A Democrat last won statewide in Texas in 1994. Since then, the party has lost more than 100 straight statewide contests, a losing streak surpassed only by that of the Harlem Globetrotters' hapless foil, the Washington Generals.

Hope springs eternal, though. Over the past dozen years, Texas Democrats have watched their expectations rise and then collapse: Wendy Davis in 2014, Beto O'Rourke in 2018, the push to flip the Texas House in 2020, O'Rourke again in 2022.

Still, they increasingly believe 2026 could be the year the ignominious streak ends. And this year they actually have good reason to be optimistic about winning at least one statewide race, for four reasons.

4 reasons 2026 election is different in Texas

First, President Donald Trump is unpopular in Texas. He beat Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris here by 14 percentage points two years ago. Now an October University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs survey finds him 8 points underwater among likely voters, with 46% viewing him favorably and 54% unfavorably. And 59% say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Second, in the marquee U.S. Senate........

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