2026 forecast ยท Texas 16th

Veronica Escobar is all but certain to win Texas's 16th District.

Veronica Escobar vs Adam Bauman. The model has Escobar ahead by 45.3 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +45.3Updated October 22, 2026
Veronica Escobar
Democrat
72.6%
183,067 projected votes
Adam Bauman
Republican
27.4%
68,938 projected votes
100%Escobar
0%Bauman
Escobar all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Escobar wins about 100 of 100
RatingSafe D100% chance for Escobar
Model marginD +45.3No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +53.4 to D +36.62,000 simulations
Projected votes252,005Escobar 72.6%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Texas districts

38 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Veronica EscobarDemocrat ยท 100% to win
72.6%
Adam BaumanRepublican ยท 0% to win
27.4%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

252,005 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Veronica Escobar D183,06772.6%
Adam Bauman R68,93827.4%
Total252,005100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%100% Escobar0% Bauman16 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Texas governor polling average
36%38%40%42%44%46%48%50%52%54%56%MayJunJulAugSepOct46.8Hinojosa49.9Abbott
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanyOct 19 ยท 1,398 LV ยท A++16%Abbott +5.0
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanySep 28 ยท 881 LV ยท A++16%Abbott +5.0
CBS News/YouGovOct 16 ยท 1,460 LV ยท C9.8%Abbott +4.0
On Point PollingOct 18 ยท 385 LV ยท Gold9.6%Abbott +2.5
University of Houston Hobby SchoolOct 14 ยท 2,000 LV ยท NR9.4%Abbott +3.0
New York Times/SienaSep 30 ยท 600 LV ยท Gold8.6%Hinojosa +3.0
Every other poll together: 31%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Escobar +45.3
Chance of winning
Veronica Escobar100%
Adam Bauman0%
Simulated vote
Veronica Escobar72.6%
Adam Bauman27.4%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanR +16.0
FundamentalsD +45.4
With pollsD +45.2
Early vote turnoutD +0.1
With early voteD +45.3

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Texas, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +54R +54Partisan leanthe state's baselineR +16.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +45.4With pollsno pollsD +45.2With early voteturnout so farD +45.3
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.