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.