Texans heads to the polls on Super Tuesday

Texans across the state head to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on federal, state and local elections.

Why it matters: Democrats are choosing a nominee to face U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz .

• U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas is running against San Antonio-area state Sen. Roland Gutierrez.

The intrigue: Republicans are deciding whether to punish or re-elect Texas House members who defied Gov. Greg Abbott on school choice legislation .

The big picture: At stake in Texas are also 161 presidential delegates in the GOP primary and 244 in the Democratic primary — the second biggest Super Tuesday prize for each party.

State of play: About 1.8 million Texans — 10% of registered voters — cast an early ballot this election, per the Texas Tribune . That's slightly less than in the last presidential primary in 2020 when 12.6% of registered voters participated early.

What we saw: Axios' Nicole Cobler observes that when she voted at the noon hour at her local Austin public library branch it was busier than she expected — but still no wait to speak of.

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