Incumbents prevail in Texas legislative races amid proxy battles over casinos, tort reform
Nearly every state legislative incumbent was poised to win their primary on Tuesday, in a stark change from the conservative bloodletting rendered in the Texas House two years ago.
Two years ago, intraparty warfare resulted in a massive scrambling on the GOP side, but Tuesday’s election results — which suggested at least three incumbents would be ousted — showed that some divisions remain in the majority party while highlighting the departures of Democrats who sought higher office.
The most expensive state House primaries this cycle were proxy wars over issues including legalizing casinos, tort reform and a lingering battle between establishment Republicans and more hardline conservatives.
The major factions included candidates backed by Miriam Adelson, owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino empire, against gambling opponents backed by hardline oil billionaire Tim Dunn; and candidates backed by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a Republican fundraising juggernaut that has pushed to make it harder for injury victims to sue, against opponents funded by trial lawyers and medical PACs.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/04/texas-legislature-incumbents-primary-tort-reform-casinos-tim-dunn/