Now that the Republican and Democratic primary runoffs are over, independent candidates are scrambling to qualify for the November ballot in Texas.
Instead of paying a filing fee or appearing on the primary ballot like major party candidates, state law requires independent candidates to collect hundreds or even thousands of signatures to get on the ballot.
The names can only be from people who didn’t vote in either party’s primary — and candidates only have a narrow window to find them.
The collection process starts after the Republican and Democratic primaries are over their race, and must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office by June 25.
As of this week, one San Antonio-area congressional candidate who’s been preparing his campaign for nearly a year now said he’s quickly found the signature collection process to be all but impossible.
U.S. Air Force IT specialist Gerard Villalobos planned to run as an independent in U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro‘s (D-San Antonio) 20th Congressional District, and even bought a digital billboard to help get his name out.
“I have been trying hard [for] the past two months … my platform is sincere,” he said Monday. “Unfortunately, per the Texas Legislature, I can only move forward after I have 500 signatures validated … and I doubt I reach that number.”
Several other Bexar County candidates are also hustling to meet the deadline.
Defense attorney Jason Wolff is waging an independent bid for District Attorney, while Jonathan LaFevers is trying to get on the ballot in the hotly contested Texas House District 121 race.
Each must collect 500 signatures before the end of next week, while Mike Collier, who is running as an independent candidate for lieutenant governor in Texas, needs more than 80,000 for his statewide race.
This week all of Texas’ independent hopefuls got a boost from a national group trying to build a third political party in the U.S. —which is suing the state over its signature requirements.
By law, political parties can only place candidates on the ballot in Texas if they follow strict rules to secure and maintain ballot access.
For the Green and Libertarian parties, that means having a statewide candidate who garners at least 2% of the vote in each major election.
This week the Forward Party, which wants to join their ranks, joined a lawsuit against the state arguing that the bar is impossibly high.
In fact, they say, no independent candidate has ever successfully qualified for the ballot in a Texas statewide race that had a primary runoff, because the timeline is even shorter to collect signatures.
The Forward Party was created by former elected Republicans and Democrats at a national level in 2022, and has already achieved minor party status in several states.
But to do so in Texas, it would have also had to collect more than 80,000 signatures this year — a goal its leaders have abandoned.
“The Texas Forward Party would not have been able to get the signatures to get on the ballot this year, just because of the sheer number of signatures,” said Texas Forward Party Chair Brandon David. “So, we have forgone going after party ballot access, and instead we are lifting up and supporting independent candidates that are trying to get on the ballot.”
The party’s lawsuit argues that the compressed timeline to collect signatures, along with the restrictions on who can sign, are aimed squarely at keeping candidates who aren’t from one of the major parties off the ballot.
It has the backing of the Center for Competitive Democracy, as well as a surprising list of past and present Texas officials who’ve signed onto the effort.
“[Texas’ ballot requirements are] exactly the kind of political gatekeeping that has left so many Americans feeling shut out of our democracy,” Forward Party CEO Lindsey Drath said in a statement. “ … This lawsuit is not about helping one candidate or hurting another party. It is about whether the rules of our democracy should serve voters or protect the two-party status quo.”
Races shaping up in Bexar County
Of the Bexar County candidates trying to get on the ballot as independents this year, Wolff, who comes from a political family, likely has the best shot.
He’s already been elected to a county court judgeship as a Republican in the past, and previously worked as a prosecutor in the DA’s office. He’s also the nephew of former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
“It’s certainly more qualifications than the current candidates who are running for that position,” he said Tuesday.
District Attorney Joe Gonzales is retiring this year, and the race to replace him is now down to Democrat Luz Elena Chapa, a former judge, and Republican Ashley Foster, a former prosecutor — plus Wolff, if he qualifies.
Since Democrats had a runoff in their district attorney primary, however, Wolff’s window to qualify was even shorter than other candidates.
He couldn’t start collecting signatures until Chapa won the Democratic nomination on May 26.
“It limited my time from 90 days to less than 30 days … I don’t see how that is fair,” Wolff said. “It certainly doesn’t make sense if you want to have voters have choices on that ballot.”
Wolff says he has about 30 volunteers helping his campaign, and thinks he’ll meet the signature requirements for his race.
Then he’ll need to drive the petition forms up to Austin on June 25 to file them with the Secretary of State’s office, he said.
Once the field is set for Republicans, Democrats, third party and independent candidates, the San Antonio Report will have a comprehensive voter guide featuring profiles of every candidate on the ballot this November.
The Green Party has just one local candidate this year: Julián Villarreal, who is running in state Senate District 26, where incumbent state Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio) didn’t draw a Republican challenger. The Green Party also has candidates in statewide races for comptroller, agriculture commissioner and lieutenant governor.
The Libertarian Party has been more active in local races in recent years, but doesn’t have any Bexar County candidates in 2026.
It has contenders in nearly all of the statewide races on the ballot in 2026, including the governor’s race and the fiercely contested U.S. Senate.
