% | 72,642 |
| Jefferson County | James Talarico | D | D+2.0 | 50.3% | 69,018 |
| Guadalupe County | Ken Paxton | R | R+20.1 | 59.4% | 68,078 |
| Johnson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+43.8 | 71.2% | 64,553 |
| Kaufman County | Ken Paxton | R | R+23.6 | 61.1% | 55,493 |
| Randall County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.3 | 76.0% | 53,483 |
| Grayson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+44.6 | 71.6% | 52,710 |
| Webb County | James Talarico | D | D+25.6 | 62.1% | 52,676 |
| Rockwall County | Ken Paxton | R | R+32.4 | 65.5% | 49,801 |
| Midland County | Ken Paxton | R | R+50.9 | 74.8% | 47,040 |
| Taylor County | Ken Paxton | R | R+41.6 | 70.1% | 44,309 |
| Hunt County | Ken Paxton | R | R+45.3 | 72.0% | 37,362 |
| Gregg County | Ken Paxton | R | R+33.5 | 66.1% | 37,359 |
| Tom Green County | Ken Paxton | R | R+38.6 | 68.6% | 36,350 |
| Wichita County | Ken Paxton | R | R+35.8 | 67.2% | 35,598 |
| Ector County | Ken Paxton | R | R+39.6 | 69.1% | 34,092 |
| Bastrop County | Ken Paxton | R | R+8.0 | 53.3% | 31,830 |
| Henderson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+54.2 | 76.4% | 30,822 |
| Wise County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.6 | 79.6% | 30,584 |
| Bowie County | Ken Paxton | R | R+39.9 | 69.3% | 29,303 |
| Hood County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.0 | 77.8% | 29,230 |
| Orange County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.6 | 78.1% | 29,062 |
| Victoria County | Ken Paxton | R | R+34.9 | 66.8% | 28,191 |
| Angelina County | Ken Paxton | R | R+42.6 | 70.6% | 27,535 |
| Potter County | Ken Paxton | R | R+34.9 | 66.7% | 25,673 |
| Liberty County | Ken Paxton | R | R+52.1 | 75.3% | 25,053 |
| Harrison County | Ken Paxton | R | R+41.7 | 70.2% | 24,181 |
| Kendall County | Ken Paxton | R | R+48.8 | 73.7% | 23,436 |
| Hardin County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.0 | 83.3% | 22,526 |
| Kerr County | Ken Paxton | R | R+46.4 | 72.5% | 22,525 |
| Burnet County | Ken Paxton | R | R+46.8 | 72.7% | 22,518 |
| Van Zandt County | Ken Paxton | R | R+65.8 | 82.2% | 22,348 |
| Waller County | Ken Paxton | R | R+17.4 | 58.0% | 22,036 |
| Wilson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+43.6 | 71.1% | 21,816 |
| San Patricio County | Ken Paxton | R | R+23.8 | 61.2% | 20,458 |
| Nacogdoches County | Ken Paxton | R | R+27.7 | 63.2% | 20,376 |
| Walker County | Ken Paxton | R | R+28.9 | 63.8% | 20,136 |
| Chambers County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.3 | 77.4% | 19,977 |
| Medina County | Ken Paxton | R | R+34.9 | 66.7% | 19,678 |
| Wood County | Ken Paxton | R | R+62.4 | 80.5% | 19,505 |
| Polk County | Ken Paxton | R | R+49.9 | 74.3% | 19,428 |
| Coryell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+31.0 | 64.8% | 19,129 |
| Rusk County | Ken Paxton | R | R+51.0 | 74.8% | 17,362 |
| Lamar County | Ken Paxton | R | R+51.3 | 75.0% | 16,989 |
| Cherokee County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.4 | 76.0% | 16,402 |
| Cooke County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.5 | 78.6% | 16,346 |
| Upshur County | Ken Paxton | R | R+62.0 | 80.3% | 15,906 |
| Navarro County | Ken Paxton | R | R+41.5 | 70.0% | 15,863 |
| Anderson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+51.8 | 75.2% | 15,482 |
| Atascosa County | Ken Paxton | R | R+28.4 | 63.5% | 14,754 |
| Erath County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.5 | 78.0% | 14,680 |
| Washington County | Ken Paxton | R | R+46.4 | 72.5% | 14,566 |
| Brown County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.0 | 82.3% | 13,482 |
| Hopkins County | Ken Paxton | R | R+54.4 | 76.5% | 13,418 |
| Hill County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.8 | 76.2% | 13,362 |
| Gillespie County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.2 | 75.9% | 13,186 |
| Wharton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+40.3 | 69.4% | 13,162 |
| Starr County | James Talarico | D | D+22.5 | 60.5% | 13,135 |
| Fannin County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.9 | 77.8% | 13,108 |
| Jasper County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.9 | 78.2% | 12,671 |
| Maverick County | James Talarico | D | D+17.8 | 58.2% | 12,594 |
| Caldwell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+4.2 | 51.4% | 12,549 |
| Austin County | Ken Paxton | R | R+54.0 | 76.3% | 12,303 |
| Val Verde County | Ken Paxton | R | R+4.4 | 51.5% | 11,662 |
| Cass County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.0 | 77.8% | 11,312 |
| Grimes County | Ken Paxton | R | R+49.9 | 74.3% | 11,234 |
| Llano County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.1 | 75.8% | 10,898 |
| Bandera County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.9 | 76.2% | 10,874 |
| Palo Pinto County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.1 | 77.9% | 10,666 |
| Fayette County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.1 | 75.8% | 10,662 |
| Matagorda County | Ken Paxton | R | R+39.2 | 68.9% | 10,646 |
| Jim Wells County | James Talarico | D | D+2.7 | 50.7% | 10,614 |
| Aransas County | Ken Paxton | R | R+45.6 | 72.1% | 10,422 |
| San Jacinto County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.5 | 77.5% | 10,231 |
| Panola County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.8 | 78.7% | 9,150 |
| Lampasas County | Ken Paxton | R | R+51.7 | 75.2% | 9,037 |
| Montague County | Ken Paxton | R | R+69.1 | 83.8% | 8,878 |
| Milam County | Ken Paxton | R | R+47.0 | 72.8% | 8,874 |
| Lavaca County | Ken Paxton | R | R+67.9 | 83.3% | 8,389 |
| Titus County | Ken Paxton | R | R+42.9 | 70.7% | 8,166 |
| Kleberg County | James Talarico | D | D+2.7 | 50.7% | 8,008 |
| Colorado County | Ken Paxton | R | R+48.2 | 73.4% | 7,995 |
| Shelby County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.4 | 77.5% | 7,958 |
| Uvalde County | Ken Paxton | R | R+15.3 | 57.0% | 7,815 |
| Howard County | Ken Paxton | R | R+51.6 | 75.1% | 7,712 |
| Tyler County | Ken Paxton | R | R+63.7 | 81.2% | 7,662 |
| Bosque County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.1 | 77.9% | 7,657 |
| Burleson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.0 | 75.8% | 7,492 |
| Houston County | Ken Paxton | R | R+47.2 | 72.9% | 7,490 |
| Hale County | Ken Paxton | R | R+45.9 | 72.2% | 7,422 |
| Limestone County | Ken Paxton | R | R+47.5 | 73.1% | 7,255 |
| Leon County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.7 | 83.6% | 7,248 |
| Freestone County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.9 | 77.8% | 7,236 |
| Bee County | Ken Paxton | R | R+24.0 | 61.3% | 7,031 |
| Blanco County | Ken Paxton | R | R+42.6 | 70.6% | 6,814 |
| Lee County | Ken Paxton | R | R+51.1 | 74.8% | 6,730 |
| Eastland County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.9 | 83.8% | 6,690 |
| Young County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.3 | 83.5% | 6,647 |
| Hutchinson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+70.4 | 84.5% | 6,593 |
| Robertson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+39.5 | 69.0% | 6,523 |
| Hockley County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.1 | 77.8% | 6,390 |
| Calhoun County | Ken Paxton | R | R+38.7 | 68.6% | 6,266 |
| DeWitt County | Ken Paxton | R | R+55.0 | 76.8% | 4,538 |
| Gonzales County | Ken Paxton | R | R+41.8 | 70.2% | 4,498 |
| Gray County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.1 | 83.3% | 4,396 |
| Trinity County | Ken Paxton | R | R+54.4 | 76.5% | 4,277 |
| Callahan County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.3 | 82.4% | 4,051 |
| Jones County | Ken Paxton | R | R+59.7 | 79.1% | 4,029 |
| Rains County | Ken Paxton | R | R+61.0 | 79.8% | 3,801 |
| Comanche County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.0 | 79.3% | 3,796 |
| Gaines County | Ken Paxton | R | R+69.3 | 84.0% | 3,721 |
| Jackson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.5 | 78.6% | 3,671 |
| Falls County | Ken Paxton | R | R+31.9 | 65.2% | 3,640 |
| Willacy County | James Talarico | D | D+21.9 | 60.2% | 3,560 |
| Andrews County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.3 | 78.4% | 3,514 |
| Clay County | Ken Paxton | R | R+67.2 | 82.9% | 3,425 |
| Red River County | Ken Paxton | R | R+49.3 | 74.0% | 3,362 |
| Newton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.4 | 76.0% | 3,334 |
| Scurry County | Ken Paxton | R | R+61.8 | 80.2% | 3,318 |
| Sabine County | Ken Paxton | R | R+67.6 | 83.1% | 3,237 |
| Madison County | Ken Paxton | R | R+52.2 | 75.4% | 3,184 |
| Frio County | James Talarico | D | D+2.0 | 50.3% | 3,157 |
| Morris County | Ken Paxton | R | R+37.0 | 67.8% | 3,151 |
| Zapata County | James Talarico | D | D+10.5 | 54.5% | 3,117 |
| Moore County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.9 | 76.2% | 3,108 |
| Franklin County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.4 | 78.5% | 3,080 |
| Somervell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.8 | 78.2% | 3,065 |
| Camp County | Ken Paxton | R | R+39.0 | 68.8% | 3,040 |
| Archer County | Ken Paxton | R | R+69.4 | 84.0% | 2,977 |
| Nolan County | Ken Paxton | R | R+46.3 | 72.4% | 2,966 |
| Live Oak County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.4 | 78.5% | 2,953 |
| Karnes County | Ken Paxton | R | R+40.1 | 69.4% | 2,944 |
| Brewster County | James Talarico | D | D+4.0 | 51.3% | 2,929 |
| Duval County | James Talarico | D | D+22.0 | 60.3% | 2,855 |
| Marion County | Ken Paxton | R | R+38.7 | 68.7% | 2,734 |
| Hamilton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.2 | 79.4% | 2,589 |
| Wilbarger County | Ken Paxton | R | R+47.8 | 73.2% | 2,589 |
| Deaf Smith County | Ken Paxton | R | R+38.6 | 68.6% | 2,486 |
| Pecos County | Ken Paxton | R | R+25.4 | 62.0% | 2,455 |
| Jack County | Ken Paxton | R | R+70.5 | 84.5% | 2,437 |
| Coleman County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.3 | 83.4% | 2,410 |
| Lamb County | Ken Paxton | R | R+52.7 | 75.7% | 2,408 |
| Runnels County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.2 | 82.4% | 2,352 |
| Goliad County | Ken Paxton | R | R+46.5 | 72.5% | 2,311 |
| Dimmit County | James Talarico | D | D+31.1 | 64.8% | 2,193 |
| Ward County | Ken Paxton | R | R+46.4 | 72.5% | 2,183 |
| Stephens County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.1 | 83.4% | 2,181 |
| San Augustine County | Ken Paxton | R | R+44.8 | 71.7% | 2,173 |
| McCulloch County | Ken Paxton | R | R+61.7 | 80.1% | 2,038 |
| Dawson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+45.0 | 71.8% | 2,036 |
| Zavala County | James Talarico | D | D+44.8 | 71.7% | 2,025 |
| Reeves County | Ken Paxton | R | R+8.9 | 53.7% | 1,995 |
| Terry County | Ken Paxton | R | R+50.9 | 74.7% | 1,983 |
| Carson County | Ken Paxton | R | R+70.2 | 84.4% | 1,840 |
| Refugio County | Ken Paxton | R | R+25.9 | 62.2% | 1,782 |
| Ochiltree County | Ken Paxton | R | R+71.5 | 85.0% | 1,745 |
| Mills County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.8 | 82.7% | 1,590 |
| San Saba County | Ken Paxton | R | R+67.0 | 82.8% | 1,568 |
| Delta County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.2 | 77.4% | 1,542 |
| La Salle County | James Talarico | D | D+4.2 | 51.4% | 1,510 |
| Lynn County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.8 | 78.2% | 1,489 |
| Mason County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.2 | 75.9% | 1,465 |
| Mitchell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+59.3 | 78.9% | 1,458 |
| Parmer County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.0 | 78.3% | 1,452 |
| Brooks County | James Talarico | D | D+36.1 | 67.3% | 1,393 |
| Kimble County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.8 | 82.7% | 1,393 |
| Yoakum County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.2 | 78.4% | 1,388 |
| Childress County | Ken Paxton | R | R+64.9 | 81.7% | 1,318 |
| Wheeler County | Ken Paxton | R | R+75.3 | 86.9% | 1,318 |
| Swisher County | Ken Paxton | R | R+49.5 | 74.0% | 1,314 |
| Haskell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.3 | 78.0% | 1,303 |
| Floyd County | Ken Paxton | R | R+47.4 | 73.0% | 1,212 |
| Martin County | Ken Paxton | R | R+62.7 | 80.6% | 1,208 |
| Castro County | Ken Paxton | R | R+45.9 | 72.3% | 1,172 |
| Hartley County | Ken Paxton | R | R+73.1 | 85.9% | 1,169 |
| Hansford County | Ken Paxton | R | R+74.8 | 86.7% | 1,159 |
| Presidio County | James Talarico | D | D+45.9 | 72.3% | 1,157 |
| Real County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.4 | 78.0% | 1,136 |
| Winkler County | Ken Paxton | R | R+54.1 | 76.4% | 1,121 |
| Crosby County | Ken Paxton | R | R+36.8 | 67.7% | 1,090 |
| Fisher County | Ken Paxton | R | R+49.0 | 73.8% | 1,061 |
| Coke County | Ken Paxton | R | R+68.5 | 83.6% | 1,052 |
| Bailey County | Ken Paxton | R | R+47.3 | 72.9% | 1,009 |
| Shackelford County | Ken Paxton | R | R+72.9 | 85.7% | 1,002 |
| Donley County | Ken Paxton | R | R+67.0 | 82.8% | 993 |
| Baylor County | Ken Paxton | R | R+65.9 | 82.2% | 969 |
| Hemphill County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.7 | 82.7% | 935 |
| Garza County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.6 | 79.6% | 927 |
| Jim Hogg County | James Talarico | D | D+36.1 | 67.4% | 919 |
| Dallam County | Ken Paxton | R | R+66.9 | 82.7% | 839 |
| Kinney County | Ken Paxton | R | R+34.1 | 66.3% | 823 |
| Crockett County | Ken Paxton | R | R+40.5 | 69.6% | 822 |
| Hardeman County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.2 | 79.4% | 815 |
| Sutton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+52.6 | 75.6% | 812 |
| Crane County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.1 | 77.9% | 804 |
| Knox County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.0 | 75.8% | 798 |
| Upton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+62.0 | 80.3% | 756 |
| Lipscomb County | Ken Paxton | R | R+69.0 | 83.8% | 730 |
| Collingsworth County | Ken Paxton | R | R+67.3 | 82.9% | 697 |
| Concho County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.0 | 79.3% | 695 |
| Jeff Davis County | Ken Paxton | R | R+11.8 | 55.2% | 678 |
| Hall County | Ken Paxton | R | R+61.1 | 79.9% | 666 |
| Armstrong County | Ken Paxton | R | R+74.3 | 86.5% | 643 |
| Schleicher County | Ken Paxton | R | R+50.7 | 74.7% | 643 |
| Menard County | Ken Paxton | R | R+54.1 | 76.3% | 603 |
| Hudspeth County | Ken Paxton | R | R+21.6 | 60.1% | 602 |
| Edwards County | Ken Paxton | R | R+57.1 | 77.9% | 583 |
| Dickens County | Ken Paxton | R | R+60.4 | 79.5% | 576 |
| Oldham County | Ken Paxton | R | R+72.4 | 85.5% | 565 |
| Reagan County | Ken Paxton | R | R+58.2 | 78.4% | 550 |
| Throckmorton County | Ken Paxton | R | R+71.1 | 84.9% | 522 |
| Cochran County | Ken Paxton | R | R+53.1 | 75.9% | 518 |
| Sherman County | Ken Paxton | R | R+70.6 | 84.6% | 506 |
| Irion County | Ken Paxton | R | R+64.0 | 81.3% | 503 |
| Culberson County | James Talarico | D | D+11.8 | 55.2% | 500 |
| Briscoe County | Ken Paxton | R | R+69.0 | 83.8% | 432 |
| Stonewall County | Ken Paxton | R | R+56.1 | 77.3% | 415 |
| Glasscock County | Ken Paxton | R | R+78.4 | 88.6% | 385 |
| Cottle County | Ken Paxton | R | R+59.8 | 79.3% | 381 |
| Motley County | Ken Paxton | R | R+76.9 | 87.8% | 377 |
| Sterling County | Ken Paxton | R | R+73.4 | 86.0% | 365 |
| Roberts County | Ken Paxton | R | R+82.8 | 90.6% | 331 |
| Foard County | Ken Paxton | R | R+49.1 | 73.7% | 316 |
| McMullen County | Ken Paxton | R | R+72.3 | 85.5% | 282 |
| Kent County | Ken Paxton | R | R+64.7 | 81.8% | 258 |
| Terrell County | Ken Paxton | R | R+39.1 | 68.9% | 235 |
| Borden County | Ken Paxton | R | R+80.8 | 89.7% | 224 |
| Kenedy County | Ken Paxton | R | R+18.5 | 58.7% | 92 |
| King County | Ken Paxton | R | R+83.3 | 91.0% | 78 |
| Loving County | Ken Paxton | R | R+62.5 | 80.4% | 56 |
Model
- Raw data
2024 presidential baseline
National R−D 1.5County presidential file. Not the 2026 result.
- Raw data
Generic ballot
D 50.8 R 42.6 R−D -8.2National Wikipedia aggregate, October 5, 2026. State generic ballots, where a public poll exists, replace a uniform national swing: ME, MI, NH, NY, OH. A state with no generic-ballot poll keeps the national number and is not assigned a neighbor's.
- Raw data
Party identification
Pew D+5 and Gallup D+10, blend R−D -7.3Pew NPORS 2026, identifiers plus leaners: Republican 43, Democratic 48. Gallup party identification plus leaners, first two quarters of 2026: Democratic 49, Republican 39. Pew is 55% of this blend and Gallup is 45%.
- Model input
National block
R−D -7.860% generic ballot and 40% party identification. The swing versus the 2024 presidential margin is what gets transmitted.
- Model input
Swing transmitted
1.30 × -9.3 = -12.1Only the share of the national swing this state took in the last midterm is transmitted. Elasticity is shrunk halfway toward 1.
- Raw data
2026 early vote
None reportedNo verified 2026 returned-mail or in-person ballots for this state in the October 7 file. Nothing was imputed. Day-1 early vote is a signal, not a statewide margin. Applications and ballots that were only sent are not in this count. A day-1 pace gap is not a statewide margin.
- Model input
History block
R−D 6.6Weights 2018 40 / 2024 35 / 2020 20 / 2022 5. 2020 and 2022 results for this office are included in every state that had those races, including blowouts. A 2022 election is weighted ahead of 2018. If that office was not on the ballot, the 2020 result for the same office fills the year. Another office is not used. 2018 R+54.5 w40, 2024 R+58.0 w35, 2020 R+57.8 w20, 2022 from 2020 R+57.8 w5. This is the last result for the office, not the presidential margin. A 2024 county map is not copied forward unchanged. A 2018 model error is not used.
- Model input
Electorate block
R−D -0.9History reweighted by usual midterm turnout, plus half of the transmitted swing. Rural and presidential-only counties still move farther when the result is spread back to counties. The 2026 early-vote count is not inside this margin.
- Model input
Turnout block
R−D 3.1Each county is weighted by its 2018 ballots divided by its 2024 presidential ballots. Small counties shrink halfway toward the state median. 2020 mail shares are not used. No verified 2026 returned-mail or in-person ballots for this state in the October 7 file. Nothing was imputed. Day-1 early vote is a signal, not a statewide margin.
- Model input
National environment
R−D -3.7History plus the full transmitted swing from the 60/40 national block.
- Model input
State environment
R−D 0.6History plus 45% of the transmitted swing.
- Model input
State partisan lean
R−D 13.7The 2024 presidential margin of this state, or of this district for a House race. It is heavier than the old state-environment block and is not shrunk toward the polling term.
- Model input
Trump popularity
R−D -5.0New York Times approval average, October 7, 2026: 37% approve, 60% disapprove. Net approval -23. That is not a vote share. Four-tenths of the net is a margin, then scaled by this place's partisan lean (factor 0.54), so an unpopular president costs more in a Democratic state.
- Model input
Candidate favorability
R−D 0.0Open seat or no incumbent. Favorability is zero.
- Model input
Demographics
R−D -6.3County college, rural, and nonwhite shares from the 2018 election-context file change how much of the swing a county takes. No separate microdata file.
- Model input
Finance
R−D 4.1No sourced spending edge, so the block starts on history. With a poll, it shrinks toward the polling term with the other non-poll blocks.
- Model input
Issues
R−D 4.1No sourced issue score. Same treatment as finance.
- Model input
Polling
R−D -0.6Individual polls -3.2 (80%) and the Wikipedia average -3.3 (20%). Named support R−D -3.4. Allocated support R−D -3.2. Named support does not move. Only the undecided line is split, 53.5% Republican and 46.5% Democratic. That is the 2024 two-party Republican share 56.9 moved halfway to 50 and capped at 60/40. A named third-party vote stays third-party. Banned individual rows excluded: 1. State miss shrunk 40% toward zero: 2.64. Public pollsters: 21. Outliers: 0. Recency half-life 16 days. Sample weight n/(n+350). A registered-voter poll is 0.90. An internal poll, or a poll sponsored by one party, is weighted 0.20, and only when a public poll is also in the race. An internal-only file is dropped. A poll that names both parties is not an internal. A poll more than 8 points from the median of the others is cut in half.
- Model input
Candidate
R+0.00 reaches the resultOpen seat. No incumbency term. A negative popularity score is not added on top of the office baseline. No overperformance. An open seat, a scandal, or a missing incumbent gets none.
- Model input
Halfway floor
Not appliedNot applied. At least three public polls from different pollsters, and none is an outlier.
- Model input
Pooling
35% of the way from each history block toward the polling termOtherwise the shrink is 35%.
- Model input
Prediction market
66% win probabilityJames Talarico 66.3% is a win probability, not a vote share. Republican win probability 33.8 from Kalshi 33.5% Republican; Polymarket 34.0% Republican. A price of 50 is a tie. Each point above 50 is 0.35 margin points, capped at 12, so the raw margin is -5.7. That margin is shrunk 40% toward the pre-market margin 2.1, which leaves -2.6. It enters once, at 5.0%. The polling term is not nudged. Books under $10,000 and primary markets are ignored.
- Model input
State bend
NoneNot applied.
- Model input
Weights
polling 20.4% · history 7.4% · candidate 5.6% · electorate 4.7% · national 5.6% · stateEnv 3.7% · turnout 2.8% · demographics 2.8% · finance 1.9% · issues 1.9% · stateLean 16.8% · trump 11.2% · favorability 10.3% · market 5.0%History is lighter. State partisan lean, Trump popularity, and candidate favorability are their own terms. A market, when it qualifies, scales every other weight and is not taken out of polling alone.
County-sum margin
1.9This is the sum of the reporting units after each unit moved off its own history. It is not the poll average.
80% interval
-4.2 to 8.010th to 90th percentile of 50,000 draws. Poll, national, state, turnout, and candidate error.
95% interval
-7.5 to 11.22.5th to 97.5th percentile. Senate and governor state errors in the same state share a correlation of 0.30. The band shown is the marginal interval.
Wikipedia, 2026 United States Senate elections (general-election infobox, checked against the state narrative) www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2024/11/29/john-cornyn-and-ken-paxton-have-been-trading-jabs-as-a-potential-primary-showdown-looms/