The 2018 midterms begin today in Texas

The 2018 midterm elections are off to the races, with the first primaries of the year being held Tuesday in Texas. All eyes are on the Democrats, who are hoping to turn the state purple as part of their nationwide effort to flip the House. The party is running candidates in all of the state's 36 congressional districts for the first time in 25 years, Politico reports.

While the polls officially open at 7 a.m. CST, early voting numbers already indicate an energized Democratic Party, The Texas Tribune writes: "Overall, 370,219 Democrats voted early in [the 10 counties with the highest number of registered voters] compared to 282,928 Republicans … That means Democratic turnout more than doubled from four years ago, while Republican turnout rose less than 15 percent."

The deputy director of Texas Democrats, Manny Garcia, expressed his excitement to The Washington Post: "If Texas votes like it looks, then Democrats win," he said.

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One of the most significant races will be in the 7th District, in the Houston suburbs. Democrats in Washington are opposing progressive activist Laura Moser, who they view as a weaker candidate against Rep. John Abney Culberson (R). Because Texas primary candidates need more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff, Moser is aiming to make it to the top two in a race that has six candidates on the Democratic side.

There is also a Bush in the race: Incumbent Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the son of Jeb Bush, is being threatened by Jerry Patterson over — what else? — his stewardship of the Alamo.

Read about another important race, in which a Democrat is raring to take on Sen. Ted Cruz (R), via CNN below. Jeva Lange