2026 forecast ยท Texas 38th

Jon Bonck is favored to win Texas's 38th District.

Melissa McDonough vs Jon Bonck, an open seat. The model has Bonck ahead by 4.4 points, winning 74 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Lean RModel R +4.4Updated October 22, 2026
Melissa McDonough
Democrat
47.2%
126,179 projected votes
Jon Bonck
Republican
51.7%
138,060 projected votes
74%Bonck
26%McDonough
Bonck favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Bonck wins about 74 of 100
RatingLean R74% chance for Bonck
Model marginR +4.4No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +4.3 to R +13.42,000 simulations
Projected votes267,210Bonck 51.7%

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

Melissa McDonoughDemocrat ยท 26% to win
47.2%
Jon BonckRepublican ยท 74% to win
51.7%

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

267,210 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Jon Bonck R138,06051.7%
Melissa McDonough D126,17947.2%
Alex McMenemy G2,9711.1%
Total267,210100%

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%26% McDonough74% Bonck16 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
Bonck +4.4
Chance of winning
Melissa McDonough26%
Jon Bonck74%
Simulated vote
Melissa McDonough47.2%
Jon Bonck51.7%
Alex McMenemy1.1%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +20.0
FundamentalsR +4.4
With pollsR +4.6
Early vote turnoutD +0.1
With early voteR +4.4

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 +24R +24Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +20.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +4.4With pollsno pollsR +4.6With early voteturnout so farR +4.4
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.