The 2024 election is less than a year away and Monday was the candidate filing deadline.
Next year’s election will include a presidential and U.S. senatorial ticket for Texans to vote on, but there are also a slew of local, county and statewide elections happening in North Texas.
They include a former Dallas County sheriff running to get her old job back, a race to replace a longtime Fort Worth congresswoman and at least five races that could have more to do with Attorney General Ken Paxton than with any of the candidates on the ballot.
The primary election will be held March 5, with early voting starting Feb. 20. Whoever wins their party’s primary in March will be on the November general election ballot.
Here are some of the local, county and statewide races North Texans will see on their ballots next year.
Dallas County
Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is running to get her old job back — and she'll challenge the incumbent she endorsed as her replacement.
Years after leaving the office, Valdez is challenging Marian Brown in the Democratic primary next year.
Valdez previously served as the Dallas County Sheriff from 2005 until 2017, when she stepped down to run for governor. Brown was appointed interim Sherriff after Valdez and was sworn into the position in 2018. She was reelected in 2020.
[Check out everyone who's filed to run in Texas' Democratic and Republican primaries here.]
Two county commissioners, both Democrats, are also up for reelection.
In District 1, incumbent Theresa Daniel will be challenged by community supervision and corrections officer Andre Turner in the Democratic primary, and business consultant Jason Metcalf has filed for her position in the Republican primary.
District 3 incumbent John Wiley Price will face a challenge from real estate developer Derek Avery in the Democratic primary.
Texas Representative Victoria Neave Criado, who represents District 107, announced Monday that she would challenge Dallas Democrat Sen. Nathan Johnson for the Senate District 16 seat.
Collin County
Each of the Collin County House lawmakers up for reelection next year voted to impeach Ken Paxton in May over over allegations of misconduct including bribery and abuse of office.
Jeff Leach, Candy Noble, Matt Shaheen, Justin Holland and Frederick Frazier each have at least one primary opponent. Leach represents Texas House District 67, Noble represents District 89, Shaheen represents District 66, Holland represents District 33 and Frazier represents District 61.
Paxton endorsed four of those challengers: Wayne Richard, who’s running against Shaheen; Abraham George, who’s running against Noble; Daren Meis, who's running against Leach; and Chuck Branch, who’s running against Frazier.
Tarrant County
In March, Tarrant County Republicans will decide on the candidate to fill Rep. Kay Granger’s 12th Congressional District seat in the general election.
Granger announced last month she would not run for reelection after serving for nearly three decades.
Her announcement prompted Texas Rep. Craig Goldman to vacate his seat and run to replace Granger. He'll run against fellow Republican candidate John O’Shea in March.
Sebastian K. Gehrig, a veteran and small business owner, and Trey J. Hunt, a mental health case manager, have filed to run in the Democratic primary to fill Granger's seat.
Goldman's move, meanwhile, opened up a spot for a new House member to represent White Settlement, Benbrook, parts of Fort Worth and Crowley.
Texas House District 97 candidates Leslie Robnett and Cheryl Bean will vie to be the Republican candidate during the March primary election.
Robnett is a lawyer and former chief of staff for now-state Sen. Phil King. Bean is a board member for the Texas Center for Arts + Academics, which governs two public charter schools.
Diane Symons, a photographer, and Carlos Walker, director of Fort Worth ISD's Family Action Center, are running in the Democratic primary for the House District 97 seat.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn filed for reelection and, as of Monday, is running unopposed.
Waybourn has served as sheriff since 2017.
Denton County
In Denton County, U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess will not seek reelection for his District 26 seat that covers the majority of Denton, Cooke and Wise counties.
As of Monday, several Republicans and two Democrats have filed replace him.
Candidates for this office include former Denton County Judge Scott Armey. His father, Dick Armey, held the District 26 seat from 1985 until his retirement in 2003.
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