Consequential primary elections are just around the corner, and anyone who waits until Nov. 3, 2026, to get involved will miss out on dozens of important races that will effectively elect members of Congress.

The secret of partisan elections in the United States is that primary elections are often the most important race. Since most people have sorted themselves into like-minded communities of people who look like and vote like one another (or have been drawn into those communities by state lawmakers), many states and districts are either solidly Republican or solidly Democratic. That means primary elections are critical while general elections can be formalities. And the initial wave of primaries is not that far away.

Up to this point, there are 45 open House seats from members forgoing reelection campaigns to retire or to run somewhere else or for something else. But just eight of those open seats are rated as competitive by Inside Elections, which means both parties will likely invest resources into winning the general election. The remaining 37 races, on the other hand, will likely be decided in the primary, sometimes well before November.

Ten of those open-seat races are in Texas, where the initial primary is less than three months away on March 3. Scores of Republicans will face off in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 32nd and 38th districts, all of which are rated as Solid Republican by Inside Elections. There are also important Republican primaries in the 34th and 35th, which are rated as a Toss-up and Likely Republican, respectively, and part of the GOP plan to maximize their newly drawn congressional map. Democrats would have had a consequential primary in Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s 30th District in a seat that is rated Solid Democratic, but only one candidate filed.

In Texas, if no candidate receives more than 50% in the initial primary, then the top two vote-getters move on to a May 26 runoff.

That’s what could happen in the Senate race. GOP Sen. John Cornyn is fighting for his political life against state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Houston-area Rep. Wesley Hunt. The primary is important with the prevailing opinion that nominating Paxton cracks the door for Democrats to win the general election because of his baggage, which includes being impeached by the Texas House for bribery. But Democrats have a primary of their own between Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico. Former Rep. Colin Allred dropped out right before the filing deadline to help the party avoid a runoff. But the point is that both early primaries have general election consequences in a state that Democrats might need to win to secure a Senate majority.