The deadline to file for a place on the 2018 continues is 6 p.m. local time tomorrow. Please see our Crib Sheets for candidates’ filing status.

As far as we can tell, only four incumbents have not yet filed for re-election: Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Barbara Hervey (R); Reps. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) and Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin); and State Board of Education member Erika Beltran (D-Dallas). They may have already filed, but we have received any confirmation from the candidates or the parties.

Even after tomorrow’s deadline, it will be at least a week before candidate lists are finalized.

There are 37 federal offices, 13 statewide offices, 15 Senate seats, 150 House seats and 7 Board of Education seats on the ballot in 2018. So far, at least 192 candidates have filed for the federal offices and 430 have filed for these state offices. We are tracking an additional 79 federal candidates and 105 state candidates who have established campaign committees or announced their intention to run but not yet filed. History suggests dozens of new candidates will emerge at the deadline.

With one day – historically the most active day of filing – to go, we already know that Democratic filing activity, at least for the offices we track, is at or above recent historical levels.

As of today, Democrats are contesting more federal and state seats than Republicans for the first time since 1994. A Democratic candidate has filed or announced for 198 of the 222 offices we track, the highest number of contested seats since at least 1992 and 40 more than the average number of seats contested since 1992. Republicans have filed or announced for 175 seats, which is slightly above their average since 1992.

At least one Democrat has filed or announced for every federal seat, all but one statewide office, all but one Senate seat, at least 128 House seats and every Board of Education seat. In 2016, Democrats contested just 90 of the 150 House seats, which was the second lowest number in state history, and only 28 of the state’s 36 congressional districts.

At least one Republican has filed or announced for all but three federal seats, every statewide office, all but one Senate seat, at least 109 House seats and five of the seven Board of Education seats.

We have received only a partial list of candidates from the state Libertarian Party, and we have seen only a very early list of prospective candidates from the state Green Party. At this time, the Green Party’s candidates do not have access to the ballot, so their qualification depends on a successful petition drive by the party.

Independent candidates file declarations of intent by tomorrow’s deadline, but their petition process does not take place until after the primary (and runoff) elections. We typically do not get a final list of these candidates from the Secretary of State for a few weeks.

GOV: Houston council member Dwight Boykins announced he would not run for governor.

HD43: Portland attorney DeeAnn Torres Miller filed in the Democratic primary to challenge Rep. J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville).

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