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The Final Texas 2018 Hotlist: The most competitive races in Texas’ midterm elections

We just finished a remarkably busy round of early voting, and Texans have just one more day — tomorrow — to cast ballots for candidates in 14 statewide offices, 36 congressional seats, seven of 15 seats on the State Board of Education, 15 of the 31 seats in the Texas Senate and 150 seats in the Texas House — and that’s before you get to local races and referenda lower on the ballot.

It’s a lot. But only 25 made my list of the hottest general election contests. This week — the last one before the 2018 general election is behind us — I’ve made my final stab at which candidates should be most worried about the opponents looming in their rearview mirrors.

It's highly subjective, of course — the stuff of conversation. I’ve ranked contests by the threat to each incumbent, to the incumbent party, or just by the level of interest and heat they’re generating. It’s a mix of competitive heat, drama and interest.

Incumbents are noted in the chart; these are the last changes and additions before tomorrow’s elections.

Here’s a big, fat disclaimer: This is a conversation-starter — not the last word on anything.

The color scheme is familiar to anyone familiar with danger signage. Yellow means there's trouble on the sidewalk. Orange is trouble on the front porch. Red is trouble walking in the door. Arrows indicate change from last week.

Hottest

Texas House, District 114

Candidates
DJohn Turner
RLisa Luby Ryan

Texas House, District 113

Candidates
DRhetta Andrews Bowers
RJonathan Boos

Texas House, District 115

Candidates
DJulie Johnson
RMatt RinaldiIncumbent

Texas Senate, District 16

Candidates
DNathan Johnson
RDon HuffinesIncumbent

Texas House, District 105

Candidates
DThresa "Terry" Meza
RRodney AndersonIncumbent

Texas House, District 52

Candidates
DJames Talarico
RCynthia Flores

U.S. House, District 32

Candidates
DColin Allred
LMelina Baker
RPete SessionsIncumbent

U.S. House, District 7

Candidates
DLizzie Pannill Fletcher
RJohn CulbersonIncumbent

U.S. Senate

Candidates
DBeto O'Rourke
LNeal Dikeman
RTed CruzIncumbent

Hotter

Texas House, District 134

Candidates
DAllison Lami Sawyer
RSarah DavisIncumbent

Texas House, District 136

Candidates
DJohn H Bucy III
LZach Parks
RTony DaleIncumbent

Texas House, District 47

Candidates
DVikki Goodwin
RPaul D. WorkmanIncumbent

Texas Senate, District 10

Candidates
DBeverly Powell
RKonni BurtonIncumbent

Texas House, District 102

Candidates
DAna-Maria Ramos
RLinda KoopIncumbent

Texas House, District 108

Candidates
DJoanna Cattanach
RMorgan MeyerIncumbent

Texas House, District 138

Candidates
DAdam Milasincic
RDwayne BohacIncumbent

U.S. House, District 31

Candidates
DMary Jennings "MJ" Hegar
LJason Hope
RJohn CarterIncumbent

Hot

Texas House, District 112

Candidates
DBrandy K Chambers
RAngie Chen ButtonIncumbent

Texas House, District 135

Candidates
DJon E. Rosenthal
LPaul Bilyeu
RGary ElkinsIncumbent

Texas Senate, District 17

Candidates
DRita Lucido
LLauren LaCount
RJoan HuffmanIncumbent

U.S. House, District 23

Candidates
DGina Ortiz Jones
LRuben Corvalan
RWill HurdIncumbent

Texas House, District 107

Candidates
DVictoria NeaveIncumbent
RDeanna Maria Metzger

U.S. House, District 6

Candidates
DJana Lynne Sanchez
LJason Allen Harber
RRon Wright

Office of the Attorney General

Candidates
DJustin Nelson
LMichael Ray Harris
RKen PaxtonIncumbent

Agriculture Commissioner

Candidates
DKim Olson
LRichard Carpenter
RSid MillerIncumbent

From left to right in photo illustration: Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, state Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, state Rep. Victoria Neave, D-Dallas, U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Photo illustration by Jacob Villanueva and Emily Albracht.