Chris Bell

Governor · Democrat Primary 2026

Democrat

About ✓ Verified

Experienced former congressman struggling with fundraising and organization, polling significantly behind Hinojosa despite previous gubernatorial experience

Key Positions ✓ Verified

Ethics reform
Public education
Infrastructure
Fighting corruption
Anti-voucher
Moderate Democratic governance
Healthcare expansion
Teacher pay increases
Transportation reform
Medicaid expansion

Strengths Sourced

Congressional and statewide campaign experience
Strong ethics reform focus
Anti-corruption message
Moderate appeal to crossover voters

Concerns Sourced

Very low fundraising totals
Campaign website appears archived
Poor polling performance
Limited organizational support

Polling ✓ Verified

UT Tyler poll (February 2026): 25% Bell, 59% Hinojosa; University of Houston poll (January 2026): 7% Bell, 37% Hinojosa, 6% Cole, 32% undecided

Fundraising ✓ Verified

$33,286 raised July-December 2025; $4,622 cash on hand as of December 31, 2025 (major donor: $25,000 from Houston attorney Mike Lowenberg)

Sources (20)

Chris Bell: Experienced Texas Democrat for Governor (2026-02-24)
Chris Bell joins Texas governor race (2026-02-24)
Meet the Republicans and Democrats running for Texas governor (2026-02-24)
Top candidates in the 2026 Texas governor's race primary (2026-02-24)
Texas's Biggest Papers Agree: Gina Hinojosa is the Best Candidate for Governor | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor (2026-02-24)
Texas Primaries 2026 | University of Houston (2026-02-24)
2026 Democratic Primary Voter Guide: Who's on the ballot? (2026-02-24)
Democratic Party primaries in Texas, 2026 - Ballotpedia (2026-02-24)
2026 Texas gubernatorial election - Wikipedia (2026-02-24)
Who’s running for Texas governor in 2026? Meet Greg Abbott’s challengers (2026-02-24)
Who’s leading in Texas’ 2026 election? New poll offers clues | khou.com (2026-02-24)
2026 Democratic Primary Candidates & Election Information - Collin County Democrats (2026-02-24)
Texas labor unions divided on who to support for governor (2026-02-24)
Texas labor unions are increasingly divided on which candidate to endorse for governor | HPPR (2026-02-24)
Texas labor unions are increasingly divided on which candidate to endorse for governor (2026-02-24)
Texas AFL-CIO gives primary race endorsements, declines pick for US Senate | KXAN Austin (2026-02-24)
Texas AFT :This Valentine’s Day, will you vote for these union-backed candidates? (2026-02-24)
Texas labor unions are increasingly divided on which candidate to endorse for governor | News From The States (2026-02-24)
Texas labor unions are increasingly divided on which candidate to endorse for governor - San Antonio Current (2026-02-24)
Texas labor unions are increasingly divided on which candidate to endorse for governor - Odessa American (2026-02-24)

Data last verified: Mar 3, 2026 · 20 sources cited

See something wrong? Let us know and we'll fix it.

Data Confidence
✓ Verified backed by official sources (Ballotpedia, Vote Smart, .gov)
Sourced from web sources cited below
AI-inferred generated by AI from available information