Early voting for the 2026 primaries runs from February 17 – 27. Texas is one of three states with primaries on March 3, which kick off midterm primaries for the nation. While the presidential office isn’t at the top of the ticket, midterms serve an important role. They are a referendum on the party in power and can influence how current office holders move forward.   Primary elections provide an opportunity to shape the direction of the party. Often the primary race will test issues and platforms targeted towards different factions of each party before becoming a more cohesive platform for the November general election.    Importantly, those in power have a tremendous impact on the well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community. The people who we elect manage everything from healthcare access to discrimination policy, “book bans” to crosswalks. Our community lives the day-to-day effects of policies made by the people we elect, starting now.   The positions up for election this year are one U.S. Senator, all U.S. House members, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, all state House seats, select state Senate seats and local positions such as district attorney, judges and sheriff.   You can read about what local positions do here: What to know about county offices