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How to run for office in Texas.

The short, plain-English version — what you can run for, how to get on the ballot, and the official Texas resources that are the final word. Then, when you're qualified, Motion51 gets your voters on a map and your volunteers knocking.

The short version

Texas nominates candidates for most offices through party primaries (commonly the Republican and Democratic primaries). For a partisan office you file your candidate application with the party; for nonpartisan local races you file with the local authority (such as a city or school district). Winners of the primaries advance to the November general election.

Offices you can run for
Federal (U.S. House and Senate); statewide offices (Governor and other state officials, the State Board of Education); Texas Senate and Texas House; county and precinct offices; and city, school-district, and judicial seats.
How to get on the ballot
File a candidate application together with either a filing fee or a petition in lieu of the filing fee. The petition signature minimums are stable: 5,000 valid signatures for a statewide office, and for a district, county, or precinct office the lesser of 500 signatures or 2% of the total gubernatorial vote in that area in the last governor's race. An application submitted with a filing fee cannot be emailed or faxed, but an application submitted with a petition in lieu of the fee may be.
Who runs candidate filing
Texas Secretary of State — Elections Division(800) 252-8683

This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Filing deadlines and fees change every election cycle and vary by office — the official Texas resources below are the final word. When in doubt, the elections authority is right and we're wrong.

Official Texas candidate resources

Start here for the exact deadlines, fees, forms, and signature counts for your office and cycle.

Once you're on the ballot, Motion51 runs your field game.

Get your district's voter file loaded, cut into walkable turf, and onto an app your volunteers use at the door. Texas is fully available — see how to get your voter file.

Get your Texas voter file →

Talk to us about your Texas race

Tell us what you're running for and we'll help you go from "qualified" to "knocking doors" — voter file loaded, turf cut, volunteers set up.

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