Yes, and by a wide margin. Republicans hold every statewide office, both legislative chambers, and roughly 235 of Texas's 254 counties. Donald Trump carried the state by 13.7 points in 2024, the largest Republican presidential margin here since 2012. Its Cook PVI rating is R+11.
| Year | Republican | Democrat | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Trump 56.1% | Harris 42.5% | R +13.7 |
| 2020 | Trump 52.1% | Biden 46.5% | R +5.6 |
| 2016 | Trump 52.2% | Clinton 43.2% | R +9.0 |
| 2012 | Romney 57.2% | Obama 41.4% | R +15.8 |
| 2008 | McCain 55.5% | Obama 43.7% | R +11.8 |
| 2004 | Bush 61.1% | Kerry 38.2% | R +22.9 |
| 2000 | Bush 59.3% | Gore 38.0% | R +21.3 |
Texas presidential election results, 2000–2024, certified statewide totals.
Is Texas a red state?
Yes. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, the longest such streak in the country. Republicans hold the governorship, lieutenant governorship, attorney general's office, both U.S. Senate seats, and comfortable majorities in the state House and Senate. The question is not whether Texas is red, but which part of Texas fits your family.
Talk to a Texas agent Explore Texas →Republican at every level, and getting redder
Greg Abbott won his third term as governor in 2022 by 11 points, Ted Cruz won re-election to the Senate in 2024 by 8.5 points, and Trump's 2024 margin nearly tripled his 2020 margin. Republicans hold the state Senate 20 to 11 and the state House 88 to 62.
The 2024 result also settled a decade of speculation about Texas turning purple. The Rio Grande Valley, historically the most Democratic region of the state, swung hard to the right, and several border counties voted Republican for president for the first time in generations. Statewide, the trend since 2020 has moved in one direction.
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What Republican control looks like in practice
Texas has no state income tax and no estate tax, which is the single biggest reason families relocate here from California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey. Permitless carry has been law since September 2021. In 2025 the Legislature passed Senate Bill 2, creating Texas Education Freedom Accounts, a $1 billion education savings account program that launches in the 2026–2027 school year and gives most participating families roughly $10,000 per student for private school, homeschooling, or tutoring.
The honest trade-off is property tax. Texas funds schools and local government through property taxes, and rates in the fast-growing suburban counties run higher than in most states. The Legislature has cut them repeatedly, and Abbott is campaigning in 2026 on eliminating the school district portion for homeowners, but budget for them when you compare total cost of living.
How the last four cycles went
2018
Ted Cruz held his Senate seat against Beto O'Rourke by 2.6 points, the closest statewide race in a generation and the high-water mark for Texas Democrats.
2020
Trump carried Texas by 5.6 points. The suburbs of Dallas, Houston, and Austin moved left, but rural and South Texas moved right.
2022
Abbott beat O'Rourke by 11 points. Republicans swept every statewide office and expanded their legislative majorities.
2024
Trump won by 13.7 points and Cruz won by 8.5. Republicans carried roughly 235 of 254 counties, including a majority of the border counties.
What changed is South Texas. Hispanic voters in the Valley and along the border, once the core of the Democratic coalition here, have shifted decisively toward Republicans since 2016. That shift has more than offset Democratic gains in the big-city suburbs, which is why the statewide margin widened rather than narrowed.
What to know before you choose
The big cities vote Democratic. Their suburbs mostly do not.
Travis County (Austin), Dallas County, and Bexar County (San Antonio) are reliably Democratic, and Harris County (Houston) leans that way. But the counties one ring out are among the most Republican fast-growth counties in the country. Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Parker, and Johnson counties around Dallas–Fort Worth, and Montgomery County north of Houston, all vote 60% or more Republican while sitting within commuting distance of major job centers.
2026 is a normal Texas election, not a competitive one
Abbott is running for a fourth term against Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who won the Republican Senate nomination in May 2026, faces Democrat James Talarico for the seat John Cornyn has held since 2002. Both races are rated safe or likely Republican. If you want a state where statewide outcomes are not in doubt, Texas qualifies.
Texas's most conservative areas
Collin & Denton counties
McKinney, Frisco, Prosper, Celina, Flower Mound. The fastest-growing corridor in the state, highly rated schools, and consistently Republican despite the growth.
The Hill Country
Boerne, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, Dripping Springs. Scenic, affluent, and among the most Republican areas within reach of San Antonio and Austin.
Montgomery County
The Woodlands, Conroe, Magnolia. North of Houston, master-planned communities, and roughly 70% Republican.
Parker & Johnson counties
Weatherford, Aledo, Burleson, Cleburne. West and south of Fort Worth, more land for the money, and reliably 75%-plus Republican.
East Texas
Tyler, Longview, Lufkin, Nacogdoches. Piney woods, lower cost of living, and some of the most conservative counties in the state.
Lubbock & the Panhandle
Lubbock, Amarillo, and the surrounding counties. Deep red, affordable, and anchored by Texas Tech and a strong agricultural economy.
Texas's political makeup, answered
Is Texas Republican or Democratic?
Republican. Republicans have won every statewide election since 1994, hold both legislative chambers, and carried Texas for president in every election since 1980. Trump won the state by 13.7 points in 2024.
Is Texas becoming a swing state?
The 2024 results pointed the other way. Trump's margin grew from 5.6 points in 2020 to 13.7 in 2024, and South Texas counties that had voted Democratic for decades moved to the Republican column. The Democratic gains in suburban Dallas and Houston were real but smaller than the losses elsewhere.
Which Texas counties vote Republican?
Roughly 235 of the state's 254. Nearly every county outside the urban cores votes Republican, and many rural and suburban counties do so by 70% or more. The most Republican large counties are Montgomery, Parker, Johnson, Collin, Denton, and Rockwall.
Which Texas counties vote Democratic?
Travis (Austin), Dallas, Bexar (San Antonio), El Paso, and Harris (Houston), plus a handful of border and Rio Grande Valley counties such as Hidalgo, Cameron, and Webb, though those margins shrank sharply in 2024.
Does Texas have a state income tax?
No. Texas is one of nine states with no personal income tax, and it has no estate or inheritance tax. The trade-off is higher property taxes, which the Legislature has been cutting through homestead exemptions and rate compression.
Does Texas have school choice?
Yes. Senate Bill 2, signed in May 2025, created Texas Education Freedom Accounts, a $1 billion education savings account program that launches for the 2026–2027 school year. Most participating students receive about $10,000, with higher amounts for students with disabilities.
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